The fourth-ranked University of Florida women’s golf team opened the NCAA East Regional in impression fashion Thursday as the Lady Gators fired a 2-over total of 290 to sit in sole possession of second place at the University of Georgia Golf Course.

No. 2 seed Florida opened five shots back of top-ranked Duke, who posted a 3-under 285 as the only team in the field to sit in under-par figures. South Carolina is in third at 3-over 291, Furman is fourth at 4-over 292 and Louisville is fifth at 5-over 293.

“We had a tough start but we brought it back,” UF head coach Jill Briles-Hinton said. “The wind picked up, we fought hard and then ended up a 2-over par. We are all playing for each other and that is what is great about it. We are in a good position to start.”

The Lady Gators are one of four Southeastern Conference teams in the top 10. The top eight finishers on Saturday advance to the NCAA Championships. Host Georgia, the third seed, is in ninth place at 11-over 299.

Senior Tiffany Chudy (Miramar, Fla.) and redshirt junior Ornella Jouven (La Ciotat, France) guided Florida on the first day of competition with even-par 72s. Both are one of seven players in a tie for 10th place. Louisville’s Sara-Maude Juneau holds a one-shot lead on Duke’s Amanda Blumenherst, the nation’s No. 1 player, following a 5-under 67.

Chudy’s round featured three bogeys in her first four holes, but the senior responded admirably with a 3-under back nine scorecard that featured birdies on holes 10, 13 and 17. Her 72 marked the second-lowest round of her career at an NCAA regional in 10 rounds of play.

Jouven’s even-par scorecard matched the lowest round of her career in NCAA competition. Despite bogeys in two of her first three holes, the redshirt junior provided steady play the rest of the way that featured a 2-under 35 on her back nine. She tallied 13 pars and two birdies in her final 15 holes.

Freshmen Jessica Yadloczky (Casselberry, Fla.) and Hannah Yun (Bradenton, Fla.) posted 1-over rounds of 73 to sit within striking distance of the top five. They share 17th place with four other golfers and are only three shots back of the top five. Yadloczky had eight pars and a bogey on her front nine, and she drew even on her back nine thanks to birdies at the par-4 11th and the par-5 17th. One of four birdies in Yun’s round came at the closing par-5 18th. The two were playing in their first career NCAA postseason competition.

“I thought the wind came into play on hole 15 for Hannah when she took a tough number,” Briles-Hinton said. “However, she was able to recover and finish par, par birdie. I was very proud of that.”

Redshirt freshman Nicole Schachner (Libertyville, Ill.) is one of several players in a tie for 87th place following a 10-over 82.

Round two tee times get underway at 8 a.m. ET. Florida, who played in the morning session on Thursday, will be one of 12 teams in Friday afternoon’s pairings. The Lady Gators go off the No. 10 tee with Duke and Georgia beginning at 1:20 p.m. ET. Live scoring is available at www.Gatorzone.com and www.Golfstat.com.

Team Scores After Round 1

Individual Top 10 Through Round 1 

Florida Results After Round 1