Through nine holes, it looked like UF might stage an upset in match play of the SEC Tournament, going up 3-2 against Arkansas on Saturday. Down the stretch, however, the Gators couldn’t pull it off.
Redshirt freshman Elin Esborn beat her opponent, Alana Uriell, on the final hole to give UF one point.
Sophomore Marta Perez then finished off her competitor, Dylan Kim, on the 17th hole.
After those two though, the Gators couldn’t quite finish off the Razorbacks. Sophomore transfer Sierra Brooks lost to Cara Gorlei, freshman Addie Baggarly was taken down by Kaylee Benton and senior Taylor Tomlinson was beaten by stroke-play runner-up Mari Fassi.
At hole 15, all hope appeared to be lost for the Gators as all five of their competitors trailed their opponent. Perez and Esborn were able to come back and win their respective matches.
“They are gritty players,” coach Emily Glaser said about Perez and Esborn in a release. “That is a freshman and sophomore who I would argue are going to be two of the best players in the country moving forward in their careers at Florida.”
Despite the loss, Glaser was proud of her team’s fight and is looking forward to the NCAA Regional Tournament in May.
“(We) gave the No. 2 team in the country all they could handle this week,” Glaser said. “We came up just short.”
Follow Chris O'Brien on Twitter @THEChrisOB and contact him at cobrien@alligator.org.
