Lady Gator Golfers Finish in Sixth Place at Auburn Derby

Sunday, November 6

Auburn, AL

12:00 AM

Florida Gators

Auburn Derby

Lady Gator Golfers Finish in Sixth Place at Auburn Derby

Sunday, November 6, 2005 | Women's Golf

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA SPORTS INFORMATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2005

CONTACT: CHRISTA McELYEA AT 352.375.4683 EXT. 6131

Lady Gator Golfers Finish in Sixth Place at Auburn Derby

FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The No. 21 Florida women's golf team maintained its round two standing at sixth place in Sunday's third and final round of the Auburn Derby held at the par 72, 6,270 yard Auburn University Club in Auburn, Ala. The Lady Gators recorded a score of 906 (302-302-302) for the tournament, which featured a stacked field of teams, including six top-25 squads.

“In the last day of the tournament we played okay,” said head coach Jill Briles-Hinton. “We held our position and played consistently in the third round, as well as in the tournament as a whole. The highest score we shot that counted in our team score was a 77, which is encouraging to see. Now it's a matter of shifting our highest score lower, which is something we're working toward.”

Sophomore Sandra Gal (Leichlingen, Germany) proved to be the most consistent among the Lady Gator five, as she fired scores of 75-74-74 in the three rounds of play. Gal finished the tournament with a 223, good for a 13th-place tie.

Sophomore captain Tiffany Chudy (Miramar), posted scores of 76-77-75 to finish with a 228 and tie for 28th, while sophomore Whitney Myers (East Berlin, Pa.), notched a three-round total of 230 (74-75-81), good for a tie at 42nd. Freshman Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky) and redshirt freshman Ornella Jouven (La Ciotat, France) each fired a three-round score of 232 to finish in a tie for 49th.

Sophomore Eleanor Tucker (Wilson N.C.), who competed as an individual, rounded out the tournament with a score of 254, good for 86th-place. Briles-Hinton noted that while it was positive to see consistent play from her Lady Gator squad throughout the weekend, there were a few disappointing spots in the mix.

“I was a bit disappointed to see us so far out of fifth-place,” said Briles-Hinton. “There was such a big drop between us and the fifth-place team. We also didn't beat anyone ranked above us; according to the rankings we finished right where we should have. Once we can shift our high numbers to lower scores we should be able to keep closing those gaps.”

Auburn's Maria Martinez led the No. 7 Tigers to a first place finish in the tournament, as she took medalist honors with a 69-72-68=209 performance. Auburn upset No. 1 Duke which posted an 880 to finish second in the tourney, while No. 4 Georgia finished third with an 892. No. 13 Virginia took third with an 893 and No. 14 Tennessee rounded out the top five with an 894.

According to Briles-Hinton the weather conditions at the Derby improved in round three, but the mental conditions got a bit more complicated.

“One aspect of the we're really working on is the mental part,” said Briles-Hinton. “Today the mental conditions were more different than anything else. We had a couple of players start out real ugly, but they fought hard, hung in there, and came through for us in the end.”

The Lady Gators return to the course for their final tournament of the spring season Nov. 11-13 when they travel to Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., for the Hooters Match Play.

Team Results

Place	Team	First Round	Second Round	Third Round	Total	Under/Over Par
1.	Auburn	291	302	286	879	+15
2.	Duke	294	294	292	880	+16
3.	Georgia	294	305	293	892	+28
4.	Virginia	297	306	290	893	+29
5.	Tennessee	297	297	300	894	+30
6.	FLORIDA	302	302	302	906	+42

Florida Results

Place	Name	First Round	Second Round	Third Round	Total	Under/Over Par
T13.	Sandra Gal	75	74	74	223	+7
T28.	Tiffany Chudy	76	77	75	228	+12
T42.	Whitney Myers	74	75	81	230	+14
T49.	Mallory Blackwelder	77	79	76	232	+16
T49.	Ornella Jouven	79	76	77	232	+16
86.	Eleanor Tucker*	87	87	80	254	+38