Florida Gators
NCAA Championships
W. Golf Team Off To Strong Start At NCAA Championship
Wednesday, May 24, 2006 | Women's Golf
The University of Florida Women's Golf team got off to a strong start at the 2006 NCAA Championship on Tuesday afternoon. The Gators carded a team score of 293 (+5) during the opening round to finish the day in third place.
Sophomore Tiffany Chudy (Miramar, Fla.) saved her best performance of the season for collegiate golf's biggest event of the year. Chudy matched her career-best score of 69 (-3) on the newly redesigned Scarlet Course at the Ohio State Golf Club. Her performance not only was her first under-par round of the season, but put her one-stroke behind Pepperdine's Eileen Vargas for the overall lead.
Highlighting Chudy's round was a hole-in-one on the eighth hole that helped the Gators keep pace with the leaders. Chudy hit a six-iron from 159 yards away, over a front bunker and watched the ball roll into the hole.
“She did well,” Florida head coach Jill Briles-Hinton said. “Anytime you can get a hole-in-one, it helps your team. What she has to do now is learn to calm down and channel her energy for the remainder of the tournament”
Chudy was not the only Gator that turned in a strong performance during the opening round. Redshirt freshman Ornella Jouven (La Ciotat, France) and sophomore Sandra Gal (Leichlingen, Germany) both carded 74 (+2) to finish the day tied for 21st. Jouven made a key birdie late in her round to provide momentum heading into the second round.
Playing in her first NCAA Championship, freshman Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky) carded a 76 (+4), while sophomore Whitney Myers (East Berlin, Pa.) rounded out the lineup with an 82 (+10).
“We have to stay positive and take it one shot at a time,” Briles-Hinton said. “There were two holes we were seven-over on. On both holes, we just didn't play smart. You can't get greedy on this course. You have to hit certain spots on the greens and stay focused the whole round. Our team has to do this 100 percent of the time and that's what we're going to stress on the rest of this week.”
Florida will play tomorrow's second round in the morning paired with Florida State and Stanford. Live scoring updates can be found at www.golfstat.com.
Team Results
| Place | School | Score | Par | |||
| 1 | 291 | +3 | ||||
| 2 | 292 | +4 | ||||
| 3 | 293 | +5 | ||||
| 4 | 296 | +8 | ||||
| T5 | 297 | +9 | ||||
| T5 | 297 | +9 | ||||
| 7 | 298 | +10 | ||||
| 8 | 299 | +11 | ||||
| T9 | 301 | +13 | ||||
| T9 | 301 | +13 | ||||
| T9 | 301 | +13 | ||||
| T9 | 301 | +13 | ||||
| 13 | 302 | +14 | ||||
| 14 | 303 | +15 | ||||
| T15 | 305 | +17 | ||||
| T15 | 305 | +17 | ||||
| T15 | 305 | +17 | ||||
| 18 | 306 | +18 | ||||
| T19 | 307 | +19 | ||||
| T19 | 307 | +19 | ||||
| T21 | 311 | +23 | ||||
| T21 | 311 | +23 | ||||
| 23 | 312 | +24 | ||||
| 24 | 313 | +25 | ||||
Florida Results
| Place | Name | Score | Par |
| 2 | Tiffany Chudy | 69 | -3 |
| T21 | Ornella Jouven | 74 | +2 |
| T21 | Sandra Gal | 74 | +2 |
| T46 | Mallory Blackwelder | 76 | +4 |
| T116 | Whitney Myers | 82 | +10 |
