After a rough start to start the weekend, the UF women's golf team fired back Sunday at the Ann Rhoads Intercollegiate.
And no one was hotter than freshman Jessica Yadloczky.
Yadloczky tied the UF individual record with a 5-under 67 - Sunday?s tournament low - and led the Gators to a tournament-low 5-over 289 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The excellent play helped UF spring from eighth place entering the day to sole possession of third place, ten shots back from first-place Arkansas but only two shots shy of second-place Auburn.
BI?m really proud of the team today,C UF coach Jill Briles-Hinton said. BWe just had a fantastic round.C
But the Gators could have been clutching their second straight tournament title if their early-round performance hadn?t left them in a hole.
UF?s uninspired 307 on Friday, its first round over 300 this season, left it looking up at more than half the leaderboard. The Gators sat only twelve shots from the lead, though, as the NorthRiver Yacht Club golf course made red numbers a valuable commodity, yielding only three under-par rounds.
Saturday?s 300 shaved seven strokes from the day before, thanks largely to redshirt sophomore Ornella Jouven?s 74, a seven-shot improvement, and senior Tiffany Chudy?s 75, a six-shot gain.
BThis is a course that you need to see at least once or twice,C Briles-Hinton said. BAnd it?s a very challenging golf course, because you have to hit the ball in the right spot or you?ll run into trouble.
BThere are undulating greens all over.C
Sunday, her Gators solved the course and made their charge.
Yadloczky blitzed the first four holes for three birdies and never strayed from a precision ball-striking strategy en route to her record round.
BI kept learning more and more where I needed to put the ball and figuring out the hilly terrain and realized that it takes a couple of days to learn a course,C Yadloczky said. BI just went out thinking fairways and greens, because I hadn?t been putting really well during the week. So I just focused on eliminating three-putts and I felt like I couldn?t miss anything inside of 20 feet.C
The 67 she had to show for it is a far cry from the 78 and 76 she carded in the first two rounds.
Senior Sandra Gal joined Yadloczky at 8-over for the tournament by contributing a steady, even-par 71 on Sunday. The two-time All-American, who shot dual 75s in the first two rounds, tied for seventh.
Whitney Myers - who also shares UF?s individual record, having fired a 67 at the Wildcat Invitational earlier this fall - notched a 74 on Sunday, tying for 13th and earning her third straight top-15 finish.
Chudy and Jouven regressed in the final round, but shot 77 and 79, respectively. The senior tied for 50th, and the redshirt sophomore claimed a share of 54th.
Redshirt sophomore Brittany Nelson finished a rough tournament with an 8-over 79. She tied for 80th and competed as an individual.
-STAFF REPORT
