05/04/2026

VALDOSTA, Ga. — History was made Thursday, April 23, at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club. The Florida Gulf Coast University men’s golf team closed with a final round 3-under par to finish at 15-under for the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament, capturing the first ASUN Championship in program history.

At the center of the win was Sebastian Gamboa, who claimed the individual title to complete a sweep of the team and individual crowns. Gamboa finished at 12-under for the tournament, becoming the first Eagle to win the ASUN individual championship since Van Holmgren in 2021.

FGCU secured the ASUN trophy by besting second-place Stetson by 11 strokes. Eastern Kentucky ended the tournament in third.

Gamboa claimed the individual championship with a three-day total of 12-under 204, carding 67 in the first and second rounds before shooting a 70 in the final round. Sacha Ruiz finished second, securing a 1-2 finish for the Eagles with a 9-under 207. Nolan Harper tied for 17th overall with a 2-over 218, while Christian Figueredo and Brett Moore tied for 38th at 7-over 223.

The Eagles led all teams in the tournament with 164 pars while recording the fewest bogeys. FGCU also tied for third in the field with 55 birdies.

FGCU head coach Andrew Danna spoke about the dynamic between Gamboa and Ruiz as they pushed each other for the top two spots on the leaderboard, pointing to the selflessness and tight-knit culture of the roster as the driving force behind their success.

“The culture of our team and the unity between them, between our players is something that makes our team pretty special,” Danna said. “I can tell you there’s no doubt that they were obviously cheering for each other. All our guys were working really hard to play well as a team and the individual accolades are nice, but I can tell you Sebastian (Gamboa), Sacha (Ruiz), Nolan (Harper), Brett (Moore) and Christian (Figueredo) and the rest of our players on our team our goal and our main focus was to win that championship. I’m so proud of Sebastian for winning the individual title as well… They all stepped up when needed. They all played pretty good golf throughout the week in order to get it done and that’s something I’ll remember a long time from that championship.”

When asked about Gamboa’s performance in particular, Danna highlighted the individual champion’s consistency and ball-striking ability throughout the tournament.

“He played really consistent golf,” Danna said. “His decision making was really good, his ball striking was on. Anytime you win an ASUN Championship or tournament like that you’re going to need to hit the ball well and Sebastian did that pretty much all week. Each one of them probably had a stretch of holes where it kind of wasn’t going very well, but it’s a testament to their consistency and discipline.”

While the program has a strong history of competitive teams, coach Danna emphasized that capturing this first conference title is a culmination of the legacy built by everyone who has been a part of FGCU men’s golf over the years.

“We’ve had plenty of great teams throughout the years that have finished second in the championship and made the NCAA tournament,” Danna said. “I’m thankful that this team won and they’re really excited and happy and it’s a testament to their work ethic and dedication to their craft. That’s something that we’re all proud of, especially I’m just really happy for our players that we’re able to win our first championship and it’s kind of for all our alumni, all our players, FGCU, Southwest Florida. We’re happy that we get to celebrate this championship with everybody.”

Reflecting on the mental toughness and course management required on the challenging Kinderlou Forest layout, coach Danna noted that disciplined, error-free golf was the key to securing the title.

“Well I think we didn’t make a lot of mistakes per se in some situations and we were able to make enough birdies, the combination of playing par threes, par fours, par fives and making birdies,” Danna said. “We just kind of stuck to what we knew how to do and that’s playing disciplined golf and obviously being aggressive when needed to but also understanding in certain situations what’s the smart thing to do. I think that all our players do that really well. It’s a testament to their hard work and dedication. That golf course is a good test of golf and the conditions were pretty tough one of the days and I was really proud of our team for their ability to play disciplined golf coming down the stretch.”

When asked if there was a specific moment during the final round where he knew the championship was secured, coach Danna pointed to his philosophy of focusing only on the present shot and taking things one hole at a time.

“I don’t think I ever feel that way as a coach as far as ‘we’re going to win the tournament, we’ve got this locked up,’” Danna explained. “I think you play to the end every time out and that was the message and the mentality to our players. I knew we were playing pretty good that day. I didn’t check the scores for a while after like the fourth or fifth hole and I checked it there at the end and it really didn’t change anything, it was just stick to the same strategy. Play golf, get the ball in the hole, and get it to the house.”

Following the trophy presentations and photos, the team enjoyed a celebratory meal at one of their favorite stops in Valdosta.

“There’s a lot of great restaurants in Valdosta,” Danna said. “Throughout the week we went to a few different restaurants. One restaurant we didn’t go to in the beginning when we got there is ‘Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers’. The guys like to go there every now and then. We won we were like we’re going to get something to eat before we get on the road. We took the trophy and we went over to Raising Cane’s and had a good meal and we celebrated and talked about the day and what an incredible accomplishment it was for our team and everybody and all the people that went into winning this championship.”

Danna emphasized that the milestone was a collective effort extending far beyond the five players on the course.

“The players obviously get the shots, they’re out there playing, but it takes a whole team from coaching staff, to administrators, our university, our community partners,” Danna said. “It takes everybody to build a championship team and I’m just so thankful and happy for everybody all the way down the list to celebrate.”

The FGCU men’s golf team awaits its destination for the 2026 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship Regionals. The NCAA selection show will air Wednesday, May 6, with tournament regional play scheduled for May 18–20.

Editor’s Note: All photos featured in this story are the intellectual property of FGCU Athletics. These images are used with express, one-time permission for The Eagle Sports Report. Any unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, or digital scraping of these images is strictly prohibited without written consent from the original source.