The second round of the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate in South Carolina on Monday gave the UF women's golf team a chance at instant redemption after a difficult first round Sunday.
The team took advantage of the opportunity.
UF moved up to fifth place after a team score of 15 over par for the second round, six shots better than its first-round score.
Over the first two rounds, the team has a combined score of 36 over par. UF will head into Tuesday's final round within striking distance, just seven shots behind first place.
"All around we needed to learn from yesterday and try harder today," freshman Andrea Watts said. "I think it worked out pretty well."
Watts was one of the Gators who made an improvement from Sunday's first round. She finished the second round at 1 over par, much better than her score of 5 over par Sunday.
"I putted better today, and I was a little more patient," she said. "I didn't really try to force the good shot."
The one golfer who has been a consistent contributor for the Gators has been Jessica Yadloczky. She continued her outstanding spring season with a score of 1 over par Monday. Her individual score of 2 over par for the tournament is tied for first.
The other Gator who made up for her subpar first round performance was Evan Jensen. She shot 4 over par on Monday, four shots lower than her first-round score.
Because of the unusually large, 43-team field in the tournament, the teams are playing on two equally difficult golf courses within the same golf club. On Tuesday, UF will play on Cougar Point, the same course they struggled on in the first round.
This will give the team another opportunity at redemption.
"Tomorrow, since we are playing the course that we have already played, I think we can learn from the mistakes that we made on Sunday," Watts said. "Mentally we are all ready to move forward, take charge and play better tomorrow."
