For much of the Sea Best Intercollegiate tournament, the Gators were in control. Sitting at the front of the pack, it looked like No. 8 Florida would cruise to its second-straight title at the event.
However, Duke made a late push.
It came down to the wire, with the Gators and the Blue Devils miles ahead of their competitors. However, despite Duke shooting -29 in the final two rounds, the Gators held on, shooting their second-lowest tournament score in program history at 836 (-28).
Ultimately, the Gators won their second-straight Sea Best Intercollegiate on Tuesday, and they have now won three straight tournaments dating back to the fall. The No. 16 Blue Devils finished just one stroke back, shooting 837 (-27).
The lineup consisted of Paula Francisco, Megan Propeck, Katelyn Huber, Elaine Widjaja and Siuue Wu.
Ines Archer, Addison Klonowski and Sophie Stevens participated in individual play.
UF got off to a hot start, going -11 in Round 1, with all five starters under par. Huber had six birdies and was tied for first in the tournament with Wu and Francisco, sporting a -3.
Francisco led the way for Florida. She finished second in the entire tournament with a 202 (-14). The sophomore scored five straight birdies during Round 2 to widen the cushion for the Gators. She had a career low 6-under-par during that same round.
Wu was close behind Francisco and tied for third place. The sophomore went 207 (-9) with an eagle in Round 2 and five birdies in Round 3.
After having a four-bogey Round 2, Propeck rebounded with three birdies and no bogeys in the final round. The graduate student ended the tournament with 212 (-4), which was good for a fifth-place tie.
Archer was the top UF performer in individual play, going 218 (+2). The junior had an impressive 4-under-par Round 2 and was also bogey-free.
The Gators travel to California for the Therese Hession Regional Challenge on Sunday, time still to be determined. The tournament will be held at the Palos Verdes Golf Club and hosted by Ohio State.
Contact Colby Kistner at ckistner@alligator.org. Follow him on X @colbykistner22.
Colby is a junior sports journalism student in his first semester with the Alligator covering golf. He has experience covering Buchholz and Santa Fe High School sports. He also worked in UF's innovation center where he wrote and created radio content for WRUF. He is an avid hockey fan with his teams being the Seattle Kraken and Florida Panthers. He is looking to minor in business administration.
