PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS - FGCU Women's Golf opened the Little Rock White Sands Bahamas Invitational Friday.

Sophomore Anna Claire Bridge continued to stay hot, leading all Eagles heading into Saturday's second round. Bridge is tied for eighth on the player leaderboard behind her opening round of 75 (+3). The Collierville, Tenn. native was one of only seven golfers to sink three-or-more birdies on Friday.

Siarra Stout from Lipscomb leads the 45-golfer field at three-under par. Lipscomb paced the team leaderboard as well, shooting a 291 (+3).

As a team, FGCU is tied for seventh alongside South Dakota State at 25-over (313). The Green and Blue struggled on the greens and trails the eight-team field in made pars.

Posie Farrelly (Lutz, Fla.) and Leonie Wulfers (Germany) carded matching opening rounds in the high 70s, both sitting tied for 31st at 7-over.

Saturday's second round is slated for a 8 a.m. shotgun start as the Eagles eye to soar on moving day.

EAGLE STARTING FIVE
T8 Anna Claire Bridge 75 | +3
T31 Leonie Wulfers 79 | +7
T31 Posie Farrelly 79 | +7
T37 Lousiane Gauthier 80 | +8
45 Grace Rigby-Walden 84 | +12

TEAM LEADERBOARD
1 Lipscomb +3 | 291
2 Central Arkansas +5 | 293
3 UNCG +13 | 301
4 Memphis +15 | 303
5 Arkansas State +16 | 304
6 Little Rock +21 | 309
T7 FGCU +25 | 313
T7 South Dakota State +25 | 313

For complete coverage of the women's golf program, follow the Eagles on Twitter and Instagram at @FGCU_WGOLF, on Facebook at /fgcuwgolf and online at www.FGCUathletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCUwomen's golf or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.

E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!

COACH SYKORA
After a highly successful decade leading Barry University, Shannon Sykora was named the FGCU women's golf head coach on June 16, 2022. During his career with Barry, the Buccaneers won the 2017 NCAA Division II National Title, while finishing runner-up in 2014 and placing third in 2013 and 2022. Sykora led Barry to 28 tournament wins in his decade as head coach including four Division I tournament victories. He has produced five WGCA All-America First Team selections, nine WGCA Scholar All-Americans, one honorable mention All-American, the 2013 NCAA Division II Individual National Champion, and the only D-II player to compete in the inaugural Augusta Women's Amateur.

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 92 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.