“How do you make a hankie dance?” Kelly Grassel asked her teammates on Thursday.
The team was loose as it took turns teeing off on a par-3 hole in Sunset, South Carolina, and assistant coach Janice Olivencia had asked the senior golfer for her “joke of the day.”
“You put a little boogie in it,” Grassel shouted on Periscope. She smiled wide and put on a little dance of her own. And why not? The Gators were in a dancing mood after winning their previous two tournaments by wide margins.
Starting today, however, the Gators will likely be more business-minded as they attempt to defend last season’s championship at the Clemson Invitational. Last year, UF held off a late rally by eventual runner-up Furman, beating the Paladins by one stroke. This year, the field includes 16 other teams, including four other SEC schools as well as FSU.
The team has had success recently in South Carolina. Ten days ago at the Briar’s Creek Invitational, three Gators finished in the top 10; seniors Karolina Vlckova, Maria Torres and Grassel carried the team to an 18-stroke victory over Campbell University.
For her efforts at Briar’s Creek, Torres was honored with her second SEC Women’s Golfer of the Week award in the past three weeks. The No. 2-ranked amateur golfer in the world, Torres ended up winning the top individual honors at Briar’s Creek, carding a 7-under par. It was the best finish of her senior year.
Torres did not compete in the Clemson Invitational last year and will be looking to add one more signature finish to her already superlative-laden season.
Both Grassel and Vlckova, ranked No. 10 and No. 33, respectively, among world amateurs, did compete last year, though, and they each found very different results.
Vlckova ended her tournament run with a 4 under, posting one round above par. Grassel sandwiched an uncharacteristic 6-over second round between two even-par rounds.
Coach Emily Glaser said that last year’s tournament, in which UF never trailed at the end of any of the three rounds, was a learning experience for her team.
“I was really impressed with our toughness this weekend,” Glaser said after her squad finished last year. “It wasn’t our best day, but we fought hard all the way to the end, and it paid off.”
The Clemson Invitational is the final test for the team before it heads to Birmingham, Alabama, on April 21 to participate in the SEC Championship.
Contact Morgan McMullen at mmcmullen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @morganmcmuffin.
Kelly Grassel lines up a shot during the 2015 SunTrust Gator Invitational at UF's Mark Bostick Golf Course.
