The No. 11 Virginia women’s golf team entered the swamps of Gainesville, Fla. Friday, competing in the Gators Invitational. The tournament took place at Mark Bostick Golf Course, a par 70 that played at just over 6,000 yards during the weekend. The tournament consisted of two days and three rounds and saw the Cavaliers face off against 13 other squads. Among them was the host, No. 29 Florida, along with No. 15 Ole Miss and No. 31 Central Florida.
Virginia finished in second at 11-over-par, two strokes behind Florida, which successfully protected its home turf. Gator freshman Jessica Guiser led the way individually at four-under-par. Senior Amanda Sambach led the way for the Cavaliers, finishing two-under for the tournament and tying for third individually.
After the tournament's first round, Virginia appeared to have left its A-game at baggage claim. Finishing with a 291, the team trailed the round one leaders, Ole Miss, by 13 strokes. Sambach managed to put together a solid round of even par, while graduate student Rebecca Skoler finished with the next lowest score at two-over. The rest of the four Cavaliers floundered on Friday, shooting a combined 19 over, quickly digging the team into a hole that would be difficult to climb out of.
The second round saw the team settle down and play up to their standards, posting a 279. This performance helped catapult them back towards the top of the leaderboard, just seven strokes behind the leading Rebels and six behind the Gators. Per usual, Sambach led the way, this time firing a round of two-under par after two birdies on the back nine. Sophomore Jaclyn LaHa joined Sambach in the red, finishing one under after two late birdies. Senior Megan Propeck contributed a rollercoaster of an even-par round, consisting of a double bogey, three bogeys and an impressive five birdies, including two on the final two holes. After a tumultuous start to the tournament, the Cavaliers found themselves within view of the leaders heading into the final round. Sambach also sat just two strokes shy of the individual lead at two-under
Virginia kept its momentum going into the third round, once again posting the lowest team score of the round, this time at 281. However, the lackluster first round was too great a deficit to overcome, as despite the valiant comeback effort, the victorious Gators finished two strokes ahead of them. Still, a second-place finish after such a disastrous start feels like reward enough. Propeck continued to find birdie after birdie, concluding her final round with a score of three-under, including six birdies. This performance led the team, followed by Sambach and graduate student Chloe Schiavone, who both shot even-par. Sambach finished the tournament in third place, continuing her consistent showings this season.
Virginia found its success this week specifically on the par fives, shooting a collective eight under on such holes, second best for the tournament. However, they lost that edge on par threes, finishing in the middle of the pack at 15-over for the weekend, which could be what cost them the victory and hurt them so much in round one. They will hope the high-quality play from the final two rounds carries over into their next tournament, Monday and Tuesday in the Old Barnwell Match Play, hosted by South Carolina.
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