W. Golf Kicks Off 2009-10 Season At Hooters Match Play Championships
Friday, September 4, 2009 | Women's Golf
When the University of Florida women's golf team tees off at the Hooters Match Play Championships on Sunday, they will not only be kicking off the 2009-10 season, but they will be beginning a new era in the program.
The 2009-10 squad will be lead by first-year head coach Jan Dowling and feature a quintet of new golfers. Fans of Florida women's golf will have the opportunity to get to know all of the new players, as Dowling promises that with such a talented group of golfers, the lineup could change quite a bit.
However, the lineup for their first event has been set and it features three sophomores and three freshman. Returning Gators Evan Jensen (Belleair, Fla.) and Marika Lendl (Bradenton, Fla.) lead the lineup, followed by freshman Amelia Lewis (Jacksonville, Fla.) Lewis is coming off a successful summer in which she won the North & South Women's Amateur, therefore qualifying to participate in the U.S. Amateur, where she advanced to the second round.
Sophomore Andrea Watts (Bradenton, Fla.) hopes to continue the success she achieved in her freshman campaign and is the fourth Florida women's golfer in the rotation. Two freshman round out the lineup for the Gators as Isabelle Lendl (Bradenton, Fla.) and Mia Piccio (Bacolod City, Philippines) will make their debut for the Orange and Blue in Daytona Beach.
The Gators will face a tough tournament field, as the 16-team field, includes eight of the top 24 teams as ranked in the 2009-10 Golf World/NGCA Pre-Season Coaches Poll including top ten teams - Alabama, Auburn, Virginia and Duke. Florida will get a sneak peak of their SEC counterparts as six conference opponents will also be participating in Daytona Beach (Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss and South Carolina).
This year's championship begins on Day One (Sunday) when all 16 teams will compete in a 36 Hole Stroke Play Competition. The results of this competition will be used to seed teams 1 – 16 for the Match Play Competition with the top eight competing in the Championship Bracket. Match play competition begins on Sept. 7 with two 18-hole matches followed by the Championship Final on Sept. 8. The event is the only match play championship on the collegiate schedule.
Visit www.GatorZone.com or www.GolfStat.com for live scoring and updated results.
Florida Lineup
1. Evan Jensen
2. Marika Lendl
3. Amelia Lewis
4. Andrea Watts
5. Isabelle Lendl
6. Mia Piccio
2009 Hooters Match Play Championships Tournament Field
Alabama
Auburn
Central Florida
Chattanooga
Colorado
Duke
Florida
Georgia
Georgia State
Kent State
LSU
Mississippi
North Carolina
South Carolina
TCU
Virginia
-UF-
