The Gators Feed

Florida pitcher Jonathon Crawford throws no-hitter in NCAA Regional

Antonya English — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 04:39:49 +0000

CHECK OUT VIDEO OF CRAWFORD'S POST-GAME INTERVIEW BELOW:

Nearly one year after he failed to be included on the roster in the Gators’ final postseason games, sophomore pitcher Jonathon Crawford threw his first career no-hitter, and sophomore second baseman Casey Turgeon added four RBI to lead the Gators to a 4-0 win over Bethune-Cookman in the NCAA Gainesville Regional at McKethan Stadium Friday night.

It was the first solo no-hitter for Florida since John Burke threw one against Furman in the 1991 NCAA East Regional, and only the seventh in NCAA Tournament history. Crawford (6-2) threw 98 pitches, five strikeouts, and walked just one. Out of 27 batters, he had 20 first-pitch strikes.

Florida becomes the only school to have two pitchers throw no-hitters in NCAA Tournament play.

It was a remarkable achievement for a player who pitched just 3.2 innings last season and was left out of the Gators’ lineup in the NCAA College World Series.

“Last year, how smart I am, we left him off the roster in Omaha,’’ Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “It was a very tough decision, but it was one that we felt like had to be made. He went off to the Northwoods League, he never complained, he got his 50 innings in and came back. He was much-improved this fall and very open-minded to some changes. And he has worked extremely hard. On top of that, we’ve asked him to have multiple roles this year – Friday night starter, Saturday night starter, Sunday starter, reliever – and now 12 months later he starts the first game of the regional and throws a no-hitter.’’

O’Sullivan called the Gators’ victory a “great team win’’, adding that junior pitcher Mike Zunino deserved much of the credit for calling the game – including every pitch in the final three innings. “I probably called 10 pitches all night,’’ he said.

Florida will play Georgia Tech today at 7 p.m. The Yellow Jackets defeated College of Charleston, 8-4, in Friday’s first regional game.

Hear from Crawford and other Gators in their post-game comments here:

Will Muschamp's quip about College Station elicits video response from town's mayor

Antonya English — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 20:18:11 +0000

And you thought Urban Meyer-Lane Kiffin was bizarre?

Try Will Muschamp and Nancy Berry - the mayor of College Station, Texas.

In response to Muschamp's comment during one of recent Gator Gatherings, the mayor of College Station, which is home to new SEC member Texas A&M, has made a video.

You heard, it, a video.

Muschamp was asked about the Gators' first trip to College Station to open SEC play in September and he responded by saying: “You ever been to College Station?” “It’ll be the only time you go.”

New Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin has already fired back that Muschamp should just worry about his own team. Now, According to a press release from the Bryan-College Station Convention and Visitors Bureau, Berry has made a video "as a good-natured response to Florida head football coach Will Muschamp’s jabs at visiting College Station during the much anticipated game between the Gators and Texas A&M Aggies.''

In the video she offers evidence that Muschamp has enjoyed visiting College Station and Texas A&M many times during his tenure as a Big 12 coach.

“We are really excited to host this year’s game against the Gators, and we like that a little friendly rivalry has already started,” Shannon Overby, Executive Director of the Bryan-College Convention & Visitors Bureau said. “There will be a lot of fans here to support both teams, so we are confident that Coach Muschamp will enjoy his stay.”

Check out the video here:

Kevin O'Sullivan: It's in the players' hands now

Antonya English — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:34:29 +0000

With 60 games completed and a solid nucleus of veteran players on its roster, Florida baseball coach Kevin O'Sullivan said the Gators' fate is now up to the players.

Florida will open play in the NCAA baseball tournament tonight at 7 against Bethune-Cookman. The Gators (42-18) are the No. 1 overall national seed.

O'Sullivan said at this point, the coaching staff has prepared about all it can and now it's up to the players to take over and perform as well as they are capable.

Hear from from the coach as game-time nears here:

Florida will face Marquette again in 2012 basketball season

Antonya English — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:14:31 +0000

Florida fans will get to see a rematch of the Gators' 2012 NCAA Sweet 16 game during the upcoming season. Well, sort of.

The Gators and Marquette are scheduled to meet on Nov. 29 as part of the second annual SEC/BIG EAST Challenge. The Gators defeated Marquette to advance to the play Louisville in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in Phoenix this past season.

The event will run from Thursday, Nov. 29 through Saturday, Dec. 1, and will include defending national champion Kentucky at Notre Dame and last season’s BIG EAST regular-season champion Syracuse at Arkansas.

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to televise all 12 games of the event.

For the second straight year, all 12 games will be played at home sites with each conference hosting six games. Marquette, Notre Dame, South Florida and Villanova will participate in the event for the first time. All 12 SEC teams played in last year’s Challenge.

The field of 24 consists of 10 teams from the 2012 NCAA Tournament: six from the BIG EAST (Cincinnati, Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, South Florida and Syracuse) and four from the SEC (Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Vanderbilt).

Gators expect tough outing against Bethune-Cookman and pitcher Rayan Gonzalez in NCAA opener

Antonya English — Thu, 31 May 2012 17:40:29 +0000

Florida will meet a familiar opponent when the Gators begin play in the NCAA Baseball Gainesville Regional on Friday.

Florida, which is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, will play Bethune-Cookman at 7 p.m. at McKethan Stadium on the UF campus.

Florida defeated the Wildcats in both regular-season meetings - 8-6 on Feb. 21 and 10-1 on April 25. The Gators are 27-0 all-time against B-CU.

In the 2009 Gainesville Regional, it took a walk-off single by Teddy Foster to keep the Gators' win streak alive, giving Florida an 8-7 win in that game.

BC-U is expected to start pitcher MEAC Pitcher of the Year Rayan Gonzalez (9-1, 1.96 ERA, 87 1/3 IP, 74 H, 17 BB, 79 SO), which UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan said will make earning a victory no easy task.

Earlier today, O'Sullivan talked about what makes Gonzalez so good, and what he expects from the Gators this weekend:

Steve Spurrier wants SEC champions to be decided by divisional play only

Antonya English — Wed, 30 May 2012 23:04:06 +0000

As the SEC football coaches gathered this week at the league's spring meetings, among the topics is a growing debate over how to best determine the SEC champs.

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is a strong proponent of a system in which conference champions are decided based only on divisional play. Last season, the Gamecocks won all of its SEC East games, but losses to SEC West teams Arkansas and Auburn kept South Carolina from an SEC East title.

"There was a time when everybody played each other, then the team with the best record was the league champion.'' Spurrier said. "And now with the mega-conferences, everybody can’t play each other. And sometimes scheduling might be the reason you win the division or could even win a conference championship.I think it would be a way to continue some of the truly great rivalries in college football. The biggest one I think about is Tennessee and Alabama. They are different divisions, and for (UT coach) Derek Dooley to play them every year, it sort or hurts his chance to win the Eastern Division because Alabama has been one of the best in the country year-in-and-year out. So the smart thing, if Tennessee is position to win their division, they’d probably like to play a lesser team than Alabama. So that’s the reason you could play your other (league) games early, and then just play all your division games after that. And you’d have a true division champion play a true other division champion.''

LSU coach Les Miles has thrown his support behind controversial proposal, but several coaches said Wednesday the plan is not likely to pass this week.

“I’m not for that for the simple reason I’d have a hard time losing to an Eastern Division team that loses two Western Conference games, and
they are going to go play in the SEC Championship,’’ Florida coach Will Muschamp said. “An SEC game is an SEC game to me. That’s just the way I feel. I know it didn’t help him this year, in the sense of winning the SEC East, but losing two on the other side. I totally understand his frustration. But I think an SEC game needs to count for an SEC game, that’s my personal opinion.’’

Keeping Florida as permanent rival not necessarily a top priority for LSU coach Les Miles

Antonya English — Wed, 30 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000

As discussions continue about how best to carve out league schedules in the future with the addition of two teams to the SEC, the debate over holding onto long-time rivals continued this week at the SEC spring meetings.

LSU coach Les Miles said that keeping Florida as a permanent rival isn't necessarily a must.

Miles, who supports a plan offered up by South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier that would crown division champions based solely on their play within the division, said he's more concerned with equity and fairness in league play, than just holding onto teams that have been a constant on the schedule in the past.

"I promise you competition is not the issue,'' Miles said when asked if he's in favor of keeping Florida as a traditional rival which meets annually on the schedule. "I think it’s wonderful competition. If it helps pick the division champion, I think it’s a mistake.''

