Florida Gators
NCAA East Regional
Women's Golf in First at NCAA East Regional
Friday, May 10, 2002 | Women's Golf
University of Florida freshman Whitney Code (Tampa, Fla.) shot a three-under-par 69 to finish tied for fourth and lead the Gators into first place after the opening round of the 2002 NCAA East Regional at the University Club in Baton Rouge, La. As a team, Florida shot a two-under-par 286 to finish one stroke ahead of No. 1-ranked Auburn after round one.
"The team got off to a fast start in the first round of the tournament, and they were able to maintain it throughout the round," said UF Head Coach Jill Briles-Hinton. "The players did absolutely awesome, and I'm proud of them. But they need to remember that there are two rounds left. They need to stay focused and take it one shot at a time."
Code began the day with a birdie on the 10th hole, where Florida teed off to begin the tournament. She followed that with a birdie on 15 to finish the back nine at two-under. After making par on holes 1-3, Code birdied the fourth hole to move to three-under. After making birdie on eight, Code closed out her opening round with a bogey to finish three-under.
Junior Jeanne Cho (Boulogne, France) recorded three birdies and two bogeys to finish the first round with a one-under par 71 to tie for 11th place. Fellow junior Brittany Straza (Ft. Myers, Fla.) finished the back nine at one-under with birdies on holes 12 and 14 and a bogey on 15, but bogeyed the ninth hole to finish tied for 15th at even par.
Sophomore Amanda Dick (Clearwater, Fla.) also began the day with a birdie on the 10th hole and birdied the 14th hole, but recorded two bogeys on the back nine to make the turn at even-par. After two bogeys on the front nine, Dick finished the day in a tie for place with a two-over 74. Freshman Andrea Vander Lende (Longwood, Fla.) struggled during day one, finishing in a tie for 88th with an 80 to close out team scoring.
Three players are tied for the lead at four-under-par. The top eight teams from each regional advance to the NCAA Championships, which will be held in Auburn, Wash., May 21-24.
The tournament continues Friday with the Gators teeing off beginning at 11:50 a.m. CST.
Team Scores
1. Florida 286
2. Auburn 287
3. South Florida 289
4. Duke 291
5. Wake Forest 293
6. North Carolina 294
7. Vanderbilt 296
8. LSU 297
T9. Furman 298
T9. South Carolina 298
11. Memphis 299
T12. Georgia 300
T12. Tulane 300
T14. North Carolina State 303
T14. Tennessee 303
16. Central Florida 305
17. Texas A&M 306
18. Mississippi State 307
19. Alabama 308
20. Yale 316
21. Jackson State 335
Florida Scores
T4. Whitney Code 69
T11. Jeanne Cho 71
T15. Brittany Straza 72
T28. Amanda Dick 74
T88. Andrea Vander Lende 80
