Florida Gators
SunTrust Lady Gator
Lady Gators Capture Second-Consecutive SunTrust Title; Gal Ties School Record to Again Earn Medalist
Sunday, March 11, 2007 | Women's Golf
The University of Florida women's golf team captured its second-consecutive SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational Sunday afternoon as it fired a 291 to bring its 54-hole score to 876 (293-292-291, +36), marking the squad's lowest tournament total of the season and its first team victory of the year. The Lady Gators' three-round score stands as the sixth-best in the 35-year history of the annual tournament, and their victory marks Florida's 15th SunTrust team title.
“Competing on our home course and finishing anything less than in first place would have been a disappointment,” Florida head coach Jill Briles-Hinton said. “Aside from the SEC Championship and NCAA competitions in the post-season, this is probably the most stressful tournament on our schedule each year. You always have pressure to defend your home course, and everyone is aware of that coming into this tournament each year. Our team conquered that pressure, and put together three solid rounds for us to emerge victorious.”
Junior Sandra Gal (Leichlingen, Germany) etched her name into Florida's record book over the course of the two-day affair, as her three-round total of 210 (69-70-71, E) tied the school record for low individual tournament total. Cheryl Morley last recorded a 210 at the 1986 Pat Bradley Championships, and Page Dunlap was the only other Lady Gator to shoot a 210, having done so at the 1985 Ryder Championships.
Aside from tying the school record, Gal's 210 stands as the second-best individual tournament score in the history of the tournament. Gal's medalist-winning performance also makes her the only back-to-back SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational champion.
Junior co-captain Tiffany Chudy (Miramar, Fla.) also recorded her name in the Florida annals Sunday afternoon, as she shot a career-best final-round score of 68. The single-round total ties Chudy with 10 former Lady Gators who recorded rounds of 68, as well as current teammate Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky.), who shot the same score in the opening round of the 2005 Lady Wildcat Invitational.
Chudy began her third and final round on the third hole of the par-70, 5,927-yard UF Golf Course with her first of five birdies before playing par on the following four holes. A double-bogey on the par-3, 140-yard eighth hole put her at one-over, but she rebounded with another birdie on the 12th hole. She went back to one-over on the next hole, but immediately fell back to even with a birdie on No. 14. Back-to-back birdies on Nos. 18 and 1 guided her to the personal-best round, which brought her tournament score to an eight-over 218 (75-75-68), good for a season-best fifth-place finish.
Junior Whitney Myers (East Berlin, Pa.) remained consistent on the second day and carded a 74 to finish tied for 11th with a 222 (73-75-74). Redshirt sophomore Ornella Jouven (La Ciotat, France) tied for 24th with a 226 (76-72-78), and sophomore Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky.) recorded a final-round 79 to bring her three-round total to 232 (76-77-79), which tied her for 40th.
Junior Eleanor Tucker (Wilson, N.C.) notched a career-best finish while competing as an individual, as her score of 222 (75-71-76) tied her for 11th.
The Lady Gators will now remain idle for nearly two weeks before traveling to Athens, Ga., for the three-day Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic to be held March 23-25.
Florida Finishes
| 1 | Sandra Gal | 69 | 70 | 71 | 210 (E) |
| 5 | Tiffany Chudy | 75 | 75 | 68 | 218 (+8) |
| T11 | Whitney Myers | 73 | 75 | 74 | 222 (+12) |
| T24 | Ornella Jouven | 76 | 72 | 78 | 226 (+16) |
| T40 | Mallory Blackwelder | 76 | 77 | 79 | 232 (+22) |
| *T11 | Eleanor Tucker | 75 | 71 | 76 | 222 (+12) |
Final Team Leaderboard
| 1 | FLORIDA | 293 | 292 | 291 | 876 (+36) |
| 2 | TCU | 297 | 291 | 302 | 890 (+50) |
| 3 | Michigan State | 301 | 288 | 303 | 892 (+52) |
| 4 | Tennessee | 300 | 298 | 301 | 899 (+59) |
| 5 | USF | 304 | 297 | 300 | 901 (+61) |
| 6 | Louisville | 300 | 294 | 308 | 902 (+62) |
| 7 | North Carolina | 300 | 296 | 307 | 903 (+63) |
| 8 | Florida State | 305 | 305 | 297 | 907 (+67) |
| 9 | Kent State | 304 | 307 | 298 | 909 (+69) |
| 10 | UCF | 309 | 300 | 303 | 912 (+72) |
| 11 | FIU | 307 | 311 | 304 | 922 (+82) |
| 12 | Michigan | 309 | 304 | 325 | 938 (+98) |
| 13 | Mississippi State | 308 | 320 | 319 | 947 (+107) |
| 14 | Georgia State | 317 | 307 | 325 | 949 (+109) |
| 15 | Ole Miss | 323 | 302 | 329 | 954 (+114) |
| 16 | UNC-Greensboro | 320 | 313 | 324 | 957 (+117) |
Final Top-10 Individual Standings
| 1 | SANDRA GAL | FLORIDA | 69 | 70 | 71 | 210 (E) |
| 2 | Catherine Matranga | TCU | 71 | 70 | 74 | 215 (+5) |
| 3 | Caroline Westrup | Florida State | 72 | 77 | 67 | 216 (+6) |
| 4 | Christina Jones | USF | 73 | 74 | 70 | 217 (+7) |
| 5 | TIFFANY CHUDY | FLORIDA | 75 | 75 | 68 | 218 (+8) |
| T6 | Kate Thomas | North Carolina | 71 | 74 | 75 | 220 (+10) |
| T6 | Adrienne White | Louisville | 71 | 74 | 75 | 220 (+10) |
| T8 | Camille Blackerby | TCU | 71 | 74 | 76 | 221 (+11) |
| T8 | Kira Meixner | Kent State | 78 | 70 | 73 | 221 (+11) |
| T8 | Marci Turner | Tennessee | 72 | 72 | 77 | 221 (+11) |
-UF-
