After failing to defend its title at the Inverness Intercollegiate, the Florida women’s golf team was on the hunt for its first win of the season. The No. 14 Gators achieved not only a team victory but also an individual win over the weekend in Hutchinson, Kansas.
Florida competed in the two-day University of Oklahoma Intercollegiate tournament, which consisted of three 18-hole rounds and a field of 14 teams.
The competition included Abilene Christian, Baylor, Eastern Michigan, Iowa, Kansas State, Nebraska, North Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts, Sam Houston, Tulsa and Wichita State.
Freshman Megan Propeck was the leading women in the final round after finishing Monday tied for 11th place. It was Propeck’s first collegiate tournament win and third competition.
In the first round, she recorded a birdie on the highest-scoring hole of the tournament, which put her in an optimal position to rise in the rankings. Her round two score of 3-under tied for the lowest score of the tournament across all teams.
Her closest Gator was fellow freshman Katelyn Huber. Despite competing as an individual, Huber received support and encouragement from her teammates and coaches as she achieved her second top-five finish of the season. Eight players, including Huber, tied for fourth place at the tournament with a score of 4-over
One stroke behind her in 12th place was junior Paula Francisco. With a round one score of 3-over, Francisco fell behind her teammates. After a 2-over in round two, she settled into 12th place. Despite the place, she was only two strokes behind second place due to the number of ties making up the top of the leaderboard.
Her first win has eluded her over her past three seasons at Florida, but Francisco is focusing on her mentality on the course over her results.
“That was a huge goal that we had, starting to focus more on the process than on the results,” Francisco said. “And that helped me a lot throughout the year.”
Along with Francisco, sophomore Siuue Wu was one of the seven players to finish in 12th place. In round one, Wu tied for third place after carding a score of 1-over. She also led the team in pars in the first 18 holes.
She ended the tournament at 4-over par after a difficult double bogey on hole nine and three other birdies throughout the round.
Florida’s final competitors were sophomores Addison Klonowski and Elaine Widjaja. Klonowski tied Wu in the opening round with a 71. After a triple bogey on hole 14, she ended tied for 38th place.
Widjaja finished the first round tied with Francisco at 3-over. She duplicated her performance, ending tied for 19th place.
The Gators’ next tournament will begin Oct. 20. The three-day tournament in West Point, Mississippi, will be hosted by the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Contact Brooke Bastedo at bbastedo@alligator.org. Follow her on X @BrookeBastedo.
Brooke is entering her third semester as The Alligator's golf reporter. She is a sophomore sports journalism student with a passion for international sports. She enjoys trying as many new hobbies as possible, spending time with friends and watching Detroit sports (Go Lions!).