Miles said with the addition of Missouri and Texas A&M to the conference, the league needs to be able to define rivals and be willing to make adjustments to who is permanently on each other's schedules based on factors other than past history.

"This is all based on some vague tradition, it’s not considering that you’re adding teams to the conference,'' he said. "I think there needs to be a format of scheduling that is describable. If you’re going to seed teams, you’re going to say this team’s won this many championships, and there will be a descriptive style. I mean, Florida is not even a nearby state, and the tradition of rivalry is the fact that we enjoy playing them.''

Gator golf team in second at NCAA Tournament heading into second day

Antonya English — Wed, 30 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

The Florida men’s golf team shot an opening round 288 (+4), and are tied for second place overall at the 2012 NCAA Championships, which is being played at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

On Tuesday, the Gators were led by junior Tyler McCumber who shot a bogey-free 68 (-3), which also landed him in a tie for second place.

McCumber started his day with six consecutive pars before breaking through with a birdie at the par-4 seventh. Two more pars at eight and nine saw McCumber go out in 34 (-1). After a stretch of seven-consecutive pars, McCumber carded a birdie on the difficult, par-4, 18th to post his 17th round at or under par on the season.

Senior Michael Furci survived three bogeys on the front to post a 72. Junior T.J. Vogel finished his opening round with a 72, and freshmen J.D. Tomlinson and Eric Banks each posted rounds of 76 (+5) to round out the Gators' lineup.

Play continues today, and the Gators tee off at 3:20. Live scoring for the second round is available through NCAA.com.

“We’re going out in the afternoon and we’ll probably face some wind and tougher conditions, but we need to be able to stay focused and play our game and hopefully put together a round that puts us in contention going into the final round,” UF coach Buddy Alexander said.

Allowing Damontre Harris to transfer to Florida was the right thing to do, Frank Martin says

Antonya English — Wed, 30 May 2012 13:09:13 +0000

It’s not exactly the way he had hoped to start his tenure as South Carolina’s new basketball coach, but dealing with transfer issues when you take over a new job is sometimes part of the deal.

And former Kansas State coach Frank Martin said his decision to allow 6-foot-9 forward Damontre Harris to transfer to Florida was about doing the right thing, even if it wasn't the most ideal situation for the Gamecocks.

“If that young man does not want to be at this school, then you shouldn’t hold him hostage,’’ Martin said while attending the SEC spring meetings. “Now we’ve got to compete against Damontre and I don’t like that. But why should I block him from going to the school he wants to play at, as long as things were handled the right way? I don’t believe in this whole thing that you should be able to recruit guys (at other schools) that’s crazy. But as long as things are handled the proper way, as long as we all handle things like adults and educators and those kids and those families are up front and communicate with all the appropriate people, it’s no different than me getting out of my contract, if I handle things the right way.’’

Martin, who has a longstanding relationship with Florida coach Billy Donovan dating back to Martin's high school coaching days in Miami, is in his first few months as the Gamecocks' head coach. He said his early meetings with his players have included letting them know their ultimate goal is to have South Carolina basketball among the elite programs in the SEC.

"Our challenge, our duty, is to elevate our program to the levels where Kentucky and Florida have been,'' Marrtin said. "I know if we can compete with those two schools, we can compete with anybody in the country.''

Gators' Preston Tucker among four players named first-team All-SEC

Antonya English — Wed, 30 May 2012 02:23:07 +0000

Former Tampa Plant standout Preston Tucker is among four Gators honored as first-team All-SEC selections chosen by the league’s coaches - the most since 1991. It is the third consecutive season the Gators have had a total of five All-SEC selections.

Tucker joined P/DH Brian Johnson, P Steven Rodriguez and C Mike Zunino on the first team. Junior SS Nolan Fontana was a second team selection, and 3B Josh Tobias was selected to the All-Freshman team. Tucker and Fontana have been All-SEC selections three times, joining an elite group of Florida players to achieve that honor including: includes Josh Adams (2008, 2009, 2011), Mike Stanley (1982, 84, 85), Marc Valdes (1991, 92, 93) and Brad Wilkerson (1996, 97, 98).

This season, Tucker hit a team-best .322 with 24 RBI, 20 runs, nine doubles and seven HR’s in conference action. Tucker has a .312 average and is second on the team in hits (73), runs (49), RBI (44), walks (30), doubles (15) and home runs (14).

A semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award and the Dick Howser Trophy who was the 2011 SEC Player of the Year, Zunino leads the Gators in batting average (.323), total bases (146), RBI (55), doubles (27), sacrifice flies (8) and slugging percentage (.664). Now a two-time first-team All-SEC recipient, he has a .993 fielding percentage, with three errors in 452 chances, and has thrown out almost a third of the runners who have attempted to steal on him.

Fontana becomes the first Gator shortstop to earn All-SEC three seasons in a row and joined outfielder Matt den Dekker (2008-09-10) as the only UF players to be named to the SEC All-Defensive Team three times.

Gators earn No. 1 overall national seed in NCAA baseball tournament

Antonya English — Mon, 28 May 2012 22:37:32 +0000

The Florida baseball team earned the top national seed for the 2012 NCAA Baseball Tournament, which begins on Friday at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville. This will be the Gators' 28th Regional appearance, and fifth consecutive under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan.

This is the fourth-consecutive year that UF has been a national seed (No. 8 in 2009, No. 3 in 2010 and No. 2 in 2011).

The top-seeded Gators (42-18) will play No. 4 seed Bethune-Cookman (34-25) at 7 p.m. on Friday. Second-seeded Georgia Tech (36-24) will play third-seeded College of Charleston (37-20) in the opening game at 1 p.m.

“Obviously, this is a great time of the year for everybody,” O’Sullivan said. “We’re excited to be in it. We’re excited to be home. Obviously, we’re going to have to play well if we want to advance. Our only concern right now is on Bethune (Cookman) and hopefully we have a great week of practice. I like this team going forward, but it’s one game at a time and we’re going to have to play well. Our regional is a tough one and we’ll just worry about one game at a time.”

The entire NCAA Gainesville Regional can be seen on ESPN3.

Florida Gators to host NCAA baseball regional

Antonya English — Mon, 28 May 2012 03:06:43 +0000

Florida will be one of 16 NCAA Baseball regional host sites, the NCAA announced on Sunday.

Four teams will compete at McKethan Stadium in a double-elimination tournament starting on Friday, June 1. The winner will advance to the best-of-three Super Regional to be held the following weekend at eight different sites.

The Gators will learn their opponent, and the other teams that will compete in its regional when the 64-team field for the NCAA Tournament is announced live on ESPNU, Monday at noon.

“We’re extremely happy about hosting games in Gainesville,” UF head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “It is great news for the program, our players, the university and the fans, and we appreciate the support.”

No. 2 Florida (42-18) advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament for the third year in a row after tying for third in the league’s regular-season standings. The Gators have been among the top-five teams in the national polls all season.

UF will be hosting an NCAA Regional for the fourth consecutive year. Last season, the Gators advanced to the College World Series, where they finished as national runner-up to South Carolina.

The other 15 schools chosen as host sites include: Arizona, Baylor, Florida State, LSU, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Oregon, Purdue, Rice, South Carolina, Stanford, Texas A&M, UCLA and Virginia.

TURGEON ALL-TOURNEY: Palm Harbor freshman Casey Turgeon was among three Gators named to the SEC All-Tournament team. Junior pitcher/DH Brian Johnson and freshman OF Justin Shafer were also chosen for the All-Tournament team.

Allie Will's season ends in NCAA tennis semifinals

Antonya English — Mon, 28 May 2012 02:52:06 +0000

Florida junior Allie Will fell short of her goal to win an NCAA individual title on Sunday in a three-set loss to Stanford's Nicole Gibbs.

Will, who is ranked No. 1 in the nation, forced a third set before third-ranked Gibbs earned the victory 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles Championships at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.

"Allie played her best match of the entire tournament,” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “It was a great match against Nicole. You have to give a lot of credit to Nicole, she found a way in the third set. There was a pivotal game when she was up 3-1 and made it 4-1. She found a way to get that game and that was the difference. If it had been 3-2 it would have been a different match.

“Allie really made it tough and physical in the second set with some deep, big heavy forehands in the second set and was able to wear Nicole down a little,” Thornqvist added. “Then there was the 10-minute, heat-rule break and I think Nicole got her legs back a bit and got off to a hot start in the third set. I’m really, really proud of Allie. She played better each match during this tournament.''

