It was a tale of two nines.
The UF women’s golf team — led by sophomore Mia Piccio’s second consecutive day with four birdies — shot three under par on the back nine at Yeaman’s Hall Golf Club on Monday.
Unfortunately for the No. 19 Gators, they were nine over on the front to finish the second round of the Cougar Classic in sixth place with a team score of 10 over par.
Piccio birdied three of her last four holes to post an even-par round of 72 and remain two under for the tournament. Also, junior Evan Jensen birdied two of her last four to post back-to-back rounds of 73.
“I’m very proud of the way they finished,” coach Jan Dowling said. “That’s going to take momentum into tomorrow for them and for the rest of the team.”
Piccio and Jensen could have gone even lower.
Both golfers had their rounds tarnished by a double bogey. Piccio’s came on the par-three sixth, a hole that cost the Gators five strokes Monday.
“It’s a tough hole, you have to kind of hit it in the exact spot,” Dowling said.
Sophomore Isabelle Lendl left her initial bunker shot in the sand on the way to a double bogey.
“It kind of killed the momentum midway through the round,” she said. “It’s a very playable golf course, so to make double really sets you back in regards to the rest of the field.”
Senior Jessica Yadloczky continued her consistent play, sandwiching two birdies between four bogeys for a two-over round of 74, one better than Sunday’s 75.
A shaky shot right out of the gate led to a bogey on the first hole for junior Andrea Watts. After a double bogey on the fourth, Watts was quickly at three over par. But she remained steady and parred every remaining hole for a 75.
“She had a lot of birdie putts that just didn’t fall,” Dowling said. “I think that was the theme of the day for our team. We’re hoping that it happens tomorrow.”
Asked about her team’s chances of contending for the tournament title, coach Dowling was optimistic.
“There’s birdies out there for sure,” she said. “With this team, they all have the potential to be winning tournaments individually. If they all get hot at the same time, you never know.”
