Florida Gators
Regional Challenge
Round Three Slip Drops Lady Gator Golfers to 11th in Final Round of Regional Challenge
Thursday, February 16, 2006 | Women's Golf
The No. 25 University of Florida women's golf team dropped from eighth to its final place in 11th in round three of the Northrup Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, Calif. The Lady Gators finished with a three-round score of 928 for the tourney.
Sophomore Whitney Myers (East Berlin, Pa.) pulled through for the Lady Gators, as she notched a 75 in day three to finish with a total score of 227 for the tourney (74-78-75=227), good for a tie in 16th place. Sophomore Sandra Gal (Leichlingen, Germany) finished in a tie for 34th after shooting an 81 in the third round, to bump her total score to a 233 (76-76-81=233).
Freshman Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky.) fired an 81 in round three (77-76-81=234) to finish in a tie for 38th, while sophomore Tiffany Chudy (Miramar) improved one stroke from day two with an 80 in the third round, good for a tie in 57th-place (78-81-80=239). Senior Tarah McNaughton (Bradenton) shot her best round of the Challenge with a 76 in round three to finish in 69th (83-89-76=248).
Redshirt freshman Ornella Jouven (La Ciotat, France), who competed as an individual, finished out her tournament performance with a 79 on the final day, which placed her in a tie for 31st with a three-round total of 232 (80-73-79=232). Lady Gator head coach Jill Briles-Hinton was disappointed in the way the team finished out the tournament, but remains optimistic her Lady Gator squad is close to bringing all the pieces together.
“We played terrible today,” said Briles-Hinton. “We had three of our top players shoot 80 or worse today, and when you have to count two of those scores it's tough to overcome. Whitney really came through for us, she ended up shooting four over today which was fantastic. Tarah was another bright spot in the final round, she had an unfortunate start in the first two and she could have just given up today, but she didn't, she came back and shot a great round.”
“I know this team is working hard, trying and fighting,” Briles-Hinton continued. “They just need to learn how to take what they know from the practice facility and use it on the course in competition. I have the utmost confidence in this team and the players' ability to bounce back from this.”
In the team standings Southern California's lead from round two proved to be short-lived as Arizona State finished with an 892 and snuck in and took the Regional Challenge title, leaving USC a stroke behind in second. California took third, Wake Forest finished fourth and Oklahoma State rounded out the top five finishers for the tourney.
The Florida women return to the golf course when they travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico for the Lady Puerto Rico Classic at the Dorado Del Mar Golf Course. The tournament, hosted by Purdue, will take place Feb. 24-26.
-UF-
Lady Gator Final Totals
| Name | Rd. 1 | Rd. 2 | Rd. 3 | Total | Place | |
| Myers | 74 | 78 | 75 | 227 | T16 | +14 |
| Gal | 76 | 76 | 81 | 233 | T34 | +20 |
| Blackwelder | 77 | 76 | 81 | 234 | T38 | +21 |
| Chudy | 78 | 81 | 80 | 239 | T57 | +26 |
| McNaughton | 83 | 89 | 76 | 248 | 69 | +35 |
| Jouven (I) | 80 | 73 | 79 | 232 | T31 | +19 |
| Team | Rd. 1 | Rd.2 | Rd. 3 | Total |
|
| 1 Arizona St. | 293 | 299 | 300 | 892 | +40 |
| 2 USC | 296 | 295 | 302 | 893 | +41 |
| 3 California | 296 | 307 | 305 | 908 | +56 |
| 4 Wake Forest | 301 | 303 | 305 | 909 | +57 |
| 5 Oklahoma St. | 304 | 294 | 312 | 910 | +58 |
| 6 UCLA | 301 | 310 | 303 | 914 | +62 |
| 7 Pepperdine | 311 | 307 | 301 | 919 | +67 |
| 8 Stanford | 305 | 311 | 305 | 921 | +69 |
| 9 Arkansas | 309 | 305 | 308 | 922 | +70 |
| 10 Ohio St. | 314 | 302 | 307 | 923 | +71 |
| 11 Florida | 305 | 311 | 312 | 928 | +76 |
| 12 Arizona | 312 | 306 | 317 | 935 | +83 |
| 13 New Mexico | 323 | 329 | 307 | 959 | +107 |
| 14 Washington | 312 | 321 | 328 | 961 | +109 |