This was the third collegiate meeting between Will and Gibbs, each of which have gone three sets. Will won this year’s regular-season dual match decision 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 on Feb. 12 in Stanford and Gibbs took last year’s meeting on May 27 in the round of 16 at the 2011 NCAA Singles Championships, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3).

Will ends the season with a 26-3 record, and is 109-13 in her collegiate career.

Gators begin play in NCAA lacrosse tournament as No. 1 overall seed

Antonya English — Sat, 12 May 2012 11:33:01 +0000

The No. 1 Florida lacrosse team begins its quest for a national championship today when they host Albana (12-5) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Donal R. Dizney Stadium.

The game will begin at 1 p.m.

The Gators (17-2) earned the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament after winning its first ALC Tournament title last weekend in Gainesville, defeating Northwestern.

Albany had a crucial run late in the America East Tournament, including back-to-back upsets of top-see Boston University and No. 2 Stony Brook to qualify for its second consecutive NCAA Tournament.

Florida coach Amanda O'Leary met with the media this week and discussed the significance of beginning tournament play at home, and the meteoric rise of the program in just three seasons.

Former Gators John Brantley, Deonte Thompson sign with Baltimore Ravens

Antonya English — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:25:08 +0000

Former Florida QB John Brantley and WR Deonte Thompson are among 19 players who have signed free agent contracts with the Baltimore Ravens.

Brantley started 23 games for the Gators, compiling a 15-8 record. He is expected to compete with veteran Curtis Painter for the No. 3 quarterback job.

Thompson's best shot may be getting an opportunity on special teams. He had 101 receptions for 446 yards and nine touchdowns in his career at Florida. But what has impressed NFL scouts is his speed. He reportedly ran between a 4.23 and a 4.33 40 during NFL team workouts.

Gators begin competition for SEC track and field titles today

Antonya English — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:16:45 +0000

The No. 1 Florida men's track and field team, and the fourth-ranked UF women's teams will both begin competition today at the 2012 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Baton Rouge, La.

The event will take place today - Sunday at Bernie Moore Track Stadium on the campus of LSU.

Both the men and women's teams finished as SEC runner-up last year. Nine Gators lead their event categories heading into the weekend.

"I feel really good about both teams going in,'' Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. "We've had a very successful year outdoors as we build toward what we call the championship season. We're very, very excited about going into Baton Rouge and competing.''

Live coverage of the meet will air on ESPN3.com on Saturday and Sunday. from 5:30-8:15 p.m. Saturday and from 4-8 p.m. on Sunday.

Florida Gators No. 1 lacrosse team ready to make a statement in NCAA Tournament

Antonya English — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:46:07 +0000

In three years, the Florida lacrosse team has gone from upstart first-year program to a No. 1 ranking and a No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Gators will open NCAA Tournament play at home on Saturday, at 1 p.m., against Albany.

Today, several Gator players met with the media to talk about the team's ranking, their metoric rise to the top and expectations in their quest for a national title.

Hear what freshman Shannon Gilroy and juniors Emily Dohony and Sam Farrell had to say here:

Florida Gators senior Michelle Moultrie is SEC Softball Player of the Year

Antonya English — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:31:11 +0000

It's been an impressive couple of weeks for Florida senior centerfielder Michelle Moultrie.

This past weekend she graduated from UF, earning a Business Administration degree. Today, she was named the SEC Player of the Year in softball, the league office announced.

Moultrie becomes the fourth Florida player to earn the Player of the Year honor, and is the second Gator to earn the accolade in as many years. She has 23 bunt singles on the year and leads the SEC in batting average and fielding percentage. Moultrie also ranks third in the SEC in hits, doubles and on‐base percentage, and is fifth in runs scored and slugging percentage. She is also a Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award finalist, ranks 10th in the nation in runs per game and was named USA Softball National Player of the Week midway through the season for her play against Arkansas.

Moultrie's Gator teammates - pitcher Hannah Rogers and catcher Kelsey Horton (a former Durant standout) - were named to the All-SEC second team. Rogers and Moultrie were also named to the SEC All-Defensive team.

Gator pitcher Alyssa Bache, IF Lauren Haeger, IF Sami Fagan and OF Jessica Damico were all named to the SEC All-Freshman team.

The No. 3 seed Gators open play in the SEC Tournament on Thursday against No. 6 LSU at noon. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

It's unanimous: Florida Gators No. 1 in lacrosse

Antonya English — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:00:00 +0000

Three years after beginning its women's lacrosse program, Florida has risen to the top of the nation's programs.

The Gators are ranked No. 1 in this week's IWLCA (Intercollegiat Women's Lacrosse Association) poll - receiving all 20 first place votes. Florida is just the 14th team in poll history to be ranked No. 1.

Also, the Gators are ranked No. 1 in the Inside Lacrosse/deBeer Media poll and received the No 1 overall seed for the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

Florida took over the No. 1 spot from defending national champion Northwestern - who had been ranked No. 1 in every poll this season - after defeating the Wildcats for the second time this season in the ALC Championship game this past Saturday.

The lacrosse team is the fastest Florida program to reach No. 1 in the polls, surpassing the soccer team’s top ranking in the final poll of 1998, its fourth season, after the Gators won the 1998 NCAA Championship.

Florida is the first new women’s lacrosse team to be ranked No. 1 since Northwestern first achieved the top spot in the poll on Mar. 21, 2005, during NU’s fourth season as a reinstated program. The Gators, who became the highest-ranked second-year program in poll history last season, rising to No. 2 in the nation after defeating the Wildcats for the first time, join North Carolina as the only third-year programs ever to achieve No. 1 status. UNC, established in 1996, first earned the No. 1 ranking on Mar. 9, 1998, staying at the top spot for six weeks before finishing the season at No. 2.

Florida Gators to compete for SEC title without defending SEC decathlon champ Gray Horn

Antonya English — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:47:58 +0000

CHECK OUT VIDEO BELOW OF MIKE HOLLOWAY EVALUATING THE SEC COMPETITION:

Florida will compete for an SEC Men's Outdoors Track and Field title this weekend without one of its top athletes.

Gray Horn, the defending SEC outdoors decathlon champion, has been suspended from the team and will not compete in the SEC Outdoors Track and Field Championships this weekend in Baton Rouge, UF coach Mike Holloway said. Holloway declined to give specifics on Horn's suspension.

"Gray will not be competing this week,'' Holloway said. "Gray has been suspended from the team.''

Horn, a senior, has his best season as a Gator last year, earning two All-America honors and two SEC titles. He won both indoors and outdoors title, earning the 2011 SEC Indoor Championships heptathlon title (5,816) and the 2011 SEC Outdoor Championships decathlon title (7,828). He finished fourth in the heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a career-best and school record 5,890 points, and was fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a career-best and school record 7,914 points.

With Horn out, the pressure is on others to step up and try to make up the lost points Horn could have provided.

"We talk a lot here about being a team, being a family and looking out for each other and taking care of each other,'' Holloway said. "Here's a chance for the other guys to step up and play that role. A lot of times track and field is viewed as an individual sport, but we talk about being a team, not being a group of individuals. So in this case, we've got guys in distances, sprints, jumps and other areas that have to step up - it's just that simple. It's an unfortunate thing, but it's part of life, it's part of athletics. We're going to be positive and move forward. We're not going to dwell on it. The bottom line is if you're at the University of Florida, when you put that uniform on, it's time to get busy.''

More from Holloway on this weekend's competition:

Heading into 2012 season, SEC football remains a hot commodity for television networks

Antonya English — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:15:36 +0000

Carrying SEC football games continues to mean lucrative business for television networks.

According to Broadcasting and Cable, advertising revenue for CBS broadcasts of SEC games is up 10 percent from last season. The SEC and ESPN have exclusive rights to SEC football.

Gators play North Florida tonight in final mid-week home game of the season

Antonya English — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:13:53 +0000

Fresh off two-of-three wins in its series victory at No. 3 Kentucky this past weekend, No. 5 Florida (35-13, 14-10 SEC) will play its final stretch of home games this week.

The Gators will host North Florida at McKethan Stadium at 7 p.m. today. This is the second meeting between the two teams this season. The Ospreys (28-20, 9-12 A-Sun) defeated the GAtors 10-5 on April 3 in Jacksonville - a game in which North Florida scored in six different innings.

