FORT MYERS, Fla. - The FGCU women's golf team returns to action this spring with five events under first-year head coach Shannon Sykora.

"I really like the way our schedule is laid out," Sykora said. "There is only one time where we have back-to-back tournaments, and it's later in the season. We look forward to resuming practice, our home courses are in perfect shape, and I know the team is ready to get back competing."

Three of FGCU's five tournaments will take place in the state of Florida, as the Eagles are set to compete in two tournaments per month starting in February. On Feb. 5-7, the Green & Blue tees off at the Lady Bison Classic at Bay Point in Panama City, Fla., hosted by ASUN member Lipscomb.

Later in the month, the Eagles will compete in the Atlantic Invitational across Alligator Alley in Boynton Beach, Fla. The two-day event hosted by FAU is scheduled for Feb. 20-21.

In March, FGCU heads for the Spring Break Shootout, hosted by Western Kentucky in Dade City, Fla, as the Eagles will look to defend its 2022 team title behind a 866 team score and three Eagles finishing among the top 10 individuals. The second of three two-day tournaments is slated for March 13-14.

Toward the end of March, the Eagles will finally leave the friendly confines of the Sunshine State to compete in the Golfweek/AGT Intercollegiate in Pawley's Island, S.C. on March 27-29.

The Green & Blue heads north again April 3-4, traveling to Greenville, N.C. for its regular season finale in the Ironwood Invitational hosted by East Carolina.

The ASUN Championship is April 16-18 in Huntsville, Ala. FGCU placed tied for seventh in the conference last season.

FGCU posted a runner-up team performance last fall at the Jupiter Invitational, opening with a season-low team round of 284. As a squad, FGCU held a 299.92 average score over 12 rounds of play and four events throughout the fall.

Individually, sophomore Anna Claire Bridge (Collierville, Tenn./Collierville HS/FAU) captured her first individual crown of her career at the Jupiter Invitational en route to being named the ASUN Women's Golfer of the Week. Bridge carded a final-round 68, a career low, and finished at 211 -- tying the seventh-lowest 54-hole total in program history.

Freshman Lousiane Gauthier (Canelones, Uruguay/Colegio Stella Maris) led all Eagles in round average during the fall with a 74.82. Gauthier placed sixth at the Jupiter Invitational with two under-par rounds. 

Freshman Leonie Wulfers (Muenster, Germany/Gymnasium Hochrad) also tallied a top 10 effort in the fall, tying for ninth at the Lady Paladin Invitational.

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.

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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!

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 94 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 47 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an 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 and No. 25 in 2022-23) 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 & 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 3.66 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2022 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 27 consecutive semesters. The past seven semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 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.
 
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