It wasn't exactly the debut they'd hoped for, but to the Gators, it was at least a promising start.
The No. 13 UF women?s golf team placed fifth at the highly competitive Mason Rudolph Women?s Championship, firing a four-over 292 on Sunday to finish ahead of No. 3 USC, No. 5 Auburn and three other top-10 schools.
BThis was a nice first step to getting where we want to be as a team,C UF coach Jill Briles-Hinton said.
BWe?ll probably move up a little in the rankings, but not too much.C
No. 4 UCLA took first, scoring a stellar 13 under par - 14 shots clear of second-place Arizona State and 25 ahead of the Gators.
Sandra Gal led UF for the weekend, posting an even-par 72 on Sunday to stay at one-over for the tournament. That score was good for a tie for 14th, and one shot shy of the senior?s 16th career top-10 finish.
On Friday, Gal collected four birdies and only one bogey to open with a three-under 69. She entered Saturday just four shots back of the individual lead, while UF was only five shots back of the front-running Bruins.
But Gal notched a four-over 76 on Saturday, and the course and inclement weather conspired to frustrate UF, which sputtered to an 11-over 299 in the second round.
The Gators? lowest scores of the weekend belonged to true freshman Jessica Yadloczky, who carded a two-under 70 on Sunday, bringing her to two-over for the Championship and an 18th-place tie.
BI kept putting better each day and went (from) 35 to 29 and to 25 putts,C Yadloczky said.
Sunday marked the second straight outing that Yadloczky headed the UF effort, as her 73 on Saturday was the bright spot on a day when scores soared.
BI?m still not hitting my irons as well as I would like to, but I?m putting really well and getting up and down from great places,C Yadloczky said.
Senior Tiffany Chudy fired her second consecutive 74 to finish at seven-over, tied for 36th. Fellow seniors Whitney Myers and Eleanor Tucker shot a pair of 76s to finish tied for 31st and 61st, respectively.