Freshman Johnny Magliozzi will be making his fifth start of the season for Florida and will oppose Osprey junior left-hander Tommy Organ (4-2, 3.55). In 29 innings this season covering 13 appearances, Magliozzi is 4-2 with a 3.41 ERA. He has 20 strikeouts and three walks. It will be his first start since April 24 against USF (no-decision, 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 4 K, 0 BB).

The Gators and Ospreys have split 10 meetings since the series started in 2006, but Florida has won five of the last seven matchups. Five of the 10 contests have been decided by two runs or less.

Entering tonight's game, the Gators are 14-2 (.875) against schools from Florida this season. UF took all three games from No. 1 Florida State, No. 8 Miami (Fla.) and Florida Gulf Coast, notched a pair of wins over Bethune-Cookman and has posted single wins over Florida Atlantic, Florida A&M, and No. 19 UCF. Florida has fallen to North Florida and USF.

Tampa's Preston Tucker has 316 career hits and needs just four more to surpass Mark Ellis (319 from 1996-99). With 240 career starts entering tonight's game, Tucker is second in school history behind Josh Adams (252).

Palm Harbor's Casey Turgeon named SEC Freshman of the Week in baseball

Antonya English — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:04:22 +0000

Florida second baseman Casey Turgeon, a former Dunedin standout, today was named SEC Freshman of the Week for his efforts in the No. 5 Gators' road series victory over No. 6 Kentucky in Lexington this past weekend.

Turgeon hit .400 (4-for-10) as the Gators won two of three in the pivotal series. In Friday night’s series-clinching victory, with the game tied, Turgeon led off the eighth inning with his second triple of the series and scored the winning run on a one-out single by Josh Tobias.

Turgeon matched his career high with three hits (3-for-4) and also added a steal. In Thursday night’s game, he was 1-for-2 with a walk and sacrifice bunt.

This season, Turgeon has started 47 of the team’s 48 games at second base and is batting .277 with 26 runs, 20 walks, 18 RBI, seven doubles, three home runs and two triples. He also has eight stolen bases in 11 attempts.

Gators baseball players Brian Johnson, Austin Maddox named to John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award Watch List

Antonya English — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:30:00 +0000

Florida juniors Brian Johnson and Austin Maddox have been named to the Watch List for the 2012 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, announced today by The College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Johnson has compiled a 5-4 record with a 4.29 ERA in 13 starts on the mound spanning 65 innings. He has 52 strikeouts and has limited opponents to a .273 batting average. Johnson is also hitting .323 with 32 RBI, 15 runs and 14 extra-base hits (nine doubles and five homers).

In a team-high 25 appearances, Maddox is 12-for-12 in save situations to lead the SEC and is 2-2 with a 1.58 ERA. He has struck out 51 batters and issued eight walks in 45.2 innings, while opponents are batting just .185 against him. At the plate, Maddox is hitting .262 with five runs, five RBI and five walks.

“The SEC is one of the strongest baseball conferences year-in and year-out,” Olerud Award co-chair Aaron Thomas said. “So, it’s only natural that a number of players from that conference made the Watch List. But, we’re excited to see how players from some of the other conferences continue to perform as the season winds down.”

The ACC, Big 10, Big West, Southland and West Coast Conferences all have more than one representative on the list. Two schools – Florida and Georgia Tech -- have two representatives on the list.

The award, named for the former Washington State star who achieved success as both a first baseman and a right-handed pitcher, will be presented as part of the annual College Baseball Night of Champions on June 30 in Lubbock, Texas. The event features the presentation of numerous awards and the induction ceremony for this year’s Hall of Fame class, including former Gator standout Brad Wilkerson (1996-98).

Here is the full Watch List:

GEORGIA TECH- Zane Evans, Jake Davies; ILLINOIS - Reid Roper; OHIO STATE: Josh Dezse; LOUISVILLE - Cole Sturgeon; Cal State Fullerton - Michael Lorenzen; UC SANTA BARBARA - Greg Mahle; EAST CAROLINA - Drew Reynolds; OREGON STATE - Ryan Gorton; ARMY - Kevin McKague; AUBURN - Justin Bryant; FLORIDA - Brian Johnson, Austin Maddox; KENTUCKY - A.J. Reed; TENNESSEE - Drew Steckenrider; SAMFORD - C.K. Irby; TEXAS STATE - Jeff McVaney; UTSA - Casey Selsor; GONZAGA - Marco Gonzales; PEPPERDINE - Aaron Brown.

Florida women's assistant basketball coach Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick to be named head coach at UNC Asheville

Antonya English — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:13:23 +0000

Florida women's basketball coach Amanda Butler is in need of a new assistant.

Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick, who has been with Butler since her arrival at Florida five years ago, is expected to be named the women's head basketball coach at UNC Asheville this afternoon.

A 4 p.m. press conference is scheduled at the school.

Kirkpatrick, 34, is a native of Waynesville, N.C.

From 2005-2007, Mock Kirkpatrick was an assistant under Butler at UNC Charlotte. She also spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech (2002-04), and was a four-year letterwinner at Wake Forest (1997-2001).

Today's press conference will be video-streamed live here.

After winning first conference title, Florida lacrosse enters NCAA Tournament as No. 1 overall seed

Antonya English — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:12:00 +0000

One day after winning its first American Lacrosse Conference championship, the Florida lacrosse team has earned the No. 1 overall seed for the 202 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Tournament.

The Gators (17-2) will host America East champion Albany (12-5) at Donald R. Dizney Stadium in Gainesville on May 12, at 1 p.m. It is the first meeting between Alban and the Gators. Florida is 4-0 all-time against members of the America East conference, including wins over UMBC and Stony Brook earlier this season.

“It’s a proud moment for all of us,” Florida coach Amanda O’Leary said. “I think these young women worked really, really hard for this, and just to see their name at the No. 1 seed says a lot about our program and certainly where we’re headed.”

This is Florida's second consecutive trip to the the NCAA Tournament - in just its third season of existence. The Gators were the No. 4 seed in 2011.

“We’re absolutely thrilled,” junior attacker Caroline Chesterman said. “We couldn’t ask for a better position than number one. We’re going to face a really good team in Albany, and we’re just really excited.”

The lacrosse team is one of fastest in Florida history to win a conference title. The UF soccer team won the SEC in its second season (1996) and the Gators softball team won the SEC regular season title in its second season (1998).

[Photo: University of Florida]

Tampa plant alum Preston Tucker among 39 Gator student-athletes receiving degrees this weekend

Antonya English — Fri, 04 May 2012 20:22:23 +0000

Tampa Plant alum and Florida baseball standout Preston Tucker is among 39 Florida student-athletes who have earned their degrees and are graduating this weekend. Many will be participating in commencement ceremonies being held today through Sunday at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on the UF campus.

Tucker, who is also a finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, has earned a degree in Anthropology. He is currently in Lexington, KY. with the Gators as part of a three-game series in a battle for the SEC East.

Florida basketball guard Erving Walker is also graduating with a degree in sports management.

Among the other Gator graduates is Conor Dwyer, the 2010 Division I National Men's Swimmer of the Year, and Michelle Moultrie who shared the 2011 Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player award after matching WCWS records with four home runs and 13 hits in the 2011 event.

A total of 22 graduates were part of SEC Championship teams during their Gator careers, and 29 earned Academic All-SEC honors.

Here is the full list of 2012 University of Florida Student-Athlete graduates:

BASEBALL: Greg Larson, Advertising; Jeff Moyer, Family, Youth And Community Science; Preston Tucker, Anthropology.

SOFTBALL: Michelle Moultrie, Business Admin-General; Aja Paculba, Family, Youth And Community Science.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Erving Walker, Sport Management

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Deana Allen, Anthropology; Lanita Bartley, Sociology; Ndidi Madu, English; Azania Stewart, Sociology.

FOOTBALL: Brian Biada, Sustainability & Built Environment; Zachary Brust, Building Construction; James Wilson, Family, Youth And Community Science.

MEN'S GOLF: Michael Furci, Business Admin-Finance.

WOMEN'S GOLF: Marika Lendl, Public Relations; Andrea Watts, Advertising.

MEN'S SWIMMING: Conor Dwyer, Recreation, Parks And Tourism; Jonathan Jordan, Zoology; Alexander Martin, Advertising.

MEN'S TENNIS: Nassim Slilam, Economics.

WOMEN'S TENNIS: Claire Bartlett, English; Joanna Mather, Businnes Admin-Management

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD: Michael Anderson, Geology; David Triassi, Business Admin-Finance.

WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD: Rebecca Lowe, International Business; Keely Medeiros, Sport Management; Lillian Spurling, Applied Physiology and Kinesiology.

