Seven Florida Gators tennis players competed in 2012 NCAA Tournament first round action on Wednesday, playing as individuals for the first time since January.

Women
No. 1 Allie Will (junior) def. No. 34 Shannon Mathews (Notre Dame) – 7-6(5), 6-3
No. 9 Lauren Embree (junior) def. No. 49 Anastasia Erofeeva (Tulsa) – 6-0, 6-3
No. 21 Joanna Mather (senior) def. No. 59 Hanna Mar (Duke) – 7-5, 6-4
No. 61 Sofie Oyen (sophomore) def. No. 44 Ecaterina Vasenina (USF) – 6-4, 6-2

Men
No. 42 Bob van Overbeek (junior) def. No. 8 Sebastian Fanselow (Pepp.) – 6-3, 6-4
No. 47 Luka Somen (Virginia Tech) def. No. 48 Tripper Carleton (junior) – 6-2, 6-0
No. 53 Nassim Slilam (senior) def. No. 118 Matija Pecotic (Princeton) – 6-4, 6-4

Six players advanced to second-round action in the 2012 NCAA Individual Championships on Thursday, which coincides with the first round of the doubles competition consisting of 32 teams.

No. 1 Will/Oyen and No. 22 Embree/Mather will both compete for the women, while No. 14 Slilam/junior Billy Federhofer will be the sole team in action on the men’s side.

The Florida women have won four singles and four doubles NCAA Individual Championships with the last ones coming in 1996 (Jill Craybas) and 2001 (Whitney Lalho/Lehnoff), respectively. The Gators men have won two NCAA singles titles (1999 – Jeff Morrison) and one doubles title (1993 – David Blair/Mark Merklein) in team history.

Tags: Allie Will, Billy Federhofer, Bob Van Overbeek, Joanna Mather, Lauren Embree, Nassim Slilam, NCAA, NCAA Championship, NCAA Tournament, Sofie Oyen, tennis, Tripper Carleton

From time to time, OGGOA will come across a plethora of news and notes that we wish to share – too much to fit into one of our truncated BITS segments. In these instances, or when stories fall through the cracks, we catch and wrap them all up with Gator Bites.

» Former Florida Gators forward Chandler Parsons of the Houston Rockets was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie second team on Tuesday, falling just seven points short of earning a first-team nod. Parsons averaged 9.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals while starting 57 of 63 games for Houston in his rookie season.

» Hoping to achieve a similar feat in his rookie season, Florida freshman guard Bradley Beal is currently getting ready to work out for teams as he prepares for the 2012 NBA Draft. He will have some help towards that goal thanks to the league, which invited him to be one of 60 players who will compete at the 2012 NBA Combine in Chicago, IL. Gators senior point guard Erving Walker was not included on the list.

» Florida head coach Will Muschamp and offensive coordinator Brent Pease made it a point to note that they plan to bring on a quarterback commitment each and every year. To that end a pair of three-star 2013 signal callers, Ryan Buchanan (Jackson, MS) and Tim Boyle (Middleton, CT), will be visiting Gainesville, FL over the weekend. Though UF has struck out with some big name quarterbacks this recruiting cycle and has four signal callers that will be on the roster for at least the next two years, the coaches have not changed their minds about brining another one into the fold. “It’s a very difficult position to evaluate and then take the right guy,” Muschamp said at a Gator Gathering on Tuesday, according to InsidetheGators.com. “Guys that worry about depth charts, we don’t want them. You hit it with them one time, if they ask you to go over it a second time. If they ask a third time, you need to move on.” If the Gators have their way, either Buchanan or Boyle will put an end to their search for a 2013 quarterback.

