Florida Gators
NCAA Championships
Women's Golf Tied for Fourth at NCAA Championships
Wednesday, May 22, 2002 | Women's Golf
The University of Florida women's golf team finished the first round of play at the NCAA Championships in a tie for fourth place with a 298. Arizona, which was the only team to shoot under-par during the first round, leads the field of 24 teams with a 285.
"We got out of the blocks quick, and we had a great first nine holes," said UF Head Coach Jill Briles-Hinton. "We struggled on the back side, and the team had to fight hard to shoot 298. But it's the first day - there's plenty of golf left. They left a lot out there, and they're going to go get it tomorrow."
The Gators started on the back nine Tuesday, with Jeanne Cho (Boulogne, France), Andrea Vander Lende (Longwood, Fla.) and Whitney Code (Tampa, Fla.) all shooting one-under-par through the first nine holes. Sophomore Amanda Dick (Clearwater, Fla.) shot two-over-par, while junior Brittany Straza (Ft. Myers, Fla.) rounded out the playing five with a three-over-par on the back nine.
The front nine wasn't as kind to the Gators, though. After several double bogeys, Florida moved into a tie for fourth place after being as high as first earlier in the day. Vander Lende was the only Gator under-par, carding a 71 after making par on each of the final nine holes to finish tied for 10th. Code followed with a two-over-par 74, putting her in a tie for 30th, and Cho shot a four-over 76 to finish tied for 55th. Straza finished at five-over-par with a 77, tying for 70th, and Dick rounded out the scoring for Florida, finishing tied for 120th with an opening-round 82.
Duke's Virada Nirapathpongporn is in first place after shooting a four-under 68. Georgia's Summer Sirmons carded a three-under-par 69, and seven others are at two-under after the first round. Georgia and Duke are tied for second with a 294 to round out the top three team scores.
Florida will tee off in the morning session Wednesday beginning at 8:50 a.m. PST.
Teams Scores
1. Arizona 285
T2. Duke 294
T2. Georgia 294
T4. Florida 298
T4. Auburn 298
T4. California 298
T4. South Carolina 298
T4. Wake Forest 298
T9. Ohio State 299
T9. Oklahoma 299
T9. Oklahoma State 299
T9. Stanford 299
T13. Arizona State 301
T13. Michigan 301
T13. Pepperdine 301
T16. Tulsa 302
T16. Washington 302
18. Purdue 304
T19. Michigan State 305
T19. Texas 305
21. Southern California 307
22. Vanderbilt 311
23. South Florida 313
24. UCLA 314
Florida Scores
T10. Andrea Vander Lende 71
T30. Whitney Code 74
T55. Jeanne Cho 76
T70. Brittany Straza 77
T120. Amanda Dick 82