GYMNASTICS: Amy Ferguson, Business Admin-Marketing; Elizabeth Mahlich, Health Education And Behavior.

LACROSSE: Caroline Cochran, English.

SOCCER: Tahnai Annis, Sport Management; Brooke Patterson, Health Education And Behavior; Lindsay Thompson, Health Science; Lindsay Williams, Applied Physiology And Kinesiology.

WOMEN'S DIVING: Kaylee Doback, Health Education And Behavior; Monica Dodson, Telecommunication.

VOLLEYBALL: Cassandra Anderson, Recreation, Parks And Tourism; Stephanie Ferrell, Religion; Elissa Hausmann, Health Science.

Florida and Alabama meet this weekend to decide SEC regular season softball championship

Antonya English — Fri, 04 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000

The 2012 SEC regular season softball champion will be decided this weekend in Tuscaloosa, AL.

No. 6 Florida (43-8, 20-5 SEC) will take on No. 3 Alabama (45-5, 21-4) in a three-game series beginning tonight at 7:30 at Rhoads Stadium, and Florida coach Tim Walton said the Gators are in for a battle this weekend because they are facing arguably the most talented team in the league.

"They have a lot of multi-dimensional athletes and multi-dimensional hitters that can do a lot of things from bunt, to slap, to hit the ball out of the ball park,'' Walton said. "They hit a lot of home runs and they have an overhanging stadium, which really creates a lot of different intensity, atmosphere and noise level that a lot of players maybe haven't been used to before. They are good. We've seen a lot of film, now it's about getting in there and seeing what they do in person. But we've played them so many times, we know how good they are. They've got a lot of returning players back.''

A sweep for the Gators would solidify UF’s fourth SEC Championship in program history and a No. 1 seed heading into the 2012 SEC Tournament next week - which also will be held in Tuscaloosa at Rhoads Stadium. By taking two of the three games against Alabama, the Gators, Crimson Tide and Tennessee Volunteers would all sit tied for the regular-season title. Should the Gators lose two or more in the three-game series, UF would finish third, as Tennessee concluded its league play at 22-6.

Te Gators and Crimson Tide met a total of five times last season, most recently in two games in the 2011 Women’s College World Series on elimination Sunday, as UF rallied to defeat Alabama twice to stay alive in postseason play and advance to its second WCWS Championship series. In the regular-season match-up, the Tide took game one, 5-0, while UF followed with two-consecutive walk-off wins Saturday and Sunday – including a nine-inning victory – to take the series in Gainesville.

Walton had nothing but praise for the Crimson Tide as the Gators prepared to travel to Tuscaloosa on Thursday, but said he also has a lot of faith in his young Gator squad.

"I think they (Alabama) are a good team,'' Walton said. "I think they are potentially in a little bit better place right now than maybe we are at. I think they are a little better on paper than we are, they are a little bit deeper on paper than we are. We're just younger and we're just learning and hopefully this kind of learning experience can take us to another level.

"Do I think they can beat us all three games? Absolutely,' Walton added. Do I think we can go in there and beat them all three games? Absolutely. I think anything can happen with our team and we've proven that throughout the year. We've just got a lot ofgrowing up to do and this is one of the places that will grow you up.''

Saturday's 4 p.m. game will be televised live on ESPN2, and Sunday's game will be televised at 3 p.m. on ESPNU.

Florida LB Graham Stewart to transfer

Antonya English — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:48:21 +0000

Florida coach Will Muschamp announced today that sophomore LB Graham Stewart, has decided to transfer. Stewart, who is from Connecticut, cited personal reasons for his decision.

"I have some personal family issues that have caused me to evaluate how far I am away from home,'' Stewart said. "I appreciate my time in Gainesville and have nothing but good things to say about Coach Muschamp and the staff at Florida, but some things are more important. I really need to be closer to home."

Stewart's most memorable game as a Gator was in the Gator Bowl this past January when he returned a blocked punt for a touchdown. He played in 12 games as a freshman this past season, mostly on special teams.

"Graham has told me he wanted to leave to get closer to home due to some personal issues,'' Muschamp said. "Family always comes first with me and he needs to be closer to his family. I’m thankful for his contributions to our team and wish him nothing but the best of luck. He will always have my support and backing if he needs any help in the future."

Gator baseball team goes for second win in series vs. Kentucky

Antonya English — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:02:02 +0000

After earning a 5-3 victory over No. 6 Kentucky Thursday night, the No. 5 Gators wiill try for a second win in the three-game series tonight in Lexington.

The Gators (34-12, 13-9 SEC) got a solo home run by Tampa's Preston Tucker (2-for-4, two RBI) in the first inning, and a three-run third inning to help secure the victory.

With the win, the Gators moved within a game of the Wildcats in the conference standings, while No. 3 South Carolina (34-11, 14-7 SEC and No. 4 LSU (36-10, 14-7 SEC) share the league lead.

Florida's Karsten Whitson (3-0, 3.86) will be tonight's starter, while Kentucky junior Jerad Grundy (4-1, 4.29) will start for the Wildcats. The game will begin at 7 p.m. and will be televised on CSS.

Gators open series against Kentucky tonight in nationally televised game

Antonya English — Thu, 03 May 2012 20:22:48 +0000

With just three league series remaining in the SEC regular season, No. 5 Florida kicks off a critical three-game series against Kentucky in Lexington tonigth. The No. 6 Wildcats (36-9/14-7 SEC) are tied atop the SEC standings with No. 3 South Carolina (33-11) and No. 4 LSU (35-10), two games ahead of the Gators (33-12/12-9 SEC) in both the overall and Eastern Division standings.

Tonight's game start time from Cliff Hagan Stadium is 7:30 p.m., and will be televised live on ESPNU.

Friday night's game is at 7 p.m. (CSS), and Saturday's game is at 2 p.m.

Through seven of the 10 conference series, Florida is 12-9 and Kentucky is 14-7. The Gators have won four of their seven weekend sets. UF’s last six SEC series have come down to a deciding third game (3-3 record). The Wildcats are 6-1 in their league series, with a sweep of South Carolina and 2-1 decisions over Tennessee, Georgia, Ole Miss, Arkansas and LSU. UK had won every weekend series this season until dropping two of three at Vanderbilt last weekend (5-2, 3-4, 1-6).

Junior right-hander Hudson Randall (4-1, 3.46) will get the start tonight. Kentucky will go with junior left-hander Taylor Rogers (5-2, 4.84). The Gators will turn to Karsten Whitson (Chipley, Fla.) (3-0, 3.86) on Friday, who will meet junior Jerad Grundy (4-1, 4.29).

The final game of the series will be a matchup of left-handers - junior Brian Johnson (5-3, 4.50) and Kentucky sophomore Corey Littrell (6-0, 2.44).

The Gators are 23-10 (.697) in games that are part of a weekend series and are 10-2 (.833) in mid-week contests. In SEC series this year, the Gators are 4-3 (.571) in game one, 4-3 (.571) in game two and 4-3 (.571) in game three. Kentucky is 3-4 (.429) in series openers, 5-2 (.714) in game two and 6-1 (.857) in game three.

The Gators have won nine of their last 11 series against Kentucky, including three-game sweeps in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005.

ALC lacrosse conference tournament begins today in Gainesville

Antonya English — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:13:58 +0000

Florida will host the sixth-annual American Lacrosse Conference Tournament, beginning today at Donald R. Dizney Stadium. Lacrosse fans have an opportunity to see five games over the course of the next three days.

Florida, which is the ALC regular season cahmpion, is the top seed in teh tournament and will receive a bye in the first round. The Gators open play Friday, at 7 p.m., hosting the winner of tonight's quarterfinal game between No. 4 seed Ohio State and No. 5 seed Vanderbilt.

No. 2 seed Northwestern will play the winner of tonight's first quarterfinale third-seeded Penn State and sixth-seeded Johns Hopkins.

The Gators enter the tournament on a hot streak. Florida won its second-straight ALC title on April 21, upsetting No. 1 Northwestern in Evanston, to win its 10th-straight conference game. It was the Wildcats' only loss of the regular season. Florida has just two losses in the regular season, falling to North Carolina, 11-9, on the road in the season opener, and 12-11 in double overtime to Syracuse, both of whom finish the season ranked in the top five of the IWLCA coaches poll. Florida has defeated seven ranked opponents and scored at least 20 goals in seven different games this season.

