Florida Gators
Liz Murphey Collegiate
Women's Golf In Third After First Round of Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic
Friday, March 23, 2007 | Women's Golf
ATHENS, Ga. --- The eighth-ranked University of Florida women's golf team stands in third place following the opening round of the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic hosted by the University of Georgia at University Golf Course. The Lady Gators fired a 300 on the par-71, 6,260 yard course led by junior Sandra Gal (Leichlingen, Germany), who stands tied for 11th place after shooting a three-over 74.
“We held our own today,” Lady Gators head coach Jill Briles-Hinton said. “This is a very challenging golf course and our team was challenged early, but they were able to hang on and make some birdies coming in to finish the round with a respectable score. They all know they left a lot out there, but they also feel good about the next coupe of rounds.”
Gal opened her round even through the first seven holes before bogeying the final two holes of the front nine to go two-over par. After making the turn, she sank birdies on the par-4, 356-yard 11th and the par-3, 159-yard 13th to return to even. Gal recorded a double bogey on the 16th and a bogey on the 17th before ending her round with a par on the par-5, 488-yard final hole.
Sophomore Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky.) and redshirt sophomore Ornella Jouven (La Ciotat, France) both carded a four-over 75 to end day one of the tournament tied for 21st. Jouven made the turn at five-over, but shot a one-under 35 on the back nine including birdies on the par-3, 159-yard 13th and the par-4, 357-yard 17th.
Junior Tiffany Chudy (Miramar, Fla.) stands tied for 33rd after 18-holes of golf after posting a round of 76 while junior Whitney Myers (East Berlin, Pa.) stands tied for 40th after a round of 77.
The No. 4 ranked Auburn Tigers lead the tournament after posting a first-round score of 293, and No. 21 Michigan State is currently in second after an opening round of 297. Louisiana State's Melissa Eaton leads the individual standings after a one-under round of 70.
Play continues on Saturday with second round action set to tee-off at 9 a.m. Live scoring will be available at www.Golfstat.com and through www.GatorZone.com.
Leaderboard After 18 Holes
| Place | Team | To Par | Round 1 |
| 1 | Auburn | +9 | 293 |
| 2 | Michigan State | +13 | 297 |
| 3 | FLORIDA | +16 | 300 |
| 4 | Louisiana State | +17 | 301 |
| T5 | South Carolina | +18 | 302 |
| T5 | Alabama | +18 | 302 |
| T7 | Georgia | +19 | 303 |
| T7 | Virginia | +19 | 303 |
| T9 | Arkansas | +20 | 304 |
| T9 | Purdue | +20 | 304 |
| 11 | Wake Forest | +23 | 307 |
| T12 | Florida State | +28 | 312 |
| T12 | Furman | +28 | 312 |
| T14 | Kent State | +30 | 314 |
| T14 | Mississippi State | +30 | 314 |
| T14 | Augusta State | +30 | 314 |
| 17 | Central Florida | +35 | 319 |
| 18 | Georgia State | +47 | 331 |
Florida Individual Scores
| Place | Individual | To Par | Round 1 |
| T11 | Sandra Gal | +3 | 74 |
| T21 | Mallory Blackwelder | +4 | 75 |
| T21 | Ornella Jouven | +4 | 75 |
| T33 | Tiffany Chudy | +5 | 76 |
| T40 | Whitney Myers | +6 | 77 |
