Gators Women’s Golf Eyes SEC Championships After Strong Regular Season

After finishing outside the top five for the first time since 2024 in the Moon Golf Invitational at  Suntree Country Club in Melbourne on Feb. 15-17, the Florida Gators women’s golf team has strung together an impressive stretch of play to close out the regular season. 

The Gators followed by finishing first in the Gators Invitational by 18 strokes at Mark Bostick Golf Course while shooting a program-record -20 on the weekend for the program’s 54th first-place finish in their Gainesville event. Junior Paula Francisco was a highlight, winning her first individual collegiate title. 

Weeks later, Florida took home first in the Clemson Invitational behind another outstanding performance from Francisco, who shot her sixth consecutive round under par as the Gators earned their fifth first-place finish for the second consecutive season. 

Coach Emily Glaser believes  the win at the Clemson Invitational is the perfect example of the team’s maturity. 

“We were playing a very good Arkansas team that played extremely well in the middle of the round,” Glaser said. “It didn’t rattle our players. They just kept doing their thing and focusing on what was in front of them which ultimately paid off in the end.”

That level of maturity is something  this Florida team has centered around this year and is one of the main catalysts of the regular-season performance.

“We’re gaining in confidence and maturity,” Glaser said. “We’ve continued to improve throughout the season.”

Now, Florida looks ahead to the SEC Championships at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla., hoping to carry that momentum against a stacked conference field starting Friday. 

“It was a great finish,” Francisco said. “I think it gives you the confidence that you need to start the postseason.” 

Francisco is not new to the scene of conference tournaments, as she has already competed in the last two SEC Championships in her first two seasons with the team. 

But, Francisco says  the experience of this year’s team sets it apart from seasons in the past. 

“The standards are a little higher,” Francisco said. “It makes it more fun, because teams know that we have a chance. We know that we have a chance.”

One challenge the Gators and other competing teams will face is the long break between outings. Florida’s last regular-season match ended March 29, and the team will not have seen the greens for two weeks. 

Glaser believes  the long break will not be a challenge, but instead serve as a strength for the group. 

“It’s a nice time to work on our games and tie up some loose ends,” Glaser said. “The game you have is the game you have in the postseason and to me it’s all about being mentally fresh and being excited to play golf. We’ll make the most of that over these next few weeks.”

The SEC Championships will offer one of the most competitive fields the Gators have seen this season.  The conference has 10 teams ranked in the top 25, with five of them in the top 10 including Florida at No. 4. 

Francisco is awaiting the challenge and believes the team needs to trust in its ability to perform well in the postseason.

“You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. It’s the same game. The stakes might be higher, the competitors might be higher, but you just need to keep doing your thing and keep doing the same process,” Francisco said. “We just have to keep doing the same thing and believe in ourselves, believe in this team, and have fun the next few weeks.”

Category: Gator Sports, Gators Women's Golf