Florida Gators
NCAA Championships
Women's Golf Finishes Season in Ninth Place at NCAA Tournament
Saturday, May 24, 2008 | Women's Golf
The fourth-ranked Florida Gator women's golf team finished its season Friday in ninth place at the 2008 NCAA Championships, shooting a final-round 299 to finish with a 72- hole total of 1196 (301-299-297-299) (+44). The finish marked the fifth time with head coach Jill Briles-Hinton at the helm that the Lady Gators posted a top-10 finish at NCAAs.
“We had a fantastic year,” Briles-Hinton said. “The team is disappointed, but we had to play really hard just to get to where we finished today. They just couldn't get anything going on that first day and we played hard the rest of the time through horrible conditions.”
The afternoon field had to endure yet another delay, this one lasting over an hour, due to lightning in the area. After the rain had passed, clear skies remained for the rest of the afternoon.
It is fitting that the Lady Gators were led by senior Tiffany Chudy (Miramar, Fla.), competing in her last tournament for the Orange and Blue, carding a 2-under-over 70 on the day, placing her in 27th place on the leaderboard (298, +10). Not only was her score a personal best for the tournament, but it was the lowest score of all Lady Gators.
“I am so happy for Tiffany (Chudy) because that was just an amazing way for her to finish her senior year,” the SEC Coach of the Year said. “I am proud of Ornella (Jouven) as well. She was 7-over par and got it back down to 5-over.”
Redshirt junior Ornella Jouven (La Ciotat, France) had her worst score of the tournament with a final-round 77, but managed to tie for 34th with an impressive four-day total of 300 (+12).
Competing in her first NCAA Championships, freshman Jessica Yadloczky (Casselberry, Fla.) recorded an 80 (+8) bringing her 72-hole total to 303 (75-74-74-80) to conclude the tournament in a tie for 48th. Also competing in her first NCAA tourney, freshman Hannah Yun (Bradenton, Fla.) carded a 4-over 76 to land her in a tie for 65th place. She collected 12 pars and one birdie on her final hole. Redshirt freshman Nicole Schachner (Libertyville, Ill.) carded a 76 (+4) during the final round to tie her best performance of the week and finished tied for 109th.
Southern California won the team title with a score of 1168 (284-300-295-289). Six strokes behind the leader was UCLA, who finished in second place with a score of 1174 (298-295-298-292). Azahara Munoz of Arizona State (69–72–73- 73) won the individual title by birdying the playoff hole against Tiffany Joh of UCLA (74-69-72-72).
Florida was among seven teams from the SEC participating in the NCAA tournament. Arkansas (298-297-302-297) and Georgia (297-303-303-295) both finished in top-11, landing in eighth and 11th place, respectively. Alabama landed in a tie for 12th place (296-311-306-302), Auburn in a tie for 12th (289-315-309-302), LSU placed 15th (300-315-312-295) and South Carolina closed the tournament in 22nd (306-316-310-303).
The ninth place finish at the NCAA tournament caps an impressive and record-breaking season for the Lady Gators. Florida won five tournaments this season, including its eighth SEC Championship and first ever NCAA regional title. The five wins represent the most in a single season since the 1994-95 squad won five as well.
Team Scores after Round 4
| Place | School | Score |
| 1. | Southern California | 284 – 300 – 295 - 289 (+16) |
| 2. | UCLA | 289 – 295 – 298 – 292 (+22) |
| 3. | Duke | 299 – 300 – 300 - 281 (+28) |
| 4. | Purdue | 298 – 304 – 303 – 283 (+36) |
| 5. | Arizona State | 290 – 301 – 301 - 297 (+37) |
| T6. | Denver | 293 - 294 – 298 – 306 (+39) |
| T6. | Texas A&M | 295 - 299 – 299 – 298 (+39) |
| 8. | Arkansas | 298 – 297 - 302 - 297 (+42) |
| 9. | Florida | 301 – 299 – 297 - 299 (+44) |
| T10. | Georgia | 297 – 303 – 303 - 294 (+45) |
| T10. | Wake Forest | 293 – 306 – 306 - 292 (+45) |
| T12. | Auburn | 289 – 315 – 310 - 302 (+62) |
| T12. | Alabama | 296 - 311 – 306 – 302 (+63) |
| T12. | Virginia | 296 – 317 – 301 - 301 (+63) |
| 15. | LSU | 300 – 315 – 312 - 295 (+70) |
| 16. | UNLV | 314 – 297 – 304 - 308 (+71) |
| T17. | TCU | 298 – 310 – 312 - 307 (+75) |
| T17. | Texas | 298 – 319 – 309 - 301 (+75) |
| T19. | Oklahoma State | 294 - 312 – 307 – 315 (+76) |
| T19. | Tulsa | 297 – 317 – 310 - 304 (+76) |
| 21. | UC Davis | 298 – 319 – 310 - 302 (+82) |
| 22. | South Carolina | 306 – 316 – 310 – 303 (+83) |
| 23. | Arizona | 307 – 309 – 314 - 310 (+88) |
| 24. | Furman | 312 – 313 -315 - 313 (+101) |
Individual Top 10 Through Round 4
| Place | Player (School) | Score |
| 1.* | Azahara Munoz (Arizona State) | 69 – 72 – 73 - 73 (-1) |
| 2. | Tiffany Joh (UCLA) | 74 – 69 – 72 - 72 (-1) |
| 3. | Garrett Phillips (Georgia) | 71 – 74 – 71 - 73 (+1) |
| 4. | Belen Mozo (Southern California) | 69 – 71 – 75 - 75 (+2) |
| T5. | Amanda Blumenherst (Duke) | 75 – 71 – 77 – 68 (+3) |
| T5. | Anna Nordqvist (Arizona State) | 75 – 74 – 72 - 71 (+3) |
| T5. | Stephanie Sherlock (Denver) | 71 – 73 – 77 – 70 (+3) |
| T8. | Ashley Freeman (Texas A&M) | 71 – 72 – 74 – 75 (+4) |
| T8. | Stacy Lewis (Arkansas) | 73 – 72 – 75 – 72 (+4) |
| T8. | Sydnee Michaels (UCLA) | 69 – 74 – 75 - 74 (+4) |
| T8. | Dewi Claire Schreefel (Southern California) | 73 – 78 – 72 – 69 (+4) |
*Won following tie-breaker.
Florida Results After Round 4
| Place | Player | Score |
| 27. | Tiffany Chudy | 76 – 77 – 75 - 70 (+10) |
| T34. | Ornella Jouven | 77 – 72 – 74 - 77 (+12) |
| T48. | Jessica Yadloczky | 75 – 74 – 74 - 80 (+15) |
| T65. | Hannah Yun | 73 – 83 – 74 - 76 (+18) |
| T109. | Nicole Schachner | 82 – 76 – 85 - 76 (+27) |
-UF-
