The UF women’s golf team had a rollercoaster of a season.
Florida started off its season in early September on a high note, placing first out of 20 teams at the Cougar Classic in Charleston, S.C. The Gators’ final score was five-under-par, junior Anna Young won the individual portion of the tournament and freshmen Karolina Vlckova and Maria Torres finished in the top 15.
That performance would prove to be one of UF’s highest points of the season.
After the first round of Florida’s only home tournament, the SunTrust Gator Invitational at the Mark Bostick Golf Course, UF sat in 11th place out of the 14-team field. The Gators shot 25-over-par on the course they were most familiar with and practiced on multiple times a week. “Everyone who plays golf knows that it can be a humbling game,” second-year coach Emily Glaser had said.
That performance would prove to be one of UF’s lowest points of the season.
There were also other high and low moments. Among them, Florida failed to finish above third place in any tournament following the Cougar Classic.
But in one of its third-place finishes, the Gators bounced back after a disappointing performance in a Palos Verdes, Calif., competition.
The then-No. 16 Gators recorded their lowest tournament score of the season, 858 (-6), at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Championship. This number marked the fifth-lowest tournament total in the history of UF’s women’s golf program.
Most recently, senior Elcin Ulu shot a career-low, 18-hole round of 66 (-4) in the final day of the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship, sending her out on a good note in her last year competing as a Gator.
Staying with the NCAA Championship, Florida finished tied for 18th place in the field of 24 teams, which was respectable considering that three players in the five-man lineup – junior transfer Sarah Schober and freshmen Vlckova and Torres – were playing on the big stage for the first time.
“The experience they gained from this week was invaluable,” Glaser said after the conclusion of the tournament. Although Florida struggled through a rough-and-tumble season, the future is bright for the young Gators. The team is graduating only one senior, Ulu. Every player on the roster who is expected to return for next season has at least some tournament experience, and some have enjoyed standout moments this year.
UF will continue to be led by the up-and-coming Glaser. Over her two years as the head coach at Florida, the Gators improved their finish in the SEC Championship from 13th to a tie for 10th and stayed in the thick of things with NCAA regional and championship play.
When Glaser was hired in 2012, she described herself as a “grinder” and said she always tries to “find a way to get it done.”
Florida women’s golf will continue to do so, too, no matter how rough the ride may be.
Follow Layne Weitzel on Twitter @laynejweitzel
Maria Torres hits the ball during the SunTrust Gator Women’s Golf Invitational on March 15.
