BELLEAIR, Fla. – Vanderbilt women’s golf bowed out of the SEC Championship in the quarterfinal round of match play, falling 4-1 to Florida on Monday morning at Pelican Golf Club.
The Commodores began the morning strong, going toe-to-toe with the No. 4-ranked team in the country. The Gators, however, made their move around the turn to take control of the quarterfinal match.
“We got beat by a really good Florida team today,” head coach Greg Allen said. “I’m proud of the fight we showed, and I’m very encouraged about what this group has done the past three weeks and can’t wait to go into postseason with them.”
Ava Merrill led the Commodores, sitting at 4-up through 14 holes when Florida clinched. Merrill won back-to-back holes on No. 4 and No. 5 to take the lead and never surrendered it. She built the 4-up advantage with wins on holes 8, 10 and 13.
Lynn Lim was locked in a duel with Florida’s Megan Propeck throughout the round until the Gator broke the tie with an eagle putt on No. 14 and a long birdie on the 15th. Lim fell 3&1 to Propeck.
Freshman Kathryn Ha battled back after fall 4-down with five holes to play. Ha birdied the par-5 14th then nailed the flag stick on her pitch from off the green on the 15th to make it back-to-back wins and pull within two with three to play. Ha was in prime position on the 16th green, but Florida’s Katelyn Huber spun an incredible bunker shot within two feet of the hole to halt Ha’s momentum. Ha would fall 2&1 in her match.
Angelina Tolentino fell 4&3 to Florida’s Siuue Wu as the Gator built her advantage over the closing holes of the front nine. Sara Im was 2-down with five to play when the Gators clinched.
“I felt like we lost momentum as we were making the turn,” Allen said. “Ava was in control of her match most of the day and Lynn played really well but lost to an eagle on 14 and a long birdie on 15. Kathryn made a good comeback and never gave up, taking her match to 17. Now it’s off to final exams and US Women’s Open qualifiers as we prepare for regionals.”
Vanderbilt will now await its NCAA Regional destination which will be announced on Wednesday, April 29. The Commodores are aiming for a fifth-consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships which will once again be held at Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California.
