The Gators hope to repeat last season’s accomplishment when they travel to Indiana Thursday.
Florida won the Southeast Regional in 2009 and hope to repeat this year by winning the Central Regional.
To do it again, No. 6 UF will have to conquer The Warren Golf Course in Notre Dame, Ind., Thursday.
“Last year we played pretty well (in regionals), and I think it’s going to happen again,” UF coach Buddy Alexander said.
In the four years Florida has won a national title, they have never won a regional in that same year. But the team isn’t focused on the past.
“I don’t think it matters if we win here, it doesn’t mean we are not going to win, we haven’t won that many Regionals before,” said Alexander. “As long as we come in and do our jobs, we’ll be fine.”
The Gators received the No. 2 seed in the Regional. Third-ranked Stanford was given the top seed and are one of nine teams that are ranked in the top 50. Florida is a combined 8-5 against the ranked teams in the field.
“We just have to take care of business,” Alexander said. “We hope our game is in pretty good form, and if we make smart decisions, we should win.”
Florida ended the season well, with two first-place finishes and one second-place finish and looks strong going into Regionals. All-SEC first-team senior Tyson Alexander has been instrumental in many of UF’s successes this year.
Tyson recently won the first individual title of his career in the second-to-last event of the season, as he shot a career low (63) in the first round of the BancorpSouth Intercollegiate, finishing the tournament at 11-under par, one stroke off of his best tournament score.
Last year at Regionals, Tyson had a solid finish shooting four-over par and finished tied for seventh place.
“As a whole we just need to keep our composure,” Alexander said. “If we stay focused and continue to make smart decisions, I think we will fare pretty well in Regionals.”