» Speaking of recruiting, things are getting interesting (or aggravating, if you prefer) for Florida basketball as the team looks to add at least one more player before heading into the 2012-13 season. South Carolina transfer power forward Damontre Harris, a former four-star recruit who averaged 6.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks while playing 25.9 minutes per game last season, was supposed to make his decision between UF, Kansas or staying at USC last week but has yet to make a call. The Gators are also under consideration by Virginia Tech transfer F Dorian Finney-Smith, another former four-star recruit who averaged 6.3 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 36.6 percent from three last season. Finney-Smith has only “narrowed” his list to Florida, Georgetown, Iowa State, Louisville, Marquette, Ohio State and Texas. He will take visits and speak to coaches before making his decision.

» Joining the undecided party is 2012 four-star PF Montrezl Harrell (Tarboro, VA). Formerly a VT signee, Harrell decided to pursue other opportunities after the team fired head coach Seth Greenberg and is heavily considering playing for UF, which is one of a handful of schools on his short list (Alabama, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, South Carolina are the others). The Gators may have an inside track on Harrell due to head coach Billy Donovan being the head coach for the USA Basketball U18 National Team during training camp from June 5-12 in Colorado Springs, CO. Harrell will be playing on the team and have the opportunity to see first-hand what it would be like to practice and play for Donovan. Some are of the opinion that Louisville, a team he did not list when mentioning his top five, has an opportunity to be his eventual destination.

Continue Reading » Gator Bites for Wednesday, May 23

Tags: AFL, All-American, All-Rookie, All-SEC, Billy Donovan, Bradley Beal, Brent Pease, Chandler Parsons, combine, CPSDA Athlete of the Year, Damontre Harris, Dorian Finney-Smith, Draft, Dwayne Dixon, Erving Walker, Genevieve LaCaze, Hall of Fame, Houston Rockets, Jeff Demps, Miami Heat, Montrezl Harrell, NBA, NFL, Olympics, Playoffs, Robin Reynolds, Ryan Buchanan, Ryan Lochte, SEC, SEC Outdoor Championship, Steve Spurrier, Tim Boyle, Tim Tebow, track, Udonis Haslem, USA Basketball, Will Muschamp

No. 2 Florida Gators baseball (41-16) continued their winning ways over the Auburn Tigers (30-27), outscoring their opponents 6-1 in the opening round of the 2012 Southeastern Conference Tournament on Tuesday at Regions Park in Hoover, AL.

Florida just concluded the 2012 regular season with a three-game series at Auburn last Thursday-Saturday. The Gators picked up two wins over the Tigers and outscored their hosts 20-6 over the three-day period.

UF sophomore right-handed pitcher Jonathon Crawford was excellent in his outing, improving to 5-2 by allowing just one run (unearned) on two hits with four walks and a career-high nine strikeouts in 5.2 innings. Junior lefty Steven Rodriguez, senior RHP Greg Larson and junior closer Austin Maddox combined to toss the remaining 3.1 innings, allowing a single hit while striking out two and walking one.

Freshmen batters provided most of the offense for Florida on Wednesday. Left fielder Justin Shafer (2/4) drove in three runs (two in the second, one in the sixth), and second baseman Casey Turgeon (1/3, R) smacked a two-run double in the sixth. The Gators also got a RBI from junior catcher Mike Zunino (1/4), whose two-out double extended UF’s lead to 6-1 in the seventh.

Florida will have a day off before facing a yet-to-be-determined opponent on Thursday.

Tags: Auburn Tigers, Austin Maddox, baseball, Casey Turgeon, Greg Larson, Jonathon Crawford, Justin Shafer, Mike Zunino, Regions Park, SEC, SEC Tournament, Steven Rodriguez

No. 2 Florida Gators (27-1) women’s tennis became just the second program in the history of the sport to win back-to-back national championships, capturing the program’s second-straight title with a 4-0 sweep of the No. 1 UCLA Bruins (26-3) in the finals of the 2012 NCAA Tournament on Tuesday at Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, GA.

Florida ended their season on a 22-match winning streak, sweeping four of the five opponents they faced on their way to the program’s sixth national title. The Gators were playing for the NCAA Championship for the third-straight year (lost to Stanford in 2010) and 13th time in school history.

