While Virginia and Wake Forest finished off the Bryan National Collegiate in dramatic playoff fashion, the Gators rebounded on Sunday from an otherwise average tournament.
Heading into the third and final round, the reality of the Gators stretching their streak of top-5 finishes was looking bleak.
However, the Gators did not succumb to the challenge ahead of them.
Florida shot the lowest final round of any team and as a result, saw themselves move up six spots on the leaderboard for a fourth-place finish.
“I'm really proud of the team today,” coach Emily Glaser said in a release. “Even when we made mistakes, we stayed patient and recovered well.”
Follow Justen Rosenberg on Twitter @JustenRosenberg
For the Gators, it was much of the same on Sunday, as sophomore Karolina Vlckova continued to be the anchor in the lineup.
“Karolina played very steady today, and overall had a great week,” Glaser said. “Her maturity really showed this week on the course.”
Over the last three tournaments, Vlckova has not only been the top golfer on the team, but also one of the best in the NCAA.
The sophomore was able to play at a high-level during the final round, overcoming her Round 2 8-over-par outing.
Vlckova shoot a 2-under-par on Sunday, marking the second time she has done so this tournament.
During the three days, Vlckova finished with a cumulative score of 4-over-par. More impressive, though, was her standing on the leaderboard.
Vlckova’s score put her in a tie for fourth place, giving the sophomore her third straight top-6 individual finish.
Along with Vlckova, senior Camilla Hedberg was able to turn around her recent string of subpar finishes.
Coming into the final round, Hedberg was in a tie for 59th place and was coming off a 10-over-par Day 2 performance.
With the pressure to perform well in the third round increasing, the senior from Spain prevailed.
Hedberg rounded out her collegiate regular season career with an impressive performance, matching Vlckova with a team low of two-under.
But despite shooting two-under, Hedberg found herself just short of cracking the top-25 for the third straight tournament, finishing in a tie for 27th.
Sunday’s final round of play will go a long way for the team, as they are positioning themselves for a run at their first SEC Championship victory since the 2007-08 season.
“To have the low round of the day is a great accomplishment,” Glaser said, “and to finish the tournament on a positive note is a great boost.”
Follow Justen Rosenberg on Twitter @JustenRosenberg
Sophomore Karolina Vlckova high fives coach Emily Glaser during the final round of the 2015 SunTrust Gator Invitational on March 8.
