DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The No. 24 University of Florida women’s golf team used a team effort, firing a 285 (-3) that was the lowest round of all 24 teams Saturday, to finish seventh and advance to the NCAA Championships for the 11th time in the 19 years since the regional format was instituted. Sophomore Isabelle Lendl’s (Goshen, Conn.) 68 (-4) was the best round of the day and set a school record for a single round in NCAA Regional competition while Second Team All-Southeastern Conference member Mia Piccio (Bacolod City, Philippines) shot a 69 (-3) as they barely missed the top 10, both tying for 11th.
Florida was tied for 10th midway through the day, trailing TCU and Michigan State by two strokes, and it appeared that qualification would be undecided until the end – or possibly after the afternoon groups finished – but the Gators made a charge early on the back nine. On holes nine through 11, Florida’s five players combined for five birdies while making just one bogey. The four strokes gained created separation and the Gators never allowed another team to get closer than four the rest of the way.
“Today was college golf at its finest and we were in a big logjam heading into today,” head coach Jan Dowling said. “We knew we had to play solid in order to advance. Some of the team didn’t get off to the greatest start today and they just kept fighting and stayed patient and it was just phenomenal. I’m so proud of the whole team. If you look at our scores throughout the week, everyone contributed in a big way throughout the three days. We are going to get ready for nationals next week and see what we can do there.”
Lendl’s 68 matched her season-low set in the first round of the SunTrust Gator Women’s Invitational and eclipsed the school record for a round in NCAA Regional competition, topping Whitney Code in the first round of the 2002 NCAA East Regional, Tiffany Chudy in the first round of the 2005 NCAA East Regional, and herself and Mia Piccio in the first round of the 2010 NCAA East Regional. After a par on the first hole, she made birdies on No. 2, No. 5 and No. 7 to race to three-under. No. 7 had played the toughest of any hole on the course, yielding only seven birdies in the first two rounds combined. Her only bogey of the round came on No. 9 after choosing the wrong club. She saved par with a 10-footer on 10 that she called “a momentum saver for my round” and she closed her afternoon by playing the back nine at two-under. Her 11th-place finish marked the fourth straight event she has completed a tournament in the top 25 and she narrowly missed her third top 10 in Florida’s last four tournaments.
“I had a birdie on No. 2, a wedge in so hopefully I birdie there. I birdied No. 5, another wedge in and I birdied No. 7. On 7, it was a 5-iron on a par-3 to nine feet.
“I wasn’t worried about yesterday. I knew if I could turn my putting around and pay a lot of attention to the grain, I was going to be fine. I putted much better today. I had eight fewer putts and I shot 10 (strokes) lower so that makes sense.”
Piccio fired a 69 (-3) – the third 69 she has shot in her last three tournaments – and completed her round with three birdies and no bogeys. She birdied No. 5 and her second birdie on No. 9 seemed to be a turning point for the Orange and Blue as she chipped in. The Philippines native sank an eight-footer for birdie on 11 and was mistake-free the rest of the way.
“I hit it really solid, hit 17 greens,” Piccio said. “I didn’t make a lot of putts but I chipped in on No. 9 and that was the only green I missed. I hit every green and two-putted. I was just trying to hit greens.”
“I’m very proud of her,” Dowling added. “She hit it solid all week and the putts just didn’t drop for her. It was clutch timing for her to make some.”
Piccio has now placed 16th or higher in her last six events which is the longest such streak by a Gator since teammate Jessica Yadloczky (Casselberry, Fla.) finished in the top 16 seven consecutive tournaments during the 2008-09 season.
Junior Andrea Watts (Bradenton, Fla.) recorded her second consecutive 72 (E), continuing her solid play from Friday. Watts bogeyed her first hole but settled down, carding birdies on No. 4 and No. 6 to move to one-under. After a bogey on No. 8, she concluded the round with 10 consecutive pars and her 221 (+5) is her lowest 54-hole total of the spring. She was tied for 69th after day one but ended up deadlocked for 28th by tournament’s end.
“Early today, I was hitting it everywhere and (assistant coach) Jay (Goble) walked with me the whole day and we both figured out what I was doing wrong with my long swing,” Watts said. “Once I started really getting after my shots and hitting it straight again, I got my confidence and I was back to where I needed to be to shoot a good score. I was hitting more fairways, hitting greens closer to the pin and giving myself easier opportunities to make birdie putts.”
Senior Yadloczky will make her second trip to the NCAA Championships after posting a 78 (+6). She tallied a birdie on No. 9, 11 pars, five bogeys and a double bogey but nonetheless was just as excited as her teammates.
“We had a team meeting in the van this morning and I expressed how much I wanted to go to nationals,” Yadloczky said. “We have been playing well and I knew we had it in us. I’m not happy with my play this week but put that aside. I see my game improving and I’m going to work hard in practice this week. I’m so happy for my teammates because they fought with all they had.”
