UF WGOLF | Florida Falls 3-2 in Semifinals vs. No. 8 Texas

The Gators face No. 1 Wake Forest tomorrow at 2 p.m. on the final day of the spring opener.

PALOS VERDES ESTATES, Calif. – The No. 10 Florida women’s golf team fell 3-2 to No. 8 Texas in the semifinals of the Therese Hession Regional Challenge on Sunday.

Florida wraps up the tournament tomorrow in the third-place match vs. No. 1 and defending national champions, Wake Forest. The teams are scheduled to tee off at 2 p.m.

The match came down to the wire after both teams were tied 2-2. Jackie Lucena battled her match to a tie with two holes left, erasing a deficit of 3-down with eight holes remaining. However, Texas’ Bentley Cotton took the 17th hole for a 1Up lead and held on with both golfers having the final hole.

Maisie Filler tied the match 2-2 against the future conference opponent with a 2&1 victory. She earned her third victory on the weekend and is undefeated with previous wins of 1Up and 5&4. Her victory today was against No. 21 Lauren Kim.

Before the Longhorns won back-to-back matches, freshman Inès Archer grabbed the first point for the Gators. Her match was tied through the first eight holes heading to the back nine (started on hole two). Archer then won four of the next five holes, including three consecutive holes to start the back nine for a 5&4 victory and second overall tournament win.

Florida returns to the ‘Sunshine State’ with the Moon Golf Invitational from Feb. 18-20 and the Gator Invitational March 2-3.

Results:
Florida                 Texas                                  Score
Maisie Filler        Lauren Kim                        2&1 (UF)
Inès Archer         Angela Heo                        5&4 (UF)
Paula Francisco  Farah O’Keefe                   4&3 (UT)
Sophie Stevens  Bohyun Park                      6&4 (UT)
Jackie Lucena     Bentley Cotton                 1UP (UT)

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