No. 1 junior Allie Will/sophomore Sofie Oyen wasted little time getting Florida on the board in doubles action, dominating No. 6 Robin Anderson/Skylar Morton from start to finish in an 8-2 win.

The Gators found themselves down early in the other two doubles matches with No. 22 junior Lauren Embree/senior Joanna Mather trailing No. 9 Pamela Montez/Courtney Dolehide and the team of sophomore Alex Cercone/junior Caroline Hitimana falling behind McCall Jones/Carling Seguso.

Florida slowly but surely fought their way back in both matches with Cercone/Hitimana eventually defeating Jones/Seguso 8-5 and Embree/Mather leading Montez/Dolehide 6-5 when the doubles point was clinched for the Gators to give UF an early 1-0 lead.

No. 79 Cercone had a much easier time in her singles match, quickly defeating No. 119 Chanelle Van Nguyen in straight sets (6-2, 6-0) to extend Florida’s lead to 2-0 with five matches still in action. No. 61 Oyen then registered a clean victory over No. 124 Morton, beating the freshman 6-3, 6-2 to pull the Gators within one match of the title.

It was No. 9 Embree who was once again tasked with closing out the national championship for Florida after winning the title in a grueling three-set tiebreaker one year ago. She did not waste much time doing just that, taking down No. 98 Jones 6-4, 6-0 to clinch the national championship for the Gators.

Following the match, Embree was awarded the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award for the second-straight year. She was also named to the All-Tournament team along with Cercone at the two and four spots for singles, respectively.

“It’s amazing. I still can’t really believe that just happened again that we went back-to-back. It’s just so exciting; I’m so proud of my teammates,” Embree said. “I said last year was a dream come true, but it’s a dream come true again. Our team has worked so hard, and I just feel like we played so well this week. I’m so proud of them.”

No. 1 Will trailed No. 4 Anderson 4-6, 2-5 at the time of completion. No. 21 Mather was slightly up on No. 73 Montez 3-6, 6-3, 1-0, and sophomore Olivia Janowicz was nearly even with Seguso 6-7, 5-2 when the title was clinched.

Florida women’s tennis’ victory Tuesday marks the school’s 28th overall national championship and 19th since athletic director Jeremy Foley took over. It was also head coach Roland Thornqvist‘s third national title since being hired in 2002.

Tags: Alex Cercone, All-Tournament, Allie Will, Caroline Hitimana, Joanna Mather, Lauren Embree, Magill Tennis Complex, Most Outstanding Player, NCAA, NCAA Championship, NCAA Tournament, Olivia Janowicz, Sofie Oyen, tennis, UCLA Bruins

A five-year member of the Florida Gators baseball team playing under head coaches Pat McMahon and Kevin O’Sullivan, former catcher Teddy Foster put together a solid senior campaign in 2009 with seven homers, 25 RBIs and 11 walks while batting .321 and earning 29 starts (including 15 at catcher, 12 at designated hitter and two at first base). No longer with the team and now serving as an associate scout for the New York Mets, he has joined OGGOA as a baseball columnist and will provide his unique perspective on the team throughout the 2012 season.

The postseason is a different animal compared to anything a team goes through during the regular season. The Southeastern Conference Tournament demands teams play every day (unless you win the first two games) until they lose twice. It has gotten even more difficult by expanding to 10 teams this season.

This means shorter rest for the weekend starters and less time for relievers to recover, but it can also be a positive for hitters as there is less of an opportunity to sulk following a bad game at the plate.

League tournaments test a team’s mental makeup, stamina and depth in the bullpen, areas in which the Gators happen to excel. With the way they ended the regular season, Florida should be able to make a deep run in the tournament.

The 2005 team I was a part of was built for the postseason. That Gators squad had deep starting pitchers with Stephen Locke as the fourth man in the rotation if needed. That’s a freshman All-American as a “just-in-case” starter.

The bullpen had future big leaguer Darren O’Day and a plethora of other future pros. This depth enabled us to make a deep run in the SEC Tournament. Had it not been for a few blown calls, Florida would have won the whole thing.

