Florida Gators
UCF Challenge
W. Golf Fires Second-Lowest Team Score of Season to Finish Fifth at UCF Challenge
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 | Women's Golf
The University of Florida women's golf team shot its second-lowest score of the 2006-07 season during Tuesday's final round of the inaugural UCF Challenge to finish the 54-hole, two-day competition in fifth place. The Lady Gators fired a 293 on the par-72, 6,214-yard North/South Courses at the Villas of Grand Cypress to bring their three-round total to 907 (313-301-293, +43).
“Today's performance was a nice boost – it's always good to finish a tournament on a positive note, and to take that feeling with you into your next tournament,” Lady Gator head coach Jill Briles-Hinton said. “After yesterday's disappointing first round, the girls evaluated what happened and put that into play. Our second and third-round team scores really reflect that, and I'm proud of the confidence that they displayed.”
Junior Sandra Gal (Leichlingen, Germany) led the Lady Gators final-round rally by matching her career-best score of 69, which she also fired during the final round of the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge on February 14. Gal began her round on the par-5, 518-yard sixth hole with a birdie, and followed two holes later with a second birdie to make the turn at two-under. She played even throughout the back nine before picking up her final one-under performance on the par-4, 339-yard opening hole. Her three-round, eight-over score of 224 (79-76-69) tied her for 12th place, which was 20 places better than her standing on the leaderboard entering Tuesday's finale.
The tournament marks the second-straight where Gal has made a dramatic comeback on the final day of competition, having last improved from 19th place after the first round of the Regional Challenge to a second-place finish following the final round.
“Sandra had a fantastic performance. Simply stated, she put on a great display of her golf game. We're all very proud of her round, and I know she's feeling pretty good about her game right now, too,” Briles-Hinton added.
Sophomore Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky.) carded a 74, her best score of the three-round tourney, to finish tied for 24th with a 227 (76-77-74). Junior Whitney Myers (East Berlin, Pa.) climbed one spot on the final leaderboard to finish tied for 29th with a 229 (81-73-75), and junior Tiffany Chudy (Miramar, Fla.) and redshirt sophomore Ornella Jouven (La Ciotat, France) tied for 31st with scores of 230. Myers, Chudy and Jouven each recorded final-round scores of 75.
Junior Eleanor Tucker (Wilson, N.C.) was the fourth Lady Gator to card a score of 75 on the final day, and she finished with a total of 235 (83-77-75) to finish tied for 41st while competing as an individual.
No. 3 Duke claimed a 26-stroke victory as it continued its steady performance by carding its third-straight top-team score of the tournament. The Blue Devils finished the Challenge with a four-under score of 860 (289-284-287). Duke sophomore Amanda Blumenherst led the way for the two-time defending national champions as she earned medalist honors with a three-round total of 205 (-11).
Blumenherst was 12 shots clear of her competition in the individual race as Vanderbilt's Jacqui Concolino took runner-up honors with a total of 217 (+1). Alina Lee of Georgia was third at 218 (+2) and she was followed by Jennie Lee of Duke in fourth at 219 (+3). There was a two-tie for fifth between Georgia's Taylor Leon and Duke's Alison Whitaker.
With her medalist honors, Blumenherst also received a sponsor's exemption to the LPGA's Sybase Classic, which will be played May 17-20 at the Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, N.J. This is the first time in history that an LPGA tour event has offered a sponsor's exemption to the winner of a collegiate event.
No. 2 Georgia took second place after the Bulldogs totaled a 291 (+3) on the final day to finish at 886 (305-290-291). No. 3 Pepperdine (296-298-304) and No. 6 Vanderbilt (302-298-298) tied for third with scores of 898 (+34).
The Lady Gators will return to action this weekend as they host the 35th Annual SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational at the UF Golf Course.
Final Team Standings
| 1 | Duke | 289 | 284 | 287 | 860 (-4) |
| 2 | Georgia | 305 | 290 | 291 | 886 (+22) |
| T3 | Pepperdine | 296 | 298 | 304 | 898 (+34) |
| T3 | Vanderbilt | 302 | 298 | 298 | 898 (+34) |
| 5 | FLORIDA | 313 | 301 | 293 | 907 (+43) |
| 6 | Purdue | 313 | 304 | 303 | 920 (+56) |
| 7 | LSU | 312 | 300 | 309 | 921 (+57) |
| T8 | New Mexico | 307 | 310 | 305 | 922 (+58) |
| T8 | Alabama | 321 | 301 | 300 | 922 (+58) |
| 10 | Arkansas | 312 | 312 | 304 | 928 (+64) |
| 11 | Ohio State | 322 | 304 | 311 | 937 (+73) |
| 12 | UCF | 324 | 308 | 320 | 952 (+88) |
| 13 | SMU | 323 | 322 | 309 | 954 (+90) |
Top-Five Individuals
| 1 | Amanda Blumenherst, Duke | 70 | 5 | 70 | 205 (-11) |
| 2 | Jacqui Concolino, Vanderbilt | 72 | 75 | 70 | 217 (+1) |
| 3 | Alina Lee, Georgia | 73 | 72 | 73 | 218 (+2) |
| 4 | Jennie Lee, Duke | 73 | 72 | 74 | 219 (+3) |
| T5 | Taylor Leon, Georgia | 71 | 77 | 72 | 220 (+4) |
| T5 | Alison Whitaker, Duke | 71 | 74 | 75 | 220 (+4) |
Florida Finishes
| T12 | Sandra Gal | 79 | 76 | 69 | 224 (+8) |
| T24 | Mallory Blackwelder | 76 | 77 | 74 | 227 (+11) |
| T29 | Whitney Myers | 81 | 73 | 75 | 229 (+13) |
| T31 | Tiffany Chudy | 78 | 77 | 75 | 230 (+14) |
| T31 | Ornella Jouven | 80 | 75 | 75 | 230 (+14) |
| *T41 | Eleanor Tucker | 83 | 77 | 75 | 235 (+19) |
* - competed as an individual
-UF-
