OWENS CROSSROADS, Ala. - The FGCU women's golf team carries a one-stroke lead into Tuesday's final round of the 2023 ASUN Championship.

The Eagles slipped a bit in Monday's second round, carding a 305, as second-place Central Arkansas posted a tournament-low 295 to climb up five spots on the team leaderboard. At +28, the Bears are not the only squad nipping at the Eagles' heels -- as the top five teams are within six shots of FGCU at +27.

"We struggled a bit coming in, but we're right where we want to be heading into the final day," said first-year FGCU women's golf head coach Shannon Sykora.

FGCU entered Monday's moving day with a five-stroke advantage following an opening-round 298. The Green & Blue is scheduled to tee off the final round of play from the back nine beginning at 10:10 a.m. Tuesday on the par-72 RTJ at Hampton Cove course.

FGCU's freshman duo of Lousiane Gauthier (Canelones, Uruguay/Colegio Stella Maris) and Grace Rigby-Walden (Gerrards Cross, England/The Chalfonts Community College) continue to pace the FGCU starting five. Gauthier is tied for fifth, and Rigby-Walden is tied for eighth after the dust settled on Monday's action.

Gauthier posted a 4-over 76 in round two, and Rigby-Walden shot a 5-over 77. For the tournament, Gauthier's 5-over-par 149 effort places herself just five strokes behind the championship leader, North Alabama's Jahnavi Prakhya (even-par 144).

Both FGCU sophomore Posie Farrelly (Lutz, Fla./George Steinbrenner HS) and freshman Leonie Wulfers (Muenster, Germany/Gymnasium Hochrad) enter Tuesday's final round tied for 17th at 8-over. Wulfers cut four strokes off her day-one total to climb up seven positions alongside teammate Farrelly. 

Farrelly is dialed in on the par-3s, becoming just one of only two golfers to hold a combined under-par score on such holes.

The Eagles eyes their first-ever ASUN Championship team and individual title Tuesday. FGCU has had the trophy and a NCAA Tournament berth in their sights before -- finishing second in 2016, 2017, and 2019.

Individually, three Eagles have placed as high as second throughout FGCU's 14-year history of competing in the ASUN Championship -- Madeline Marck-Sherk (2018), Megan Blonien (2017), and Fabienne Haremza (2011).

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

FGCU STARTING FIVE:


TEAM LEADERBOARD:

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.

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!

#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 97 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 48 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. Nine FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20 in 2021-22 and No. 22 in 2022-23), baseball (No. 15 in 2023), beach volleyball (No. 20 in 2022), and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as five 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 3.67 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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