What really helped the 2005 team was the senior leadership and stability they brought to the table. O’Day, Jeff Corsaletti, Tommy Boss and many others helped keep the Gators on the right track and prevented us from going through any extended losing streaks.

When it came time for the postseason, these guys had been there before, knew the lay of the land and had experience in handling the various situations we would encounter.

The 2012 team is a lot like the 2005 team. Seniors like center fielder Daniel Pigott and right-hander Greg Larson will lead by example. These guys know how to handle a postseason run. Florida also has a plethora of juniors who are likely still sour after falling short of their goal one year ago. Most of the big names will be beginning their last postseason in orange and blue and want to go out on a high note, not as a class that failed to get it done on more than one occasion.

The Gators’ bullpen is deep and the bats came alive at the perfect time in the regular season’s final series. Ironically, Florida will face Auburn in the first round on Tuesday, setting the stage for UF to get off to a hot start in what will be a very long postseason.

Tags: baseball, Daniel Pigott, Greg Larson, SEC, SEC Tournament

No. 2 Florida Gators women’s tennis will play for the national championship for the third-straight year after defeating the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils in the Final Four of the 2012 NCAA Tournament at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, GA.

Florida (26-1) extended their winning streak to 21 matches in their 4-3 defeat of Duke (29-3), advancing to the finals of the tournament for the third year in a row and receiving an opportunity to defend their 2011 national title. The Blue Devils were on an 18-match winning streak of their own that the Gators ended on Monday.

UF has never won back-to-back national championships but will look to make team history while appearing in the program’s 13th national title game.

The nation’s No. 1 pairing, junior Allie Will/sophomore Sofie Oyen, opened doubles action with an 8-3 win and was forced watch as their teammates fought to clinch the point. Sophomore Alex Cercone/junior Caroline Hitimana trailed most of their match but held off Duke and relieved the pressure on Florida’s second-best pairing.

That duo, No. 22-ranked junior Lauren Embree/senior Joanna Mather, coughed up a substantial lead and allowed the Blue Devils to pull even with them at 7-7. Embree and Mather were soon down 8-7 and fighting for their lives but evened the match 8-8 and dominated the tiebreak round to clinch the doubles point for the Gators. Cercone and Hitimana dropped their match 8-4 in time with Embree/Mather pulling out the victory.

Florida lost five of their six first sets in singles action but was still able to increase their lead over Duke to 2-0 after No. 9 Embree built off her opening set victory and won her singles match 6-4, 6-1. The Gators then jumped ahead 3-0 when No. 21 Mather came from behind to take her match 2-6, 6-2, 6-0.

No. 61 Oyen and No. 79 Cercone both took their second sets after falling behind early, giving the Gators four opportunities to notch the match-winning points. The first of those chances was lost shortly after when sophomore Olivia Janowicz fell 1-6, 6-4, 3-6 and allowed the Blue Devils to reduce their deficit to 3-1.

No. 1 Will struggled all match long with No. 2 Beatrice Capra. The 2012 ACC Player and Freshman of the Year eventually upset her 4-6, 4-6 in straight sets and brought Duke within two points with two matches left to play.

Oyen did her best to hold off her opponent but was unable to do so for long, losing 3-6, 7-5, 2-6 and putting both teams’ title hopes in the hands of Cercone and No. 66 Mary Clayton, two extremely well-matched players.

The competitors went back-and-forth all afternoon with Clayton claiming the first set and forcing Cercone to come from behind if she wanted to pull out a victory. In the end Cercone did just that, starting with an 0-2 deficit in the third set before outscoring Clayton 6-1 over the final seven games to pick up a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 win and send Florida to the championship game.

UF will face No. 1 UCLA for the 2012 NCAA Championship on Tuesday at 1 p.m. The Gators will be participating in their 13th NCAA Tournament final in the last 25 years and will be looking to win the team’s sixth national title.

