FGCU's Louise Gauthier Makes History as First Eagle to Qualify for NCAA Golf Championships

A birdie on hole number two helped FGCU’s Louisiane Gauthier secure fourth place individually at the NCAA Women's Golf Lubbock Regional held on Tuesday, May 6, in Texas. This performance qualified the junior for the NCAA Championship taking place from May 16-21 in Carlsbad, California.

She's the first Eagles golfer, men's or women's, to qualify for the NCAA Championship as the low individual not on an advancing team.

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 4-under-par for the three-hole stretch. The junior catapulted herself into fourth place, two clear of the next player who could take the individual spot from her.

She wrapped up with consistent golf, managing to make par on six out of the next seven holes. Her short putt on Hole 9 – which was her last hole of the day – resulted in a round score of 71 (-1), leaving her at an even-par total for the entire tournament.

“I’m absolutely not shocked,” stated FGCU’s head coach Shannon Sykora. “She has consistently come through throughout the entire year.”

Together as a unit, the Eagles delivered their finest performance of the tournament, recording a combined total of 285 for the round, which sliced through their second-round score by 23 strokes.

Leonie Wulfers achieved the top score of the day for FGCU, recording a 70 (-2). Posie Farrelly matched Gauthier’s performance with a 71, while Amelie Alcantara posted a 73 (+1). Islay Benoit concluded her rookie year with a 77 (+5) in the last round.

We faced challenges during the initial few days due to the adverse weather conditions," stated Sykora. "I am immensely proud of their competitive spirit, and it was delightful for us to score below par collectively as a team.

During the program's initial showing at the NCAA Regionals, FGCU secured ninth place and moved up one spot in the concluding round.Wake Forest claimed victory in the team competition with an aggregate score of 862 (-2), being the sole squad to end below par.

Second place was secured by Texas with a score of 866, closely followed by Iowa State with 874 points. Tennessee ranked fourth with a total of 881 points, while Purdue and Texas A&M were tied for fifth position.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: FGCU's Lousiane Gauthier makes history as the first male or female golfer from the Eagles to advance to the NCAA Championships.