WINDERMERE – Florida moved up two spots into second place after the second round of the Isleworth Invitational. For the second straight day, coach Buddy Alexander’s Gators totaled a 4-over-par 292 and their two-day total of 8-over 584 was four strokes behind leader Oklahoma State and five shots up on third-place Stanford. The final round of the tournament is Wednesday.
“We had another solid day today and I thought we put forth a good team effort,” Alexander said. “I think the past two rounds demonstrate where we are as a team. We just have to be better than our competitors from a team standpoint because we are not going to have the same one or two guys carry us every round. But I am excited and proud of the team to this point. This is the closest we’ve come to the lead this season. We will be in kind of a David and Goliath situation in that the No. 1 team in the country, Oklahoma State, is ahead of us. It should be an interesting day tomorrow and I look forward to learning a little bit more about this team.”
Despite carding a 6-over 78 in his second round, senior Tim McKenney of Scottsdale, Ariz., is tied for ninth with a 2-over 146. Amazingly, McKenney’s score was the highest carded by the Gators and thrown out while figuring the team score.
Freshman Phillip Choi of Orlando went the other way Monday, following up an opening 78 with a 3-under 69 that included six birdies that left him at 3-over 147. Among those tied with Choi is senior teammate Tyson Alexander, who followed an opening 2-over 74 with a 1-over 73 that included three birdies.
Redshirt juniors Andres Echavarria of Colombia and Robbie Wight of Palm Beach carded 74 and 76, respectively, on Monday. Echavarria was tied for 24th at 5-over 149, while Wight was tied for 33rd at 7-over 151.
ISLEWORTH COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL
At par-72, 7,544-yard Isleworth C.C., Windermere, Fla.
TEAM SCORES: 1. Oklahoma State 580 (+4) 291-289;2. Florida 584 (+8) 292-292; 3. Stanford 589 (+13) 289-300; 4. Alabama 592 (+16) 299-293; 5. Texas Christian 596 (+20) 290-306; 6. Texas Tech 599 (+23) 296-303; 7. Georgia 601 (+25) 304-297; T8. Illinois 603 (+27) 306-297 and South Carolina 603 (+27) 302-301; 10. Clemson 605 (+29) 307-298; 11. UCF 606 (+30) 308-298; T12. Arizona State 608 (+32) 301-307 and East Tennessee State 608 (309-299); 14. Washington 609 (+33) 308-301; 15. Kentucky 628 (+52) 317-311.
TOP 15 (AND TIES) INDIVIDUALS: 1. Bud Cauley (Alabama) 139 (-5) 69-70; 2. Peter Ulhlein (Oklahoma State) 141 (-3) 68-73; 3. Steve Ziegler (Stanford) 142 (-2) 68-74; 4. Nils Floren (Texas Tech) 143 (-1) 69-74; T5. Sihwan Kim (Stanford) 144 (E) 70-74 and Kevin Tway (Oklahoma State) 144 (E) 74-70; T7. Knut Borsheim (Arizona State 145 (+1) 70-75 and Rhys Enoch (East Tennessee State) 145 (+1) 71-74; T9. Wesley Bryan (South Carolina) 146 (+2) 71-75, Hunter Hamrick (Alabama) 146 (+2) 75-71, Tim McKenney (Florida) 146 (+2) 68-78, T.J. Mitchell (Georgia) 146 (+2) 74-72 and Andrew Yun (Stanford) 146 (+2) 71-75; T15. Tyson Alexander (Florida) 147 (+3) 74-73, Phillip Choi (Florida) 147 (+3) 78-69 and Trent Whitekiller (Oklahoma State) 147 (+3) 75-72.
FLORIDA SCORES: T9. Tim McKenney 146 (+2) 68-78; T15. Phillip Choi 147 (+3) 78-69 and Tyson Alexander 147 (+3) 74-73; T24. Andres Echavarria 149 (+5) 75-74; T33. Robbie Wight 151 (+7) 75-76.
WOMEN’S GOLF: Florida seventh in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Florida totaled a 1-over-par 289 Monday in the first round of the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown at the Boulder Creek Country Club.
Junior Jessica Yadloczky of Casselberry led the way for first-year head coach Jan Dowling’s Gators, using an eagle at the par-5 13th hole to shoot a 1-under-par 71 that left her tied for 12th place individually. Yadloczky also had one birdie and two bogeys.
Freshman Amelia Lewis of Jacksonville was one shot behind Yadloczky after shooting an even-par 72. She totaled five birdies and five bogeys. Sisters Marika (sophomore) and Isabelle Lendl (freshman) of Bradenton were tied for 32nd after both carded 1-over 73s. Sophomore Evan Jensen of Belleair shot a 3-over 75 and was tied for 52nd.
Louisville was in first after a 5-under 283 round, one stroke better than Arizona and UC Davis. Fourth was Kent State at 3-under 285. Fifth was Washington (287) and Colorado State (288) was sixth.
UC Davis golfer Alice Kim and Arkansas’ Kelli Shean were tied for first on the leaderboard after carding 5-under 67s. Colorado State’s Kasey Claussen was third, one stroke back.
