Florida concluded its 2015-16 season on May 23. It was a season that featured dominant victories, record-breaking performances and post-season shortcomings.
Coach Emily Glaser led the Gators to seven wins this season — the most since 1986.
But UF’s Fall season didn’t start out as planned.
While then-No. 22 UF exploded in its season-opener — landing fourth in a stacked field that included then-No. 9 Arkansas — it did not find a title until the Alamo Invitational on Oct. 27.
Continuing their momentum from that Invitational, the Gators swept the Florida Challenge on Feb. 1 with a 12-stroke victory.
Florida claimed third place at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge, a notable improvement from its 10th-place finish last season.
Continuing its dominant run, UF collected four-straight titles, ending the regular season with six wins.
In her fourth year, Glaser had collected more wins than in her past three years combined.
Unfortunately, the Gators were unable to take their win-streak into the beginning post-season, finishing in second after a fierce battle with the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Southeastern Conference Championship on April 17.
Florida came back with force at the NCAA Regional Championship, though.
UF began the tournament in fourth place and opened the last round in third, but a program-best 7-under-par round by junior Karolina Vlckova helped the Gators claim first place.
The Gators once again had momentum on their side, this time heading into the NCAA National Championship.
But it was not enough.
During team play, UF had just one under-par round in the competition — sophomore Taylor Tomlinson’s first round of the tournament.
Florida went home unceremoniously while junior Kelly Grassel continued after qualifying as an individual. She finished in a tie for 20th.
What came to define the Gators’ season was not a single tournament but rather the four-tournament string of victories that Florida was able to tie together.
Starting with the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Golf Championship and ending with the first-annual Clemson Invitational, the Gators picked up four-consecutive titles, which was more than they managed to total the previous year or the one before.
"The really cool thing that I saw from the team was that, after lunch we were sitting there waiting for all the scores to come in and the girls were already talking about what they were going to do to improve," Glaser said after their win at Briar's Creek Invitational.
"They certainly haven’t rested or been content with the wins. I haven’t seen any egos popping out, I haven’t seen anybody really being content with the way that they played."
Florida has signed three incoming golfers for next season.
Elin Esborn (from Sweden), Marta Perez (from Spain) and Carlotta Ricolfi (from Italy) will join the Gators' roster next season. The incoming members are ranked 146th, 80th and 133rd in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, respectively, and are all members of their respective national teams.
The Gators will be losing Ursa Orehek, who claimed two top-25 finishes this season, as well as Laura Kanouse.
Returning will be Florida’s regular lineup of Vlckova, Grassel, Wagner, Tomlinson and junior Maria Torres, who was named an Honorable Mention All-American on Wednesday.
For her fifth year as head coach, Glaser will have the arsenal to match this year’s success.
Contact Alfredo Morales at amorales@alligator.org or follow him on Twitter at @amorales _95.
Maria Torres tees off during the 2015 SunTrust Gator Invitational at UF's Mark Bostick Golf Course.