Gator gymnast Kytra Hunter wins prestigious Honda Sports Award

Antonya English — Wed, 02 May 2012 22:36:49 +0000

Florida freshman Kytra Hunter has been named the 2012 Honda Sports ward recipient for gymnastics, an honor that distinguinshes her as the
nation's top collegiate female athlete in gymnastics.

The award is based on the results of national balloting among all NCAA member schools as part of The Collegiate Women Sports Awards program, which is now in its 36th years.

Hunter, the 2012 NCAA All-Around champion, is only the third freshman gymnast to receive the Honda Award and the first since Georgia's Hope
Spivey in 1991. Hunter is the second Gator gymnast to receive the honor. Ann Woods received the 1982 award.

Hunter used a collegiate-best total of 39.725 to become the first Gator to win the NCAA all-around title April 20 in Duluth, Ga. She added the
vault title on April 22 to become only the fifth in the meet's 31-year history to win multiple event titles as a freshman.

In March, Hunter became the first Gator since 1995 to win the SEC all-around title. She also took the league's vault title with a collegiate-best 9.975. Hunter, who picked up the maximum of five All-America honors at the NCAA meet, led the Gators in 2012 with 21 event titles in team competition (seven floor exercise, six all-around, five vault, two balance beam and one uneven bars).

The SEC Freshman of the Year turned in the Gators' top 2012 scores for all-around (39.725), vault (9.975) and floor exercise (9.975).

"I am so honored to receive gymnastics' Honda Sports Award. My first season of collegiate competition has been such a wonderful experience,"
Hunter said. "I would like to thank the Collegiate Women Sports Award for sponsoring this honor. I am also grateful for my coaches, teammates
and family because their strength and support was so important and appreciated. Of course, I must also thank all the Gator fans who came
out to cheer us on - we love performing for you."

The Honda Sports Award is given annually to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports, along with automatic eligibility to become a
"Top Three" finalist for Collegiate Female Athlete of the Year and a candidate for the Honda Cup that is awarded annually to The Collegiate
Woman Athlete of the Year. The ballot listing all 12 individual sports winners will be sent to all NCAA-member schools on June 14. The top
three vote-getters become finalists for the Collegiate Women Athlete of the Year and travel to Los Angeles for the 2011-12 Honda Cup ceremony on June 22-23.

The other nominees for the 2012 award were three senior gymnasts: Amy Glass of Boise State, Jaime Pisani of Arkansas and Geralen Stack-Eaton of Alabama. The names of the four nominees were put forward by the United States Elite Coaches Association.

In honor of Hunter winning the award, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., will donate $5,000 to the women's athletic program at the University of
Florida. A Gator has been recognized as a Honda Sports winner 15 times in six different sports.

[Photos: University of Florida]

Former Gator Chris Leak to become radio commentator

Antonya English — Wed, 02 May 2012 20:53:09 +0000

Former Florida QB Chris Leak, who played for the Gators from 2003-06 and led Florida to the 2006 BCS National Championship, has joined the gropu of expert hosts on SiriusXM’s 24/7 college sports channel.

Leak will host College Sports Coast-to-Coast multiple nights each week with Chris Childers. The show can be heard nationwide weeknights (7:00 – 10:00 pm ET) on SiriusXM College Sports Nation, channel 91.

Leak will discuss storylines, teams and players throughout college football. He and Childers will interview current and past college players from around the nation.

“SiriusXM College Sports Nation offers college sports fans outstanding coverage of their favorite conferences, schools and players all year long and I’m excited to be a part of it,” Leak said in a statement. “I still get amped up every spring, like I did when I was at UF, knowing a new college football season isn’t far off. I look forward to talking directly with the fans about the BCS, this year’s national title contenders and the teams and players that you’re going to want to keep an eye on from now through the upcoming season.”

Leak was a four-year starter at Florida. In the BCS title game in which the Gators defeated Ohio State 41-14, Leak was 25-of-36 for 213 yards and a touchdown, and was named the Offensive MVP. He still holds Florida records for career passing yardage (11,213), completions (895) and attempts (1,458) and is second on the school’s all-time list for passing touchdowns (88).

Former Gator Jabar Gaffney cut by Washington Redskins

Antonya English — Tue, 01 May 2012 20:37:11 +0000

Former Florida WR Jabar Gaffney has been cut by the Washington Redskins. And to add insult to injury, his No. 10 jersey will now be worn by new Redskins QB Robert Griffin III.

According to ESPN.com, the 31-year-old Gaffney was released after the team was unable to trade him.

The full story is here.

Florida football single-game tickets are now on sale

Antonya English — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:37:33 +0000

Hoping to see the Gators play this season, but not interested in season tickets?

The Gator Ticket Office is now accepting single game ticket orders for the 2012 Gator home football game schedule. All games are available for sale, except LSU and South Carolina which are sold out.

Single game tickets start at $35 each and are available first come, first sold until sold out.

Orders can be made in the following ways: online by going to Gatorzone.com/tickets and click on the Single Games link; by calling the Gator ticket office at 1-800-34GATOR, ext. 6800; or can be purchased in person at the the Gator ticket office between Gates 1 and 2 of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

In addition, the Gator Ticket Office is still selling a limited number of 2012 football season tickets. For additional information contact the Gator Ticket Office.

Florida women's golf selected to NCAA East Regional field

Antonya English — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:06:04 +0000

The No. 14 Florida women's golf team has been selected to the field of 24 teams competing in the NCAA East Women's Golf Regional tournament, which will be held May 10-12 in State College, Pa.

The Gators will be attempting to advance to the NCAA Championships in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2006. Florida has now received a bid to participate in a regional 19 of 20 years since the regional format began in 1993, only missing out in 1999.

The tournament will be hosted by Penn State University and held on the par-72, 6,253-yard Penn State Blue Course.

"No matter where you get placed, the NCAA Regionals always have tough fields," UF coach Jan Dowling said. "As a team, we have become very good at focusing on our own games and what we need to accomplish, having a lot of success. On top of that, we have had some tremendous tests throughout the year to prepare us for post season. "Penn State will be a great experience, and we are really looking forward next week. It's an exciting time of year."

The East Regional includes eight teams that won their conference championships and eight teams ranked in the Top 25 of the Golf World/NGCA Coaches' Poll as of April 23: No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Arizona State, No. 8 Duke, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 14 Florida, No. 16 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Arizona and No. 25 South Carolina. Alabama, Florida and South Carolina represent the SEC in the East.

Three regional tournaments will be conducted to determine the championships field: the East Regional, the Central Regional at Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio, and the West Regional at Colorado Nation Golf Club in Erie, Colo.

[Photo: University of Florida]

Gators fall in two national baseball polls

Antonya English — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:00:00 +0000

After losing two of three games in a weekend home series against Arkansas, Florida fell this week in both the Baseball America and USA Today/ESPN Coaches baseball polls, released on Monday.

The Gators defeated Arkansas in Friday's series opener, but lost games on Saturday (5-1) and Sunday (3-1). The Gators are 3-3 in decisive third games in SEC series this season.

Florida (33-12, 12-9 SEC) fell from No. 2 to No. 5 in the USA Today/ESPN poll - which includes six SEC teams in the Top 25. The Gators went from No. 5 to No. 7 in the Baseball America poll.

Florida has struggled offensively lately, including in a loss to USF last week.

“It’s been very hard for us to score runs,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “Teams go through this and we’re not immune to it. It’s a difficult time right now, but we will get through it and we’ll hopefully be better because of it. . . . We just haven’t been able to put it together. We need to do a better job getting lead-off men on base, so we can get some offense and some momentum going. I know we’ll get out of this thing and we’ll be a much better team because of it.”

Florida State (36-7) is No. 1 in both polls this week.

Here is the Top 10 in Baseball America: 1) Florida State; 2. Baylor; 3. Kentucky; 4. LSU; 5. South Carolina; 6. Rice;, 7. Florida; 8. Cal State Fullerton; 9. Texas A&M; 10. Oregon.

Top 10 in USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll: 1) Florida State; 2. Baylor; 3. South Carolina; 4. LSU; 5. Florida; 6. Kentucky; 7. Stanford; 8. Rice; 9. Texas A&M; 10) North Carolina.

Bradley Beal's stock on the rise as NBA Draft approaches

Antonya English — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:09:54 +0000

When former Gator basketball star Bradley Beal announced earlier this month that he had decided to leave school after just one year and enter the NBA Draft, Gators coach Billy Donovan said Beal would be among the Top 5 picks in the nation by the time the draft is held on June 28.