The tournament continues Tuesday and concludes Wednesday.
LAS VEGAS COLLEGIATE SHOWDOWN
At par-72, 6,233-yard Boulder Creek Golf Club, Las Vegas, Nev.
TEAM SCORES: 1. Louisville 283 (-5); T2. Arizona 284 (-4) and UC Davis 284 (-4); 4. Kent State 285 (-3); 5. Washington 287 (-1); 6. Colorado State 288 (E); 7. Florida 289 (+1); T8. Colorado 291 (+3) and Arkansas 291 (+3); T10. Idaho 293 (+5) and Texas Christian 293 (+5); T12. UNLV 296 (+8) and Missouri 296 (+8); T14. Northwestern 299 (+11) and Minnesota 299 (+11); 16. Texas Tech 300 (+12); 17. Brigham Young 303 (+15); 18. UNLV 306 (+18).
TOP 10 (AND TIES) INDIVIDUALS: T1. Alice Kim (UC Davis) 67 (-5) and Kelli Shean (Arkansas) 67 (-5); 3. Kasey Claussen (Colorado State) 68 (-4); T4. Anya Alvarez (Washington) 69 (-3), Hannah Lovelock (Missouri) 69 (-3) and Sherlyn Popelka (Arizona) 69 (-3); T7. Martina Gavier (Kent State) 70 (-2), Christine Kim (Colorado) 70 (-2), Melissa Loh (Texas Christian) 70 (-2), Daphne Parker (Louisville) 70 (-2) and Amy Simanton (UC Davis) 70 (-2).
FLORIDA SCORES: T12. Jessica Yadloczky 71 (-1); T22. Amelia Lewis 72 (E); T32. Marika Lendl 73 (+1) and Isabelle Lendl 73 (+1); T52. Evan Jensen 75 (+3).
WOMEN’S TENNIS: Will wins ITA Southeast singles title
ATLANTA – Florida freshman tennis player Allie Will of Boca Raton won a pair of tough matches Monday to win the singles title at the Wilson/ITA Southeast Regional Championships held at the Bill Moore Tennis Center at Georgia Tech.
With her victory in one of the 12 regionals across the country, Will has a berth in the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, which will take place Nov. 5-8 at the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center in West Haven, Conn.
First up Monday was Miami’s Laura Vallverdu, the No. 6 player in the country. Will needed three sets but prevailed 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Then Will met Florida State’s Noemie Scharle, ranked No. 24 in the tournament, and scored a 6-4, 6-0 victory to win her first collegiate singles title.
“For Allie to follow up such a big win against Vallverdu with a solid performance in the final was impressive to see,” Florida coach Roland Thornqvist said. “To beat Vallverdu in the semifinals in and of itself was a great feat because she’s a plyer who reached the NCAA singles final last year. There was a point in the first set of the championship match when she noticed that her style of play really disrupted Noemie, and Allie did a great job of being very physical.”
Will won six singles matches in four days to improve her record to 19-2. Thirteen of those 19 victories are against nationally ranked players. She became the first Florida player to win the title since Jennifer Magley beat Georgia’s Shadisha Robinson in 2003. A year ago, current Florida senior Marrit Boonstra reached the championship final but lost to Georgia’s Chelsey Gullickson.
MEN’S TENNIS: Lacroix and Benneteau win doubles title
ATHENS, Ga. – Florida’s Alexandre Lacroix and Antoine Benneteau won the 2009 Wilson/ITA Southeast Regional Championship doubles title Monday at the University of Georgia’s Dan Magill Tennis Complex, taking an 8-2 decision over Florida State’s Connor Smith and Vahid Mirzadeh.
The victory gives Florida’s French Connection (junior Lacroix and redshirt senior Benneteau are natives of France) one of 16 spots in the doubles draw of the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships to be hosted by Yale University in West Haven, Conn., on Nov. 5-8. The Lacroix-Benneteau team is now 8-0 this fall, winning five times last weekend.
Lacroix also is up for consideration for an at-large singles berth in the tournament after advancing to the semifinals where he lost to No. 33-ranked Clint Bowles of Florida State, 7-5, 6-0.
MEN’S SWIMMING: Gators beat Georgia Tech to move to 2-0
ATLANTA – Led by a number of strong freestyle performances and key contributions from several underclassmen and newcomers, the Florida men’s swimming and diving team moved to 2-0 with a 161-123 victory over Georgia Tech Friday night.
The Gators opened the 16-event meet by winning the 200-yard medlay relay in 1:31.62 with a team of senior Omar Pinzon, junior Conor Dwyer, senior Shaune Fraser and junior Brett Fraser.
The Gators then finished in the top five spots in the 1,000-yard freestyle. Brothers Balazs Gercsak (9:21.23) and Csaba Gercsak (9:31.21) of Hungary finished first and third while freshman Jason Taylor of Plant City was second in 9:30.41. Balazs Gercsak led a first-through-seventh finish in the 500-yard freestyle by finishing in 4:30.46.