Tags: Alex Cercone, Allie Will, Caroline Hitimana, Duke Blue Devils, Final Four, Joanna Mather, Lauren Embree, Magill Tennis Complex, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Olivia Janowicz, Sofie Oyen, tennis

Any doubt that the University of Florida had the dominant athletics program in the Southeastern Conference during the 2011-12 school year was put to rest Sunday as the university was named the SEC All-Sports champion by the Halifax Media Group for the fourth-straight season. Sweeping all three titles – overall, men’s and women’s – the Florida Gators won by staggering numbers in each category, literally dominating the competition.

Florida is the only school to sweep all three titles in a single season, accomplishing the feat for the 12th time, fifth in the last six years and fourth-in-a-row (2006-07, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11). UF has now won 22 overall titles (including six-straight), 19 women’s titles and 16 men’s titles.

All 16 of the Gators’ sports (nine women’s, seven men’s) were counted with cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field combined into one unit per gender. Lacrosse was not included as that program competes in the American Lacrosse Conference.

Florida won three SEC titles over this period – gymnastics, women’s tennis and women’s indoor track and field – compared to eight in 2010-11. UF women’s tennis captured both the regular season and tournament championships.

The Gators lead the SEC with 205 all-time team titles.

The SEC All-Sports titles were previously awarded by The New York Times Regional Newspaper Group from 1994-95 to 2010-11.

Tags: field, gymnastics, SEC, SEC All-Sports, tennis, track, University of Florida

1 » Former Florida Gators baseball player Mark Ellis, currently a second baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers, had emergency surgery to relieve pressure on his left leg after injuring it during the seventh inning of his team’s game on Friday. Ellis, who was upended on a takeout slide while trying to complete a fielder’s choice groundout, “was sent to the hospital, and testing showed elevated pressure in several compartments of the lower leg,” Dodgers trainer Sue Falsone told reporters, according to the Associated Press. “There was trauma to the area where everything kind of swells up, so you have to open up the fascia and basically release that pressure. They will keep an eye on it and most likely close that wound up on Tuesday.” ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted Sunday that Ellis “might have lost his leg” should the doctors have “waited another 4-5 hours to make [the] cut to relieve [the] pressure.” He has been placed on the 15-day disabled list and should return to action in his 11th MLB season. Ellis, Florida’s all-time hits leader for the last 13 years, was surpassed by senior right fielder Preston Tucker on Thursday.

2 » Former Gators power forward Udonis Haslem had his best game of the 2012 NBA Playoffs and arguably his best quarter of the season on Sunday, going 5-of-6 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line for 14 points (third-most on the team) to go along with four rebounds. Haslem, who went 4-for-4 from the floor in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter for the Miami Heat, suffered a gash over his right eye earlier in the game that required nine stitches following the contest. “Sometimes we need other guys to step up and tonight was my turn. Next time it might be somebody else,” he said.

3 » Considering he is a NFL player, it should come as no surprise that New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow will be in the new Madden NFL 13 video game. However, what may be interesting to some fans is that the game will also have a “Tebowing” celebration in the newest version of the popular title, according to creative director Mike Young. “Tebowing is in for #madden13,” he tweeted on Friday evening. It is unknown exactly how the move will be incorporated into the game (whether it will be an automatic celebration for Tebow’s character, a gesture that can be executed by the player or something that randomly occurs) but more information should be available once the game’s release date draws closer. Tebow was believed to be the finalist out of Denver for the Madden NFL 13 cover voting but was removed from the process after being traded.

4 » In his first game as starting QB for the AFL’s Orlando Predators, former Florida signal caller Chris Leak went 25-for-42 for 357 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. Orlando lost to New Orleans 68-61 and fell to 1-8 on the season.

Tags: AFL, baseball, Chris Leak, EA Sports, Los Angeles Dodgers, Madden NFL 13, Mark Ellis, Miami Heat, MLB, NBA, New York Jets, Orlando Predators, Playoffs, Preston Tucker, Tim Tebow, Udonis Haslem