Sunday, April 17
Birmingham, Ala.
Florida Gators
at
SEC Championship
Torres Wins SEC Women’s Golf Title, Gators Finish Second
Sunday, April 17, 2016 | Women's Golf
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – University of Florida junior Maria Torres took home the 2016 SEC Individual title on Sunday at the SEC Women's Golf Championship. Her collegiate-best -9 (207) was the second-lowest tournament score in program history and equaled the SEC Championship record for the lowest 54-hole score. With the title, Torres joins elite company, as she became only the seventh Gator to claim an SEC individual title, the first since 2003. The previous individual SEC champions from UF are: Lynn Connelly (1981), Deb Richard (1982, '83, '84), Karen Davies (1986), Cheryl Morley (1988), Dina Taylor (1995), and Aimee Cho (2003).
In the team competition, the Orange and Blue squad took home second place at even par (864). The team's runner-up performance marks the Gators' highest finish at the SEC Championship since capturing the title in 2008. Sunday's final round became a two-team race for the title, as top-ranked Alabama came out on top, five strokes ahead of the Gators, who were 18 strokes ahead of third-place Arkansas.
Junior Kelly Grassel, competing in her first SEC Championship, was consistent in scoring +3 (219) and finished tied for 11th. Freshman Sam Wagner finished tied for 16th in her SEC Championship debut at +5 (221), at the par-72, 6,195-yard Greystone Golf and Country Club. Junior Karolina Vlckova posted the Gators' second under-par score of the day, an impressive -4 (68), to boost herself into the top 20.
Head Coach Emily Glaser:
On the Gators' second place finish:
"Lots of emotions right now surrounding this day. I'm of course disappointed that we didn't win today. Hats off to Alabama, they played fantastic, counted four scores under par when it counted most. That being said, I'm immensely proud of this group. They played so hard today, they fought, and we hung with Alabama most of the day. This is a tremendous group of athletes, but more importantly an outstanding group of young women that represented the Gators in a first class manner. I'm really excited for what's to come for us."
On Maria Torres' SEC title:
"It's hard to put into words how proud I am of Maria, and how far she's come. The best way to sum it up is Coach Deacon mentioned to me that he saw her this past Saturday, at the course alone at 8 a.m. as he was coming into work. She had already played nine holes. That is the action of a champion, and someone who wants it, and now she is the SEC Champion."
Junior Maria Torres:
On winning the SEC Individual title:
"It feels spectacular! I have no words to describe it yet. It was great to win the title at Greystone and with my Gator teammates. I am thankful for my teammates, my coaches, the University of Florida and my team that's back home in Puerto Rico. Without them, I would not have been able to accomplish this. Today, I was trying to stay patient, and just focus on every shot that I had in front of me – and it paid off."
Final Florida Scores:
Team:
1. Alabama -5 (859)
2. FLORIDA E (864)
3. Arkansas +18 (882)
4. Texas A&M +20 (884)
5. South Carolina +24 (888)
Players:
1. Maria Torres -9 (69-68-70-207)
T11. Kelly Grassel +3 (70-75-74-219)
T16. Sam Wagner +5 (76-71-74-221)
T20. Karolina Vlckova +6 (77-77-68-222)
T31. Taylor Tomlinson +10 (77-72-77-226)
Full Leaderboard
Up Next for the Gators: Florida will await their NCAA Regional selection, which will be announced next Monday, April 25, live on Golf Channel during Golf Central, from 6-7 p.m. NCAA Regionals will be held from May 5-7 at the following four sites: Stanford, Calif.; Bryan, Texas; Baton Rouge, La.; and Shoal Creek, Ala.
FloridaGators.com
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
In the team competition, the Orange and Blue squad took home second place at even par (864). The team's runner-up performance marks the Gators' highest finish at the SEC Championship since capturing the title in 2008. Sunday's final round became a two-team race for the title, as top-ranked Alabama came out on top, five strokes ahead of the Gators, who were 18 strokes ahead of third-place Arkansas.
Junior Kelly Grassel, competing in her first SEC Championship, was consistent in scoring +3 (219) and finished tied for 11th. Freshman Sam Wagner finished tied for 16th in her SEC Championship debut at +5 (221), at the par-72, 6,195-yard Greystone Golf and Country Club. Junior Karolina Vlckova posted the Gators' second under-par score of the day, an impressive -4 (68), to boost herself into the top 20.
Head Coach Emily Glaser:
On the Gators' second place finish:
"Lots of emotions right now surrounding this day. I'm of course disappointed that we didn't win today. Hats off to Alabama, they played fantastic, counted four scores under par when it counted most. That being said, I'm immensely proud of this group. They played so hard today, they fought, and we hung with Alabama most of the day. This is a tremendous group of athletes, but more importantly an outstanding group of young women that represented the Gators in a first class manner. I'm really excited for what's to come for us."
On Maria Torres' SEC title:
"It's hard to put into words how proud I am of Maria, and how far she's come. The best way to sum it up is Coach Deacon mentioned to me that he saw her this past Saturday, at the course alone at 8 a.m. as he was coming into work. She had already played nine holes. That is the action of a champion, and someone who wants it, and now she is the SEC Champion."
Junior Maria Torres:
On winning the SEC Individual title:
"It feels spectacular! I have no words to describe it yet. It was great to win the title at Greystone and with my Gator teammates. I am thankful for my teammates, my coaches, the University of Florida and my team that's back home in Puerto Rico. Without them, I would not have been able to accomplish this. Today, I was trying to stay patient, and just focus on every shot that I had in front of me – and it paid off."
Final Florida Scores:
Team:
1. Alabama -5 (859)
2. FLORIDA E (864)
3. Arkansas +18 (882)
4. Texas A&M +20 (884)
5. South Carolina +24 (888)
Players:
1. Maria Torres -9 (69-68-70-207)
T11. Kelly Grassel +3 (70-75-74-219)
T16. Sam Wagner +5 (76-71-74-221)
T20. Karolina Vlckova +6 (77-77-68-222)
T31. Taylor Tomlinson +10 (77-72-77-226)
Full Leaderboard
Up Next for the Gators: Florida will await their NCAA Regional selection, which will be announced next Monday, April 25, live on Golf Channel during Golf Central, from 6-7 p.m. NCAA Regionals will be held from May 5-7 at the following four sites: Stanford, Calif.; Bryan, Texas; Baton Rouge, La.; and Shoal Creek, Ala.
FloridaGators.com
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
Game Time presented by Tower Hill Insurance (October 18, 2025)
Saturday, October 18
Road to Gameday: Florida Soccer
Saturday, October 18
Up Next presented by UF Health (October 17, 2025)
Friday, October 17
Aaron Chiles Media Availability 10-15-25
Friday, October 17
