Coach Emily Glaser has an advantage most coaches dream to have.
The advantage is young talent that produces results on the golf course and isn’t afraid to work hard to improve their games.
The Florida women’s golf roster boasts four underclassmen -- three sophomores and one freshman.
The four of them will be counted on heavily when the spring season starts for the team in January.
The three sophomores are Maria Torres, Kelly Grassel and Karolina Vlckova, and the freshman is Taylor Tomlinson.
The four of them make up more than half of the players on UF’s roster and each of them competed in the final tournament of the fall for UF with all of them finishing in the top 45 in the event.
Torres was the lowest scoring player in the lineup in Wilmington, North Carolina, and her tie for 11th place was the best result of any player on the team in the fall.
Glaser sat down with Torres before the event and discussed and loosening up.
"We talked about going into the event and maybe playing a little bit more aggressive and just kind of letting her fly," Glaser said.
Vlckova had her best finish in the fall as well in Wilmington as she finished in 23rd place. Her best previous finish was a tie for 53rd at the Cougar Classic.
Vlckova is a reliable player in the lineup as well because she’s competed in every tournament since her freshman year.
Something that has stood out to Glaser throughout the fall is the amount of work Tomlinson and Grassel put in. Even though they are two of the youngest on the team, Glaser knows she won’t have to push either of them to get better.
"The cool thing about Taylor and Kelly is they are both really hard workers," Glaser said. "They are probably the hardest workers on the team and they are our young players, which is great for us."
Glaser knows how badly Tomlinson wants to be the best and at times, Glaser has had to pull Tomlinson aside to make sure she doesn’t overdo it.
"Taylor is one that really doesn’t play with a lot of fear at all, she wants it bad," Glaser said. "Almost to the point where we have to sort of rein it in and have her get out of her own way a little bit."
The fact that Tomlinson competed in each tournament in the fall in her freshman year sets up well for the spring portion of her first season. Building valuable experience is important for a young player and Glaser sees a lot of potential in Tomlinson.
"I think experience is what will be the key for her, even though she’s only a freshman, I think we’ll look for big things from her," Glaser said. "She’s a very good player, she’s very talented and fits in well with the team and because she is such a hard worker, in the end that usually pays off for players."
Follow Luis Torres on Twitter @LFTorresIII
