Led by two career-best rounds from senior Mia Piccio, the Florida women’s golf team advanced to the NCAA tournament after finishing in fourth place at the NCAA Central Regional.
Florida sat just three strokes ahead of the cut-off line after the second round but was able to move up the leader board after staying at 13-over par. Florida has reached the tournament the last two seasons.
Mia Piccio was the only Gator to shoot under par in the final round after shooting a 69 (-3). Her round was highlighted by five birdies. Piccio finished in seventh place and may have been able to contend for a title if not for her second round 76 (+4).
“I am happy for Mia and her play this week,” coach Emily Bastel said in a release. “She had one bad nine-hole stretch, but besides that, played great golf all weekend. It’s a real positive for this team to have our senior step up at crunch time.”
Despite only one Gator shooting under par, every starter improved from the second round to the third. Most notable was junior Elcin Ulu, who shot one over (73) for the day and finished tied for 19th.
Ulu had four straight birdies on holes 10 through 14 and returned to the form that she showed in the first round when she shot a career-best four under (68).
Another positive was the play of sophomore Anna Young, who started in favor of senior captain Isabelle Lendl. Young improved in every round and topped off her final round with four birdies to finish one over (73).
Freshman Ursa Orehek rebounded from her second round 78 (+6) after shooting a 73 (+1) in the final round. She tied for 35th.
But sophomore Camilla Hedberg struggled on Saturday. She had never finished worse than tied for 51st in her career and had three individual victories this season before finishing tied for 73rd.
Hedberg shot a 76 (+4) in the final round and was weighed down by a string of three consecutive bogies on holes 4-6.
“The team, alone, did a great job of rebounding after yesterday’s round,” Bastel said. “They hung tough all day today and never gave up. I’m proud of their toughness.”
The Gators were unable to make a comeback on eventual champion Duke, who finished at 13-under for the tournament (851). The NCAA Championship will take place on May 21-24 in Athens, Ga.
Junior Camilla Hedberg watches her shot during the SunTrust Gator Invitational on March 15 at Mark Bostick Golf Course.