His prediction seems to be right on the money, at least as far as some NBA Draft analysts are concerned.

In his latest mock draft, ESPN.com's Chad Ford has Beal listed as the No. 3 overall pick - behind former Kentucky players Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

The 6-foot-5 Beal played in 37 games for the Gators, averaging 34.2 minutes per game. He also averaged 14.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and shot 44.5 percent from the field.

Jaye Howard becomes first Florida player selected in 2012 NFL Draft

Antonya English — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 18:56:49 +0000

Former Gator DT Jaye Howard was selected by the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday with the 19th pick of the fourth round (114th overall) in the 2012 NFL Draft, becoming the first Gator selected in this year’s Draft.

It is the first time since 2006 that the Gators have not had a first-round selection, but UF has now had at least one player selected in every NFL Draft since 1951.

“I'm happy to hear that Jaye has been selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft,” Florida coach Will Muschamp said. “Jaye made tremendous strides during the last year to put himself in a position to be a valued pick in the NFL Draft.”

Howard joins a long line of UF defensive linemen selected in the NFL Draft - 15 have been drafted since 2000. He becomes the first selected since Jermaine Cunningham (New England Patriots) and Carlos Dunlap (Cincinnati Bengals) were selected back-to-back, picks 53 and 54, respectively, in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

The Seahawks have drafted nine Gators in their history with the most recent being wide receiver Darrell Jackson in the third round in 2000.

A captain of the 2011 squad, Howard played in 45 games with 25 starts. He had 31 tackles (80 solo, 51 assisted), 25.5 tackles for loss, 11.0 quarterback sacks, two pass breakups and three fumble recoveries during his time at UF.

Dunedin grad Casey Turgeon leads Gator rally for victory over Arkansas

Antonya English — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 04:04:00 +0000

No. 2 Florida rallied from a two-point deficit to with a three-run sixth inning to earn a 3-2 win over No. 17 Arkansas Friday night.

The Gators (33-10, 12-7 SEC) got three scoreless innings from their bullpen. Florida was held hitless into the sixth by Razorback sophomore Ryne Stanek (6-3), but the Gators tied the game on a two-out, two-run double by freshman Casey Turgeon - a graduate of Dunedin High, then took the lead on an RBI single by junior Austin Maddox. It was Turgeon's seventh double of the season.

“You have to tip your cap to (Ryne) Stanek,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “He was outstanding and left us hitless through five innings. I wasn’t quite sure when our offense was going to get going, and that had a lot to do with him on the mound. His stuff was really good tonight, but, equally I thought Hudson Randall was really good tonight. He gave us a great start and obviously our bullpen came in and did what they needed to do. We hung in there and battled and that was the most important thing.”

In his first Friday start since March 30 at Ole Miss, junior right-hander Hudson Randall (4-1) had six hits and two runs in six innings to pick up the win, while the trio of senior Greg Larson, junior Steven Rodriguez and Maddox each threw a scoreless inning. For Maddox, it was his 12th save in 12 opportunities, moving him to within one save of the school’s single-season record shared by Danny Wheeler (1994) and Josh Fogg (1998).

The Gators snapped a five-game losing streak to Arkansas in series openers dating back to a 6-3 win on March 17, 2006. Tampa senior Preston Tucker extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single in the sixth inning.

Florida and Arkansas (29-13, 9-10) will play the second game in this series tonight at 7 p.m.

South Carolina loses 12 football scholarships for NCAA violations

Antonya English — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 23:05:19 +0000

The NCAA has fined South Carolina and given the Gamecocks three years fo probation for violations including failing to monitor its athletics program, impermissible recruiting, extra benefits and preferential treatment.

The NCAA began investigating the Gamecocks in the fall of 2010 when it was uncovered that student-athletes - 10 from football and two from women's track and field - received reduced rates on housing.

The full story is here.

Gators kick off pivotal SEC baseball series vs. Arkansas tonight

Antonya English — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:00:00 +0000

After splitting a pair of mid-week games - a loss to USF and a victory over Bethune-Cookman, No. 2 Florida (32-10/11-7 SEC) will conclude its nine-game homestand at McKethan Stadium with an important league series against No. 17 Arkansas (29-12/9-9 SEC) this weekend.

The first two games - tonight and Saturday- will begin at 7 p.m. Sunday’s finale will begin at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN.

The Gators are currently two games behind No. 3 Kentucky (35-7/13-5 SEC) for the top spot in the SEC and in the Eastern Division, while the Razorbacks are three games behind No. 6 LSU (33-9/12-6) in the Western Division standings.

Tonight, UF junior Hudson Randall (3-1, 3.52) will face Arkansas sophomore Ryne Stanek (6-2, 2.30). Randall will be making his first Friday night start since March 30 at Ole Miss. He is 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA in two career starts and appearances against the Razorbacks. In 12.2 innings, he has given up 12 hits and six runs (four earned), with seven strikeouts and one walk.

On Saturday night, Gator left-hander Brian Johnson (5-2, 4.04) will be making his third career start versus UA a pitcher to be announced. As a rookie, Johnson threw seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts but was not involved in the decision. Johnson suffered the defeat last year at Baum Stadium (4.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 K, 2 BB).

Sophomore Jonathon Crawford (4-1, 3.86) will meet UA junior DJ Baxendale (6-2, 3.78) to conclude the weekend. Crawford has never seen any action versus UA. In six SEC starts spanning 27 innings this season, he is 3-0 and has registered a 2.67 earned run average.

Through six of the 10 conference series, Florida is 11-7 and Arkansas is 9-9. The Gators have won four of their six weekend sets, including the last two at Tennessee (W, L, W) and against Georgia (W, L, W). UF’s last five SEC series have come down to a deciding third game (3-2 record). The Razorbacks are 3-3 in their league series, with a sweep of Alabama and 2-1 decisions over Mississippi State and Georgia. UA was swept by LSU and has dropped its last two series to Kentucky and Ole Miss by identical 2-1 margins.

Former Gators get another shot at NFL Draft tonight

Antonya English — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:05:02 +0000

With the second and third rounds of the NFL Draft scheduled for tonight, former Gator RB Chris Rainey and DT Jaye Howard will still be among the former college players hoping to hear their names called.

No Florida players were selected in Thursday night's first round for the first time since 2006, but both Rainey and Howard are the players draft analyst believe are the most likely selections from Florida in this year's draft. Whether they have a chance to be selected in either of tonight's rounds remains to be seen.

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr., said he's confident both will be drafted.

"When you look at Rainey, I think there’s speed and versatility, and he gives you the ability to do some things with him in this game,'' Kiper Jr said. "This is today’s football. Today’s NFL is different. When you get a kid you can move around like Rainey can be moved around in offense and present some real matchup issues with his speed and help you on special teams, as well, I think he’s a third, fourth rounder. I thought that all along. Jeff Demps would have been in that third round mix certainly if he wasn’t pursuing another sport other than football.''

Kiper Jr. said there have been some issues surrounding Howard, but he still believes an NFL team will take a chance. Most likely, not tonight.

"Howard, we were always waiting,'' he said. "I talked to people in August. We kept waiting for him to really come on. He had the ankle sprain as a junior. This year he’s a starter ― but more productive, you’ve got to give him credit. He did produce better this year. He had almost six sacks, five, six sacks. So the guy did produce. He had some games where he kind of made some things happen. You go back to the Georgia game, you go back to the Vanderbilt game, the Florida State game, so he did some things a little bit more impressive than he had been during his career. But game to game, at 6-3, over 300 pounds, I think what he’s got to do at the pro level is get a little stronger in the weight room and be coached up technique wise, and if he is, then maybe in the fifth, sixth round you get yourself a kid who as a defensive tackle can help you. I’d say midday three for Howard, I’d say probably early day three, late day two for Rainey.''

No Gators, but nine SEC players taken in first round of NFL Draft

Antonya English — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:08:01 +0000

For the first time since 2006, the Florida Gators did not have a player selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

The Gators weren't alone in the shutout. In fact, no players from Florida universities were selected on Thursday night, marking the first time since 1980 that no player from Florida, Florida State or Miami was selected in the first round.

However, the SEC continued its dominance in the draft with nine players selected in the first round. It is the sixth consecutive year, and eighth in the past 10 years that the SEC has had multiple selections in the top seven of the NFL Draft. The nine selections was third-highest for the league, behind 10 in 2011, and a record 11 in2007.

Of the top six selections in the past six NFL Drafts (36 selections total), 15 have come from the SEC. The league has had a top three pick in the NFL Draft in 10 of the past 15 seasons.

