After starting the day in fourth, freshman Inés Archer could see her lead slowly slipping away. Despite tying her season best with two rounds of 70 Monday, Archer was struggling in the third round as she recorded a double-bogey on hole 16, dropping her into ninth place.
But Archer wasn’t going down without a fight. She kept her composure, staying on par for the rest of the round to secure seventh place, the highest finish of the day for the Gators.
With their upperclassmen struggling on Day 1 of the Briar’s Creek Invitational, Florida’s freshman stepped up to lead the team to a Day 1 finish in fifth place out of the 17 teams competing.
Archer, as well as fellow freshman Paula Francisco, put together strong play in Rounds 1 and 2. Archer recorded three birdies to just one bogey to finish the first round 2-under. She continued this play into Round 2, recording two birdies and finishing every other hole on par to finish tied for fourth.
Francisco finished her front-nine strong in the first round, with a birdie on hole seven to put her even going into the back-nine. She stayed consistent on the back-nine but a bogey on the final hole put her 1-over going into Tuesday.
Francisco was up-and-down throughout the second round, recording a bogey on hole two. She quickly turned this around, sinking four birdies throughout the round. She ended the round with a double-bogey, placing her tied for 13th to end the day.
With no other teammates in the top-25, it was all up to the freshman to carry the Gators to a strong finish in the third and final round.
Archer started slow with a bogey on her second hole. She quickly turned her play around with two birdies in her next four holes.
However, she couldn’t maintain her consistency, following the birdies up with back-to-back bogeys and another bogey just two holes later. She recorded a birdie to match but then followed up with a double-bogey.
Ultimately, Archer stayed on par leading to her 1-under finish, tying her for seventh place in the tournament.
Francisco also struggled with five bogeys to just one birdie going into her final four holes. She ended her round with another birdie, finishing at 3-over and tied for 21st.
Senior Maisie Filler, the No. 2 ranked player in the country, also finished in the top-30 for the Gators despite ending Day 1 tied for 45th.
Filler matched her four bogeys with four birdies for a third round score of 72. She finished the tournament 5-over.
Florida will continue its season at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, hosted by the University of Georgia, Mar. 29.
Contact Hannah Getman at hgetman@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @hannahgetman.
