COLUMBUS, Ga. – Florida women’s golfer Paula Francisco was named a finalist for the 2025-26 ANNIKA Award, Golfweek, Golf Channel and the ANNIKA Foundation announced on Friday. She is one 10 golfers selected to the annual award given to the top female Division 1 collegiate golfer, and
Created in 2014, the award will be announced after the upcoming Division I Women’s National Championship and is awarded annually to the best player in Division I women’s golf. Voting will open on Friday, May 15th and end on Monday, May 25th after the completion of the stroke play portion of the NCAA Championship. Current Division I players, coaches, past ANNIKA Award winners, women’s golf SID’s, and select college golf media members are eligible to vote for the ANNIKA Award.
Francisco continues to add another milestone to her breakout season. She started the postseason by winning the 2026 SEC Individual Championship, and becoming the eighth Gator to win the conference title and first since Maria Torres in 2016. It was the 10th time a UF golfer has been crowned the conference champion, which leads the SEC. The win was the second of Francisco’s collegiate career and season. She had 54-hole tournament score of 202 (-8), which is the third lowest all-time by score in SEC Championship history. It is also was the lowest by par from a Gator since Maria Torres won the conference title in 2016 and finished 9-under.
She recently clinched a spot in the 81st U.S. Women’s Open shooting 2-under 140 in the qualifier at the Wilderness Country Club (Naples, Fla.). The Madrid, Spain native was also named to the All-SEC First Team and selected to this year’s Arnold Palmer Cup.
At the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, Francisco finished T19 to tie for her team-best 10th top-25 finish this season. In six of her postseason rounds this season, four have been under par. She leads the team in stroke average (70.6) and under par rounds (17). The junior had a streak of 10 straight rounds under par and in her 32 (576 holes) total this season, she is a cumulative 15-under overall.
Ranked the No. 11 player in the nation, she tied the 54-hole tournament record (202) in the spring opener. Then broke the 10-year program record with a final score of 200 (-10) to capture her first collegiate win at the Gators Invitational. In round two, Francisco tied for the second-lowest round in program history with a 65 (-5). She has a team-low stroke average of 70.3 and 16 of her 29 rounds have been under par with nine straight currently.
Ranked No. 3 in the nation, Florida clinched a spot into the NCAA Championships after finishing third and 3-under at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional. The Gators advance to nationals for the 30th time in program history and the second consecutive season for the first time since 2018-19. Florida had a 54-hole score of 861 (-3) for the program’s second-lowest tournament total by score and par at regional play all-time. The 30th appearance marks one of eight schools and one of two SEC Schools (Texas) to reach the final tournament of the year 30-plus times.
This year’s NCAA Championships are scheduled for May 22-27 at Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, Calif and the Gators are the No. 3 seed overall and top seed out of the SEC and are set for tee times of 2:50 p.m. on Friday, May 22 and 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 23. UF will be paired with Stanford (#1) and USC (#2) for the first two rounds.
There will be a 54-hole cut with the top-15 teams and nine individuals on a non-advancing team a spot on Sunday, May 24 to play in the final round of stroke play on Monday, May 25.
After the final 18 holes, the top-8 teams will advance to match play and a 72-hole individual champion is crowned. The team national champion will be determined by a match-play format features the quarterfinals and semifinals conducted on Tuesday, May 26 followed by the finals on Wednesday, May 27.
ANNIKA Award Finalist
Vanessa Borovilos, Texas A&M
Paula Francisco, Florida
Jasmine Koo, USC
Maria Jose Marin, Arkansas
Paula Martín Sampedro, Stanford
Farah O’Keefe, Texas
Meja Örtengren, Stanford
Catherine Park, USC
Andrea Revuelta, Stanford
Kiara Romero, Oregon
Florida Women’s Golf 2025-26 Awards Tracker
Name
Award/Honor
Paula Francisco
SEC Individual Champion
All-SEC First Team
Qualifier for 81st U.S. Women’s Open
ANNIKA Award Finalist
ANNIKA Award Postseason Watch List
WGCA Player of the Year Watch List
Arnold Palmer Cup Selection
Gators Invitational Champion
SEC Golfer of the Week
Megan Propeck
SEC Newcomer of the Year
All-SEC First Team
Arnold Palmer Cup Selection
Augusta National Women’s Amateur Participant
OU Intercollegiate Champion
Emily Glaser
SEC Coach of the Year
WGAC Coach of the Year Watch List
Siuue Wu
All-SEC Second Team
Qualifier for 81st U.S. Women’s Open
Katelyn Huber
All-SEC Freshman Team
SEC Freshman of the Week
Ashley Sease
WGCA Assistant Coach of the Year Watch List