Lady Gators Slip One Spot, Still Play Strong in Round Two of Regional Challenge

Tuesday, February 14

Palos Verdes, CA

12:00 AM

Florida Gators

Regional Challenge

Lady Gators Slip One Spot, Still Play Strong in Round Two of Regional Challenge

Wednesday, February 15, 2006 | Women's Golf

The No. 25 Florida women's golf team slipped one spot to a tie for eighth place following round two of the Northrup Grumman Regional Challenge at the Palos Verdes Estates Golf Club in Palos Verdes, Calif. Sophomore Sandra Gal (Leichlingen, Germany) moved up nine spots to a tie for 16^th on day two.

Gal posted a 76 in the second round to follow up her 76 from round one to total 152 so far for the tourney. Sophomore Whitney Myers (East Berlin, Pa.) shares 16^th with Gal after firing a 78 on the day (74-78=152). Freshman Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky.) improved her first round score by one stroke with a 76 in round two to own a 153 for the tournament and own a tie for 26^th place.

Sophomore Tiffany Chudy (Miramar) claimed a tie for 54^th following round two after shooting an 81 (78-81=159), while senior Tarah McNaughton (Bradenton) rounds out the Gator five in 73^rd (83-89=172). Redshirt freshman Ornella Jouven (La Ciotat, France), who is competing as an individual, notched a 73 on the day to sit in a tie for 26^th place and own a 153 total for the tourney (80-73=153).

Lady Gator head coach Jill Briles-Hinton felt the Lady Gators slipped slightly from their strong play in the first round when weather conditions worsened during round two, but remains confident the team can improve their standing during the final day of play.

“Conditions were a little harder today because the wind picked up, and this is also a just a tough course to play,” said Briles-Hinton. “I also had the players working on a few things throughout the round and I think if they get those things together tomorrow, we'll shoot better.”

“Tiffany is trying to become less mechanical with her swing, which is changing it a bit and she shot better today than she scored,” Briles-Hinton continued. “Mallory Blackwelder also had a better round than her score indicates. Tomorrow we just need to go out, be patient and focus on consistency by taking the round one shot at a time.”

In the team standings Southern California took over the lead from Arizona State which moved to second. Oklahoma State sits in third, California claimed fourth and Wake Forest posted a fifth-place finish following round two. UCLA and Arkansas occupy the sixth and seventh spots, while Ohio State, Stanford and Florida are tied for eighth. 2005 Challenge champion Pepperdine sits in an 11^th-place tie with Arizona, while Washington and New Mexico round out the field in 13^th and 14^th.

Round three action at the Palos Verdes Golf Club tees off at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15 with a shot-gun start. Full results will be available following the days play at www.gatorzone.com, while up-to-the minute scores via live-scoring can be accessed by visiting www.golfstat.com.

-UF-

Lady Gator Totals Following Round Two

Name	Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Total	Place
Gal	76	76	152	T16	+10
Myers	74	78	152	T16	+10
Blackwelder	77	76	153	T26	+11
Chudy	78	81	159	T54	+17
McNaughton	83	89	172	73	+30
Jouven (I)	80	73	153	T26	+11

Team	Rd. 1	Rd.2	Total
1 USC	296	295	591	+23
2 Arizona St.	293	299	592	+24
3 Oklahoma St.	304	294	598	+30
4 California	296	307	603	+35
5 Wake Forest	301	303	604	+36
6 UCLA	301	310	611	+43
7 Arkansas	309	305	614	+46
T8 Ohio St.	314	302	616	+48
T8 Stanford	305	311	616	+48
T8 Florida	305	311	616	+48
T11 Pepperdine	311	307	618	+50
T11 Arizona	312	306	618	+50
13 Washington	312	321	633	+66
14 New Mexico	323	329	652	+84