UVa Women's Golfers Open Spring with Win at UCF Challenge

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Feb. 10, 2015

The 16th-ranked Virginia women’s golf team opened the spring portion of its schedule by winning the UCF Challenge in Orlando at the Eagle Creek Golf Club. The Cavaliers shot a school record 14-under 850 and managed to hold off a late charge from Tulane to pick up the seventh win in the program’s history.

Cavalier sophomore Lauren Diaz-Yi (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) shared medalist honors by shooting 9-under 207. Her total bettered the school’s previous best 54-hole scoring mark by one stroke.

Diaz-Yi, who won North Carolina’s Tar Heel Invitational in the fall, started the day in ninth place. She posted the day’s best score, firing 3-under 70, to tie Vanderbilt’s Jennifer Hahn for first place. Only seven golfers in the 96-player field managed to break par during the final round.

Virginia had four players finish in the top-20 of the event. After shooting even par 72 on Tuesday, UVa senior Briana Mao (Folsom, Calif.) moved up to an 11th-place finish at 2-under 214. Mao won the tournament in 2013.

Junior Lauren Coughlin (Chesapeake, Va.) placed 14th at 215 and junior Elizabeth Szokol (Winnetka, Ill.) finished 19th at 216. Freshman Maho Hayakawa (Lake Mary, Fla.) placed 76th at 229 in her first collegiate tournament counting as a scorer.

Alex Hershberger (Basking Ridge, N.J.), competing as an individual, was 34th at 221. She shaved off two strokes from her previous best tournament score.

In addition to setting the team tournament scoring record, UVa also posted the school’s lowest 18-hole score at the event. The Cavaliers shot 13-under 275 during Monday’s second round. Coughlin also etched her name into UVa’s record book by shooting 7-under 65 during the second round, the lowest 18-hole score in program history.

The Cavaliers stay in Florida to participate in Florida State’s Match-Up Tournament. The 12-team field competes Feb. 13-15 at Southwood Golf Course.

UCF Challenge
Eagle Creek Golf Club
Orlando, Fla.
Par-72, 6,349 yards
Final Results

Team Results 1. Virginia         282-275-293-850 2. Tulane           289-271-291-851 3. UCF              287-277-294-858 4. Vanderbilt       277-282-300-859 5. Iowa State       281-286-303-870 5. Wisconsin        288-283-299-870 7. Miami            292-283-295-872 8. Texas            291-289-300-880 8. Minnesota        292-291-298-88010. East Carolina    287-293-303-88311. Kentucky         294-284-307-88512. Louisville       293-287-306-88613. Campbell         295-285-308-88813. Texas State      295-287-306-88813. SMU              297-290-301-88816. Rollins          299-291-305-89517. South Florida    305-289-302-89618. Western Carolina 309-296-312-917
Individual Leaders1. Lauren Diaz-Yi, Virginia  70-68-69-2071. Jennifer Hahn, Vanderbilt 70-67-70-2073. Gemma Dryburgh, Tulane    71-66-71-2084. Silvia Garces, Tulane     71-65-73-209
Virginia Results 1. Lauren Diaz-Yi      70-68-69-20711. Briana Mao          73-69-72-21414. Lauren Coughlin     71-65-79-21519. Elizabeth Szokol    68-73-75-21676. Maho Hayakawa       75-77-77-22934. Alex Hershberger*   73-72-76-221* Competing as a non-scoring individual="http:>="http:>="http:>="http:>="http:>="http:>