Shaune Fraser (44.93 seconds) led a 1-5 finish in the 100 free. Senior Roberto Gomez of Weston was second in 46.64 seconds, just .08 ahead of senior teammate Raul Martinez. Freshman Scott Sommer of Ocala (46.78) and sophomore James Turner of Fort Pierce (47.37) were fourth and fifth. Brett Fraser (1:39.63) led a 1-2-3 Florida finish in the 200-yard freestyle. Freshman Pholien Systermans of Belgium (1:40.24) was second and junior Logan Storie of Corvallis, Ore. (1:40.58) was third.
Senior All-American Roland Rudolf of Hungary won the 100- (50.16) and 200-yard (1:46.98) backstrokes, while Conor Dwyer, a junior transfer from Iowa, won the 100-yard breaststroke in 56.96 seconds ahead of freshman Rodion Davelaar (57.48). Sophomore Robby Kennedy of Fort Myers was first (2:08.13) and redshirt freshman John Lehtonen (2:08.43) was second in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Dwyer won the 200-yard individual medley in 1:51.46 ahead of teammate Mike Joyce (1:54.46). Sophomore Jose Crescimbeni of Holiday won the 200-yard butterfly in 1:49.36. The Gators won the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:23.55.
Divers Anthony Lewark of Davie, Colin Bell of Coral Springs and Grayton Patten of West Palm Beach finished second, third and fifth in the 3-meter springboard event and went 1-3-5 in the 1-meter competition, with Lewark winning the event.
The Gators host SEC rival Georgia Friday at 1 p.m. in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Natatorium.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING: Gators show depth in sweep
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – With nine of its top dual meet scorers in Dallas at the SMU Classic, Florida relied heavily on youth and the leadership of several seniors to defeat both Arkansas and Kansas in double-dual action Saturday in Fayetteville. Florida (3-0, 1-0 SEC) topped conference foe Arkansas, 175-133, and Big 12 opponent Kansas, 205-103, at the Arkansas Natatorium.
The Gators opened the triangular with a win in the 200-yard medley relay (3:46.24), led by sophomores Anna-Liisa Pold of San Diego, Carly Pike of Boca Raton and Maida Turnadzic of Cape Coral and senior Coral Lopez of Puerto Rico.
Senior Kristen Beales of Arlington, Va., led a 1-3-4 finish in the freestyle mile (16:40.60). Sophomore Melani Costa-Schmid of Spain and senior Liz Kemp of Potomac, Md., went 1-2 in the 200-yard freestyle, with Costa-Schmid’s time of 1:48.83.
Senior Stephanie Napier of Chattanooga, Tenn., won the 50-yard freestyle (23.70). Kemp (51.11) led a 1-2-6 finish in the 100-yard freestyle. Costa-Schmid (4:49.07) led a 1-3-6-9 finish in the 500-yard freestyle.
Florida’s Monica Dodson was second and Kaylee Doback fourth in the 1-meter springboard competition, while Doback was third and Dodson fourth in the 3-meter springboard.
Florida freshman Eva Lehtonen (Rochester Hills, Mich.) put forth a strong effort in the butterfly events, taking first in the 200-yard fly (2:04.41) and third in the 100-yard event (57.07).
The Gators team of Kemp, sophomore Julia Nagy, Costa-Schmid and Turnadzic closed out the triangular with a second-place finish (1:36.22) in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING: Gators win SMU Classic
DALLAS, Texas – Led by several NCAA provisional qualifying marks, Florida won the six-team SMU Classic Saturday night. Florida finished the two-day competition at the Joe Perkins Natatorium with 353 points. Louisville was second with 309, followed by Wisconsin (280), Southern Methodist (271), Florida State (257) and Rice (186).
Entering Saturday’s competition with 178 points, Florida finished second in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:25.53) with the team of sophomores Lily Ramirez (Gainesville), Shara Stafford (Topeka, Kan.) and Sarah Bateman (Orlando) plus senior Gemma Spofforth (England).
Freshman Jamie Bohunicky of Gainesville achieved an NCAA provisional mark with her 4:51.52 finish in the 500-yard freestyle. She and sophomore Jemma Lowe (England), who had finished second in the consolation final of the 500 free, went 1-2 in the 200-yard butterfly, with Lowe’s winning 2:00.69 earning her a provisional mark.
Sophomore Teresa Crippen (1:59.71) finished second in the 200-yard backstroke. After earning an NCAA provisional mark in the 400-yard individual medlay Friday, Crippen won the 200 IM Saturday in 2:03.26.
On Saturday, senior Kara Salamone of Cooper City won the 3-meter springboard event with a score of 314.90 after finishing second in the 1-meter event Friday.
Stafford won the 100-yard freestyle in 50.29 and Florida finished with a second-place showing in the 200-yard freestyle relay as Spofforth, Stafford, Ramirez and Bateman were timed in 1:34.26.
SEC rival Georgia brings its men’s and women’s teams to the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Natatorium Friday at 1 p.m.