Florida Gators
SEC Championship
Women's Golf Fifth at SEC Championships
Sunday, April 18, 2004 | Women's Golf
With three Lady Gators finishing in the top 10, the No. 12 University of Florida women's golf team finished fifth at the 2004 Southeastern Conference Championships, hosted by LSU at the University Club Course.
Florida finished five strokes over Sunday en route to a season-low score of 885. The Lady Gators carded 21 strokes over par for the tournament and finished two of the three rounds under 300 (302-290-293).
"With the exception of the first round, we played solid golf," Florida head coach Jill Briles-Hinton said.
It was a close race for the SEC title as Vanderbilt won the tournament by four strokes (877). Auburn (881) tied for second with LSU. Tennessee came in fourth with an 882, and Florida was three strokes behind the Lady Vols with an 885. The Lady Gators were just eight strokes behind the newly crowned champions.
Junior Andrea Vander Lende (Longwood, Fla.) carded her second consecutive par round as she finished with a 72 for the final 18 holes. Vander Lende recorded her best tournament score of the season with a 219. The 2003 NCAA Runner-up finished tied for seventh, her best finish in her career at the SEC Championships. Vander Lende now has two top-seven finishes this season.
"Andrea played well," Briles-Hinton said. "Last season we could always count on her for a 74 or 76, but now we can count on a lower score from her."
Sophomore Aimee Cho (Orlando, Fla.), who won the SEC title in 2003, finished the tournament three strokes over (72-73-74—219). Cho finished the back nine at par to tie for seventh place. It was her fourth consecutive top-seven finish and her sixth top-seven finish of the season.
"Aimee plays well every week," Briles-Hinton said. "She struggled this weekend, but she still finished in the top 10 and that says a lot about her."
In just her first SEC Championship, sophomore Camila Gonzalez (Bucaramanga, Colombia) finished the three-day event in 10th place, her second top-10 finish this season. Gonzalez's 54-hole total of 220 (76-71-73) is a collegiate best. The NGCA All-American Scholar remained under par for 12 holes Sunday with the help of three birdies.
"Camila had an outstanding tournament," Briles-Hinton said. "She enjoyed it. She stroked the ball well and putted well. She really held the team together. We really needed her scores to do as well as we did."
Senior Amanda Dick (Clearwater, Fla.) broke even on the front nine, but carded two bogeys on the back nine to give her a 74 for the day. Dick tied for 31st place with a 227 (79-74-74). Her 54-hole total ties her season best, which she also had at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic.
Sophomore Tarah McNaughton (Bradenton, Fla.) finished her SEC Tournament debut with a score of 231 (80-74-77) to tie for 43rd place. McNaughton had her best spring performance this weekend, as her previous spring best this year was a 236 at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic.
The Lady Gators await the announcement of the 2004 NCAA Regionals, which will be held May 6-8.
Team Results
1 Vanderbilt +13 295 291 291 877
T2 Auburn +17 292 295 294 881
T2 Louisiana State +17 299 293 289 881
4 Tennessee +18 296 292 294 882
5 Florida +21 302 290 293 885
6 Georgia +26 298 297 295 890
7 South Carolina +35 303 300 296 899
8 Mississippi +41 315 295 295 905
9 Arkansas +45 297 308 304 909
10 Alabama +49 306 300 307 913
11 Mississippi St. +59 306 309 308 923
12 Kentucky +65 315 309 305 929
Florida Results
T7 Aimee Cho 72-73-74—219
T7 Andrea Vander Lende 75-72-72—219
10 Camila Gonzalez 76-71-73—220
31 Amanda Dick 79-74-74—227
43 Tarah McNaughton 80-74-77—231
-UF-
