Women's Golf Tied for Fifth At NCAA Championships

Wednesday, May 21

West Lafayette, IN

12:00 AM

Florida Gators

NCAA Championships

Women's Golf Tied for Fifth At NCAA Championships

Thursday, May 22, 2003 | Women's Golf

Two Lady Gators currently rank in the top 10 as the No. 8 University of Florida women's golf team is currently tied for fifth place with a score of 620 (313-307) after shooting a 19-over-par 307 in the second round at the 2003 NCAA Championships at the Kampen Course in West Lafayette, Ind. Southern California is in the lead for the second straight day with a 32-over-par 608.

"We are playing alright," Head Coach Jill Briles-Hinton said. "We left a lot out there and hopefully over the next couple of days, the we don't leave anything else out there."

Florida began today's round in fourth place after finishing Monday's first round with a score of 313. Freshman standout Aimee Cho (Orlando, Fla.) led the Lady Gators for the second straight round as she is two strokes behind Oklahoma's Annie Thurman (+3) for the lead. Cho is five-over-par 149 (75-74) for the tournament, including a two-over-par 74 performance today. She birdied holes six and seven to finish the front nine in first place at one-under-par. Cho bogeyed the 12th hole, but came right back to birdie the 13th hole. She then bogeyed three of the last five holes, but still finished at two-over-par for the day.

"I should have finished stronger but I'm still happy," Cho said after the second round. "I'm right in there, though. I still have two more rounds and our team is doing great."

Sophomore Andrea Vander Lende (Longwood, Fla.) was impressive for the second consecutive day as she moved up 10 spots and is tied for ninth place. Vander Lende also carded a two-over-par 74 for the day and is seven-over-par 151 for the tournament. She birdied four holes in the second round, including 11, 13 and 14 on the back nine.

"I just tried to stay calm. When it gets windy sometimes, people get a little frazzled," Vander Lende said. "You need to take a deep breath, stay focused and find your target. I'm pleased, but I still left a lot of shots out there. I didn't finish too well, but overall I'm pleased."

Senior Brittany Straza (Fort Myers, Fla.) is tied for 49th place, shooting a 14-over-par 158 (80-78) after two rounds. Straza birdied two holes, including a birdie on hole nine she chipped in from 35-yards away. Junior Amanda Dick (Clearwater, Fla.) is tied for 85th place as she is 20-over-par 164 (81-83) for the tournament. Dick struggled as she bogeyed the first 2-of-11 holes. Senior Jeanne Cho (Bradenton, Fla.) is tied for 94th place with a score of 165 (84-81) to tie for 92nd place.

Florida will tee off at 1:30 Eastern time on Thursday, May 22. The fourth and final day of competition will be held Friday, May 23. Live scoring of the tournament is available at www.golfstat.com.

2003 NCAA Women's Golf Championships

Team Scores

1. Southern California 305-303--608 (+32)

2. Oklahoma State 309-302--611 (+35)

3. Pepperdine 315-298--613 (+37)

4. Ohio State 309-307--616 (+40)

T5. Florida 313-307--620 (+44)

Auburn 317-303--620 (+44)

7. Purdue 316-309--625 (+49)

8. Texas 317-310--627 (+51)

9. UCLA 314-314--628 (+52)

10. Arizona State 320-311--631 (+55)