Gal, Lady Gators Take Top Honors at SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational

Sunday, March 12

Gainesville, FL

12:00 AM

Florida Gators

Lady Gator Invitational

Gal, Lady Gators Take Top Honors at SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational

Sunday, March 12, 2006 | Women's Golf

Fourteen strokes separated the No. 16 University of Florida women's golf team from its nearest competitor when the final round of the 34^th Annual SunTrust Lady Gator ended Sunday afternoon. The Lady Gators held onto their top placing from round two to finish out in first for their third tournament win of the year. Sophomore Sandra Gal (Leichlingen, Germany) picked up the first medalist honor of her Florida career, after she fired a season-low of 217 for the tourney.

Gal shot 74-71-72 in the three rounds, moving up from a first-round placement in a tie for 14^th, to a tie at fifth after the second round to eventually take top honors. Head coach Jill Briles-Hinton was pleased with Gal's play, and the tournament win the Lady Gators earned.

“Sandra was very consistent all three rounds,” said Briles-Hinton. “She stayed committed to her mental goals and it paid off for her; she did fantastic. Mallory (Blackwelder) was right in there too, she and Sandra were going head-to-head, and this time Sandra came away with the win. Next time it could be Mallory, or it could be Whitney (Myers) who finished in ninth this weekend, or it could be any of the players on this team because they all have the ability to do it.”

Freshman Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky.) notched her second top-three finish of the season, as she shot a 219 to claim a tie for third. Blackwelder battled Gal for the top spot throughout the third round, before a pair of bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes dropped her to third. Sophomore Whitney Myers (East Berlin, Pa.) finished in a tie for ninth place with a three-round total of 223 (72-74-77) to round out the Lady Gator top-ten finishers.

Freshman Brittany Nelson (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) notched her best finish of the year as she claimed 16th with a 226 (74-76-76) three-round total. Redshirt freshman Ornella Jouven (La Ciotat, France), who competed as an individual, finished in a tie for 19th with a 228 (74-70-84), while sophomore Eleanor Tucker (Wilson, N.C.) fired her best three-round total of the year with a 233 (75-78-80) to finish in a tie for 33rd.

Sophomore captain Tiffany Chudy (Miramar) finished with a 234 (73-76-85) and senior Tarah McNaughton (Bradenton, Fla.) fired a 240 (76-84-80) to round out the Lady Gator competitors. Although the Florida women did claim their second tournament win in a as many tries, Briles-Hinton noted they still have a lot of work to do.

“The course played hard for everyone today,” said Briles-Hinton. “It was hot this weekend, the course is in great shape and I think it got the best of everyone. I think they all would have liked to have played better in the third round, because while a 301 on your home course is okay it's a good example to show the team we need to keep working. We'll take the 301 because it's a win and now we've won two in a row, but we have work left to do.”

In the team standings, No. 4 Purdue finished 14 strokes behind the Orange and Blue in second place, while South Florida snuck into the third-place spot with a 901, barely beating Alabama by one stroke. Michigan rounded out the top five with a team total of 906.

The Lady Gators return to action when they travel to Browns Summitt, N.C. for the Bryan National March 31-April 2 at the Bryan Park Golf Course.

Lady Gator Final Results

Name	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total	Place	Rel. To Par
Sandra Gal	74	71	72	217	1	+7
Mallory Blackwelder	70	73	76	217	T3	+9
Whitney Myers	72	74	77	223	T9	+13
Brittany Nelson	74	76	76	226	16	+16
Ornella Jouven*	74	70	84	228	T19	+18
Eleanor Tucker*	75	78	80	233	T33	+23
Tiffany Chudy	73	76	85	234	T36	+15
Tarah McNaughton	76	84	80	240	T55	+30

* - Competing as an individual

Final Team Standings

Name	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total	Rel. To Par
1 Florida	289	294	294	884	+44
2 Purdue	289	304	305	898	+58
3 South Florida	300	305	296	901	+58
4 Alabama	300	297	305	902	+62
5 Michigan	301	297	308	906	+66
6 Michigan State	306	293	308	907	+67
7 Florida International	309	299	312	920	+80
8 Georgia State	314	298	317	929	+89
9 Kentucky	304	310	316	930	+90
10 Yale	305	312	317	934	+94
11 Central Florida	309	322	306	937	+97
12 Louisville	309	316	318	943	+103
13 Princeton	325	315	314	954	+114
14 Mississippi	312	309	336	957	+117