Florida Gators
SEC Championships
No. 14 Women?s Golf Finishes Sixth at SEC Championships
Monday, April 17, 2006 | Women's Golf
The 14th-ranked University of Florida women's golf team claimed sixth place after shooting a 299 Sunday in the final round of the Southeastern Conference Championships. The Gators finished with a three-day score of 34-over-par, 898, which was only one stroke behind fifth-place Arkansas, which carded an 897 over the course of 54 holes at the par 72, 6,217-yard Legends Club of Tennessee in Nashville, Tenn.
Redshirt freshman Ornella Jouven (La Ciotat, France) was the team's highest finisher in the individual field with a 12th-place tie after firing a one-over, 73, during the second and third days of play to finish with a score of 222. Sophomore Whitney Myers (East Berlin, Pa.) notched a tie for 18th after shooting a 77 in the final round to finish with a three-round score of 224.
Sophomore Sandra Gal (Leichlingen, Germany) shot an even-par 72 in the final round to take her tourney total to 225, good for a tie in 21st. Freshmen Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky.) and Brittany Nelson (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) finished one stroke apart in the final standings, posting a 231 and 232, respectively, over the three rounds. Blackwelder claimed a tie in 38th place, while Nelson tied for 41st.
“We didn't get it done in the final round today,” UF head coach Jill Briles-Hinton said. “When you're trying to catch people it's crucial to shoot low. We finished one stroke out of fifth-place and if we had played like we're capable we could have finished at least that high.”
“There were some bright spots,” Briles-Hinton continued. “Sandra and Ornella both finished strong for us in the final round. It's going to be important for us to not let the negatives we experienced today get in the way of the tournaments we have coming up. I'm behind this team, now is the time we need to stay positive and keep our focus heading into NCAA play.”
No. 5 Auburn secured the conference tournament victory with a third round score of 293 to finish with a collective 11-over, 875, which was one stroke ahead of No. 11 Tennessee (288-876). Individually, Auburn's Maria Martinez took home medalist honors to make it a clean sweep for the Tigers after carding a 2-under 70 in the final round.
The Orange and Blue return to action when it travels to Columbus, Ohio for the Lady Buckeye, with first round action slated to begin Saturday, April 22.
Florida Round Three Results
| Name | Place | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total | Rel. to Par |
| Ornella Jouven | T12 | 76 | 73 | 73 | 222 | +6 |
| Whitney Myers | T18 | 77 | 70 | 77 | 224 | +8 |
| Sandra Gal | T21 | 79 | 74 | 72 | 225 | +9 |
| Mallory Blackwelder | T38 | 78 | 76 | 77 | 231 | +15 |
| Brittany Nelson | T41 | 77 | 74 | 81 | 232 | +16 |
Final Team Standings
| Team | Place | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total | Rel. to Par |
| Auburn | 1 | 300 | 282 | 293 | 875 | +5 |
| Tennessee | 2 | 301 | 287 | 288 | 876 | +12 |
| Georgia | 3 | 301 | 285 | 299 | 885 | +21 |
| Vanderbilt | 4 | 303 | 287 | 297 | 887 | +23 |
| Arkansas | 5 | 304 | 297 | 296 | 897 | +33 |
| Florida | 6 | 308 | 291 | 299 | 898 | +34 |
| LSU | 7 | 302 | 300 | 298 | 900 | +36 |
| South Carolina | 8 | 310 | 293 | 300 | 903 | +39 |
| Alabama | 9 | 307 | 296 | 305 | 908 | +44 |
| Miss. St. | 10 | 321 | 301 | 302 | 924 | +60 |
| Kentucky | 11 | 315 | 310 | 311 | 936 | +72 |
| Ole Miss | 12 | 318 | 315 | 307 | 940 | +76 |
-UF-