This is the second year in a row that the SEC has had six of the first 14 selections in the NFL Draft, and eight of nine from the SEC were defensive players.

During the last six NFL Drafts, the SEC has had 51 players taken in the first round, an average of 8.5 per season.

Here is the full list of SEC selections in the first round:

Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama – 3rd to Cleveland Browns; Morris Claiborne, DB, LSU – 6th to Dallas Cowboys; Mark Barron, SAF, Alabama – 7th to Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Stephon Gilmore, DB, South Carolina – 10th to Buffalo Bills; Fletcher Cox, DL, Mississippi State – 12th to Philadelphia Eagles; Michael Brockers, DL, LSU – 14th to St. Louis Cardinals; Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama – 17th to Cincinnati Bengals; Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina – 18th to San Diego Chargers and Dont’a Hightower, ILB, Alabama – 25th to New England Patriots.

Gators' streak of NFL First Round Draft picks comes to a close tonight

Antonya English — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Florida's streak of five consecutive seasons with at least one first round selection in the NFL Draft is expected to come to an end tonight.

No Florida players are forecast to be first-round choices in the NFL Draft, which begins tonight.

When former Gator center Mike Pouncey was selected at No. 15 overall last season, he continued a streak of five seasons for the Gators with at least one first round pick. He was the 43rd Florida player to be selected in the first round – the sixth offensive lineman. The Gators have had a player selected in the first round in 12 of the last 15 years.

In fact, it's a down year for Florida's Big Three - Florida, Florida State and Miami. It's possible none will have a first round selection, which would be a first since 1980. Florida coach Will Muschamp said he can't speak for the other schools, but he thinks it's a fair assessment when analysts and experts say Florida's program is in a down period.

"I know where we are,'' Muschamp said. "You look at last year’s draft and we had three guys drafted, I believe. More than likely we’ll have two drafted (this year). I hope Deonte (Thompson) gets drafted but if he doesn’t it’s probably better. Once you get in those late rounds, you’d rather almost be a free agent so you can go somewhere and know you’ve got a better shot. And like I’ve said before, I’m not asking for anybody to be patient, I’m asking for somebody to be realistic. We’ve dipped in talent. You look at our upper classes you’ve got seven seniors and we’ve got 14
coming up next year. Our junior class has got a bunch of good players – a bunch of really good football players. And our sophomore class has
got some good players. This class we just signed I think is a bunch of good football players. The six we had at midyear are all really good
football players and I’m really glad they are on our football team. Again, let’s be realistic on why we are 15-11 in two years.''

Former WR Chris Rainey and DT Jaye Howard are expected to be drafted in the mid rounds - most likely late on day two or early day three of the draft, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. said.

The NFL Draft first round will be televised live, tonight at 8, on ESPN.

Gator tennis player Lauren Embree named SEC Player of the Year

Antonya English — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:36:46 +0000

Florida junior Lauren Embreee has been named the SEC's Player of the Year in tennis, joining five other Gator teammates earning Coaches All-SEC honors. Three Gator men's players were also All-SEC honorees.

Embree becomes just the second player in the 20-year history of the award to receive the SEC’s top individual honor twice in a career, joining Gator great Jill Craybas, who was honored in 1995 and 1996. Embree also was voted the SEC Player of the Year in 2010, when she became the first ever freshman to earn the award.

A Gator has been named the SEC Women’s Tennis Player of the Year eight times, beginning with Lisa Raymond earning the honor in 1993, the debut of the award. In addition to Embree, Raymond and Craybas, Jessica Lehnhoff received the Player of the Year recognition in 2002, Alexis Gordon in 2004 and current Gator junior Allie Will in 2011.

Embree went 10-0 in SEC singles play and 18-2 overall. She and senior Joanna Mather, who was voted to the 2012 All-SEC First Team, have been dominate in doubles, going 20-0 in dual matches with a perfect 11-0 SEC record.

Allie Will was named First Team All-SEC for a third consecutive year, while Mather earned a spot on the league’s first team for the second time in her career, and the first time since her freshman season. Sophomore Sofie Oyen also was voted a First Team All-SEC performer for the second straight year.

Alexandra Cercone and Caroline Hitimana both were recognized to the All-SEC Second Team, marking Cercone’s second consecutive time making the list and the first ever SEC honor for Hitimana, a junior.

On the men's side, Tripper Carleton, Nassim Slilam and Bob van Overbeek were all named to the All-SEC Second Team.

Preston Tucker named finalist for Lowe's Senior CLASS Award

Antonya English — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:10:46 +0000

Plant alum and Florida senior infielder/outfielder Preston Tucker is one of 10 baseball student-athletes to be named as a finalist for the 2012 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, students must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.

The award was won by former Gator Brandon McArthur in 2009.

An anthropology major, Tucker was selected in the 16th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft by the Colorado Rockies last year, but decided to return to Florida for his senior season. At the time, Tucker said: “A lot of guys don’t have the opportunity to say that they got a college degree and I always want to have that to my credit. The bottom line is that I can go off and play pro ball next year and this is an opportunity that I really didn't want to pass up. It's playing baseball, it's the game I've always loved to play so in the end I'll still be doing what I love.”

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

Tucker has helped with the Friends of Jaclyn adoption with the rest of his teammates and assisted with the Climb for Cancer, an event in which Gator student-athletes play games and compete with cancer-stricken children and their siblings in a variety of sports. During the holiday season, Tucker and his teammates served hot meals to members of Gainesville's homeless community.

Tucker is currently hitting .314 and he ranks second on the squad in slugging percentage (.597), total bases (95), RBI (31), doubles (11) and homers (10). He has a career batting average of .329 and is the school’s all-time leader in RBI (239) and doubles (64). Tucker currently ranks second in hits (307) and third in home runs (51).

Lowe’s will announce the Senior CLASS Award winner during the 2012 NCAA College World Series, which will be held June 15-26 in Omaha. Fans are encouraged to vote on the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award website through June 11.

After loss to USF, Gators return to the mound tonight against Bethune-Cookman

Antonya English — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:13:26 +0000

Florida will try to rebound from a Tuesday night loss to USF when the No. 2 Gators host Bethune-Cookman tonight at 7.

USF senior catcher Andrew Longley hit two solo home runs, and the Bulls held off a late rally to earn a 5-3 win over the Gators Tuesday night at McKethan Stadium. The victory was the first for USF over Florida since 2005. Florida had won the past 12 meetings with the Bulls.

“It was a great win, a huge win for us and our program,’’ USF coach Lelo Prado said. “I’m so proud of this team, so glad for the seniors, and I’m just glad for USF.’’

After falling behind 3-0, the Gators (31-10) rallied to tie the game at three, but couldn't hold on.

"We couldn't get things going offensively,’’ UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. Matt Reed (USF pitcher) did a nice job. I think we hit 13 fly ball outs and we struck out four times so 17 of the outs were fly balls and strike outs. When you work with only 10 quality outs, it's tough to score runs.''

Tonight's game against Bethune-Cookman (24-17) will be the second meeting of the season for the two teams. The Gators earned an 8-6 win on Feb. 21.

Gators and USF meet in early-week baseball game tonight

Antonya English — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:03:57 +0000

In the midst of a nine-game homestand, No. 2 Florida (31-9/11-7 SEC) will host USF (27-14/11-4 Big East) tonight at 7 at McKethan Stadium.

In the last meeting between the teams, Florida defeated USF, 8-1, on March 9, 2011, in front of a sellout crowd of 3,211 fans at USF Baseball Stadium. Florida has won the last 12 games against USF. The Bulls last defeated the Gators 11-5, on May 11, 2005 in Tampa.
*Kevin O’Sullivan is a perfect 10-0 versus the Bulls, 8-0 in Gainesville and 2-0 in Tampa.

This past weekend, Florida won two of three games against Georgia to remain two games behind Kentucky for the league lead. It was the sixth-straight year that the Gators have taken the series from the Bulldogs.

USF will face a tough challenge tonight, as McKethan Stadium has been good to the Gators this season. Florida is 21-3 at home this season and the Gators are 13-1 (.929) against in-state opponents this year: 3-0 vs. Florida Gulf Coast, Florida State and Miami; 1-0 vs. Bethune-Cookman, UCF, Florida A&M and Florida Atlantic; and 0-1 vs. North Florida.

The Gators will start freshman RHP Johnny Magliozzi against the Bulls tonight.

[Photo: University of Florida]