2012-13 Schedule Announced by Bastel
Monday, August 20, 2012 | Women's Golf
Eight regular season events including the 2013 SunTrust Gator Women's Golf Invitational highlight the 2012-13 University of Florida women's golf schedule announced by head coach Emily Bastel (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) earlier this week.
Four players return from a year ago which include three seniors, Isabelle Lendl (Goshen, Conn.), Megan Pak (Bradenton, Fla.) and Mia Piccio (Bacolod City, Philippines). Camilla Hedberg (Sitges, Spain) also returns as she was the only freshman on last year's squad. Even though she was the youngest, Hedberg still made her presence felt on the college golf stage as she was named a Third Team All-American by Golfweek and was an Honorable Mention All-American by the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA). Her stroke average (73.52) set a school record for lowest in a season by a freshman and currently ranks third all-time in school history. As a team, the Gators had another solid year, finishing fourth in the SEC Championships, their best since winning the title in 2008 and a 12th place finish in the NCAA Championship, the team's second straight top-15 finish.
This season's schedule features five tournaments that the Gators played in last year to go along with three new tournaments. A slight twist to the SEC Women's Golf Championship as it will not be played on a host school's course, but in the Birmingham-Hoover, Ala. metro area, which is the headquarters of the Southeastern Conference. Greystone Golf and Country Club will host the even through 2016.
The fall season for the Gators is scheduled to open Sept. 9-11 with the first of four fall events in Charleston, S.C., at The Cougar Classic hosted by the College of Charleston. The team also led off the year with this tournament last year and captured third-place behind a stellar collegiate debut for Hedberg. The now-sophomore carded the lowest tournament total in school history and an individual third-place finish with an 8-under score.
The Cougar Classic will be followed up quickly with the Dale McNamara Invitational in Tulsa, Okla at The Golf Club of Oklahoma, Sept.17-18. The two-day event will be the last of tournament action the Gators will see until nearly a month later when they take part in the long-running Tar Heel Invitational, Oct. 12-14, at The Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Florida will wrap up the fall at the Betsy Rawls Invitational, Oct. 28-30, hosted by the University of Texas. The invite, another long-running tournament, is also a repeat from last year's schedule. UF was able to have its best finish of the fall season in the tournament as it placed in a tie for second in the team standings with a tournament score of 892 (285-304-303, +28). Three Gators finished in the top-15, including Piccio, who finished 10th, and now former players, Evan Jensen (Belleair, Fla.) and Andrea Watts (Brandenton, Fla.), who finished tied for 15th.
After the break for the semester the team returns to the course for the Northrup Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, Calif., Feb. 11-13. This will be the 13th straight year Florida has played in the tournament at The Palos Verdes Golf Club as it will look to improve on its 12th place finish from last year. The Gators will then wrap up the month of February at The English Turn Golf Club with the AllState Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, La., Feb. 24-26. The tournament, hosted by Tulane University, is another familiar competition from a year ago in which the Gators finished in 10th-place and Hedberg led the team with another great outing. Her 7-over score was the fourth time that season she signed for the lowest score on the team and was her third-best finish at that point in the season.
As the calendar rolls to March, Florida gets to return to its home course for the SunTrust Gator Women's Golf Invitational, March 15-17. The Mark Bostick Golf Course will be the host of the 41st annual tournament on the campus of the University of Florida and should, once again, feature some of the best college golf teams in the country. Last year, Florida, again, reigned supreme for the second straight year as it won its own tournament for the 18th time in its history after carding the second-lowest team total in tournament history with a 54-hole total of 864 (294-283-287, +24).
The Gators will close out the regular season at the Bryan National Collegiate in Greensboro, N.C., March 29-31. The team will have a little bit of time to prepare for the postseason as the SEC Championship won't be played until April 19-21. Following that, only two events remain, but they are two biggest events of the year, starting with the NCAA Regional Championship on May 9-11. This year's East Regional will be hosted by Auburn University while Oklahoma and Stanford are hosting the Central and West championships, respectively.
The season concludes with the NCAA Championship, May 21-24, in Athens, Ga., at the UGA Golf Course.
For complete coverage of UF's women's golf program visit GatorZone.com, follow @GatorZoneGolf on Twitter and 'like' the University of Florida Women's Golf page on Facebook.
FALL 2012
| TOURNAMENT | LOCATION | COURSE | DATES | DAYS |
| Cougar Classic | Charleston, S.C. | Yeamans Hall Club | Sept. 9-11 | 3 |
| Dale McNamara Invitational | Tulsa, Okla. | Golf Club of Oklahoma | Sept. 17-18 | 2 |
| Tar Heel Invitational | Chapel Hill, N.C. | Finley Golf Course | Oct. 12-14 | 3 |
| Betsy Rawls Invitational | Austin, Texas | UT Golf Club | Oct. 28-30 | 3 |
SPRING 2012
| TOURNAMENT | LOCATION | COURSE | DATES | DAYS |
| Northrup Grumman Regional Challenge | Palos Verdes, Calif. | Palos Verdes Golf Club | Feb. 11-13 | 3 |
| AllState Sugar Bowl | New Orleans, La. | English Turn Golf Club | Feb. 24-26 | 3 |
| SunTrust Gator Women's Golf Invitational | Gainesville, Fla. | Mark Bostick Golf Course | March 15-17 | 3 |
| Bryan National Collegiate | Greensboro, N.C. | Bryan Park Golf Course | March 29-31 | 3 |
| SEC Championship | Birmingham, Ala. | Greystone Golf and CC | April 19-21 | 3 |
| NCAA Regional Championship | TBD | TBD | May 9-11 | 3 |
| NCAA National Championship | Athens, Ga. | UGA Golf Club | May 21-24 | 4 |
