An eagle on No. 2 propelled FGCU Eagle Lousiane Gauthier to fourth place individually at the NCAA Women's Golf Lubbock Regional Tuesday in Lubbock, Texas, qualifying the junior for the NCAA Championship in Carlsbad, California, May 16-21.
Gauthier sat in 14th place after a bogey on No. 17, her eighth hole of the day.
Over the next four holes, however, Gauthier came on strong with birdies at Nos. 18 and 1, followed by an eagle on No. 2 to go four-under-par for the three-hole stretch.
The junior catapulted herself into fourth place, two clear of the next player that could take the individual spot from her. She would finish with steady golf, making par on six of the next seven holes. Her tap-in on No. 9 — her final hole of the day — gave her a 71 (-1) for the round and an even-par score for the tournament.
"I'm not surprised at all," said FGCU head coach Shannon Sykora. "She has been clutch all year."
Gauthier makes the NCAA Championship as the low individual not on an advancing team.
As a team, the Eagles had their best round of the event, shooting a team score of 285 to take 23 strokes off their round two score. The Eagles tied for the fifth-best round of the day with their score.
Leonie Wulfers had the best round of the day for FGCU, carding a 70 (-2). Posie Farrelly joined Gauthier with a 71, with Amelie Alcantara wrapping up play with a 73 (+1). Islay Benoit wrapped up her freshman season with a 77 (+5) in the final round.
"The first couple of days, we struggled in the bad weather," said Sykora. "I'm extremely proud of how they competed and it was nice to shoot under par as a team."
In the program's first-ever appearance at the NCAA Regionals, FGCU finished in ninth and improved its position in the final round by one.
Wake Forest won the team event with a 862 (-2), the only team to finish under par in the event.
Texas finished second with an 866, followed by Iowa State with an 874.
Tennessee placed fourth at 881, with Purdue and Texas A&M tied for fifth as the horn sounded for lightning in the area.
Team Leaderboard*: 1. Wake Forest - 8622. Texas - 8663. Iowa State - 8744. Tennessee - 881T5. Purdue - 889T5. Texas A&M - 8897. UC Davis - 8908. Arizona - 8929. FGCU - 90210. Campbell - 90711. Tarleton State - 91812. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi - 960* - Tie between Purdue and Texas A&M will be broken via playoff
FGCU Individuals: 4. Lousiane Gauthier - E (216)T36. Posie Farrelly - +12 (228)T45. Amelie Alcantara - +14 (230)T45. Leonie Wulfers - +14 (230)T59. Islay Benoit - +22 (238)
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