JUPITER, Fla. - Four Eagles reside within the top 15 on the player leaderboard behind career-low rounds to cap the day one action of the Jupiter Invitational Monday. As a team, FGCU sits second overall heading into Tuesday's final round.
"The team battled all day, and we put ourselves in a good position to contend for the tournament title," first-year head coach Shannon Sykora said.
The Green and Blue opened the event with the eighth-lowest team round in program history, a 284. In round two, FGCU posted a 291 team score to end day one at 15-over, just six strokes back of first.
First-place Western Carolina leads the field with a nine-over (569) team score through two rounds. FGCU leads all participating programs in total made pars with 116.
Anna Claire Bridge (Collierville, Tenn.) and Grace Rigby-Walden (England) paced the Eagle starting five Monday and are both tied for fifth (+3) on the player leaderboard. Bridge and Rigby-Walden each carded an even-par round of 70 on the day, marking career lows for both Eagles.
Walden is dialed in on par 3 action as she is one of only five golfers in a field of 47 to hold a combined under-par score on such holes. Walden and Bridge are just four strokes back of tournament leader Madison Isaacson (-1) from Western Carolina.
Leonie Wulfers (Germany) is tied for ninth after carding a 70, a career low, and a 74. Her 36-hole total of 144 places her four-over for the event.
Lousiane Gauthier (Uruguay) sits tied for 14th behind a 145 effort thus far (+6), and Posie Farrelly (Lutz, Fla.) is tied for 22nd. Gauthier's opening-round 71 also marked a career-low round, the fourth career-low for FGCU on the day. Gauthier also leads the field on par 4 scoring.
For Tuesday's action, FGCU is paired with Western Carolina and third-place Troy as the Eagles are scheduled to tee off the final round starting at 8:35 a.m. on hole No. 1
EAGLE STARTING FIVE
T5 Anna Claire Bridge 70-73 | +3 | 143
T5 Grace Rigby-Walden 73-70 | +3 | 143
T9 Leonie Wulfers 70-74 | +4 | 144
T14 Lousiane Gauthier 71-74 | +5 | 145
T22 Posie Farrelly 73-77 | +10 | 150
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1 Western Carolina +9 | 569
2 FGCU +15 | 575
T3 Troy +22 | 582
T3 Jacksonville +22 | 582
5 Stetson +28 | 588
6 UNCA +39 | 599
7 Seminole State +41 | 601
T8 FAU +43 | 603
T8 Lamar +43 | 603
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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!
COACHÂ 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.
ABOUTÂ 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.