Junior Evan Jensen (Belleair, Fla.) had a tough start, going four-over through four holes, but when the Gators made their move near the halfway point, she was an integral part. Her back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11 helped lift the Orange and Blue into seventh and she completed the back nine at even par en route to a 76 (+4), rising nine spots on the leaderboard in the process.
Florida will now head to Bryan, Texas for the NCAA Championships from May 18-21, hosted by Texas A&M.
“I don’t think there’s a team there that we haven’t met up with this season,” Yadloczky said. “If we can get four scorers going on the same day, I think we have a really good chance at contending at that tournament.”
Top-seeded Alabama won the NCAA East Regional with a cumulative score of 866 (+2). North Carolina, Arizona State, Coastal Carolina, California, Purdue and Vanderbilt also progressed to nationals.
Continue to follow the Gators on www.GatorZone.com for results and statistics, on Twitter for team happenings and on the University of Florida Women’s Golf Facebook page.
Team Scores After Round 3
| Place | School | 1 | 2 | 3 | Score |
| 1. | Alabama | 287 | 284 | 295 | 866 (+2) |
| 2. | North Carolina | 293 | 282 | 293 | 868 (+4) |
| 3. | Arizona State | 295 | 288 | 288 | 871 (+7) |
| 4. | Coastal Carolina | 286 | 298 | 292 | 876 (+12) |
| 5. | California | 290 | 295 | 293 | 878 (+14) |
| 6. | Purdue | 295 | 285 | 299 | 879 (+15) |
| 7. | Florida | 298 | 297 | 285 | 880 (+16) |
| T8*. | Vanderbilt | 302 | 295 | 293 | 890 (+26) |
| T8. | Florida State | 297 | 295 | 298 | 890 (+26) |
| 10. | TCU | 302 | 297 | 294 | 893 (+29) |
| 11. | Michigan State | 297 | 299 | 298 | 894 (+30) |
| 12. | Louisville | 301 | 302 | 296 | 899 (+35) |
| 13. | Auburn | 302 | 299 | 302 | 903 (+39) |
| 14. | Mississippi | 303 | 293 | 310 | 906 (+42) |
| 15. | UNC Wilmington | 304 | 308 | 302 | 914 (+50) |
| 16. | Texas Tech | 316 | 303 | 298 | 917 (+53) |
| 17. | Augusta State | 302 | 302 | 314 | 918 (+54) |
| 18. | Colorado | 306 | 307 | 306 | 919 (+55) |
| 19. | Stetson | 304 | 309 | 312 | 925 (+61) |
| 20. | Kentucky | 306 | 309 | 312 | 927 (+63) |
| 21. | Florida International | 311 | 301 | 317 | 929 (+65) |
| 22. | Yale | 310 | 309 | 311 | 930 (+66) |
| 23. | Fairleigh Dickinson | 312 | 324 | 323 | 959 (+95) |
| 24. | Alabama State | 334 | 334 | 337 | 1005 (+141) |
*advanced in a playoff
Individual Top 10 Through Round 3
| Place | Player (School) | 1 | 2 | 3 | Score |
| 1. | Stephanie Meadow (Alabama) | 71 | 67 | 69 | 207 (-9) |
| 2. | Pia Halbig (California) | 73 | 70 | 70 | 213 (-3) |
| T3. | Jessica Alexander (Coastal Carolina) | 69 | 78 | 69 | 216 (E) |
| T3. | Jessica Negron (Florida State) | 69 | 73 | 74 | 216 (E) |
| T3. | Daniela Ordonez (Arizona State) | 76 | 70 | 70 | 216 (E) |
| T6. | Laura Gonzalez (Purdue) | 72 | 72 | 73 | 217 (+1) |
| T6. | Catherine O’Donnell (North Carolina) | 70 | 74 | 73 | 217 (+1) |
| T6. | Brooke Pancake (Alabama) | 72 | 72 | 73 | 217 (+1) |
| T6. | Caroline Powers (Michigan State) | 71 | 69 | 77 | 217 (+1) |
| T6. | Maria Salinas (Florida State) | 74 | 69 | 74 | 217 (+1) |
Florida Results After Round 3
| Place | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | Score |
| T11. | Isabelle Lendl | 72 | 78 | 68 | 218 (+2) |
| T11. | Mia Piccio | 75 | 74 | 69 | 218 (+2) |
| T28. | Andrea Watts | 77 | 72 | 72 | 221 (+5) |
| T52. | Jessica Yadloczky | 76 | 73 | 78 | 227 (+11) |
| T64. | Evan Jensen | 75 | 78 | 76 | 229 (+13) |
