No. 1 Florida Gators gymnastics (5-1, 4-1 SEC) scored the second-highest total in program history on its way to defeating the defending national champion No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide (3-2, 3-2 SEC) on Friday evening at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL.

Florida took down Alabama 198.100-196.850, avenging the Crimson Tide’s 0.075-point victory over the Gators in the 2012 NCAA Super Six.

UF’s huge score was fueled by phenomenal all-around performances from freshman Bridget Sloan and senior Ashanée Dickerson. Sloan’s mark of 39.675 is second nationally only to a 39.700 from Florida sophomore Kytra Hunter, and Dickerson’s 39.650 was highlighted by a career-best 9.975 mark that won the floor exercise.

Sloan and junior Mackenzie Caquatto shared the uneven bars title with dueling 9.950s. Caquatto doubled up in event titles with a score of 9.925 to win balance beam.

These great feats for the Gators came on a night where Hunter, an All-American the nation’s top-ranked all-around performer, fell on both bars and beam. However, when the team needed her to come through in the final event, Hunter registered a 9.950 on floor to help her team to a huge win.

A total of 8,074 fans – the ninth-largest crowd in program history – filled the O’Dome and created an electric atmosphere for Florida throughout the night. Equally impressive was the Gators’ registering such a huge score with Hunter battling a stomach flu and junior All-American Alaina Johnson still sidelined with a stress reaction in her back.

Read about what Florida lacrosse and softball did over the weekend…
Continue Reading » Florida Gators gymnastics gets revenge, lacrosse earns a big win, softball starts 2013 season 5-0

Tags: ACC, Alabama Crimson Tide, Alaina Johnson, Alyssa Bache, Ashanée Dickerson, Ashley Bruns, Bailey Castro, Bridget Sloan, Brittany Dashiell, Cal State Northridge Matadors, California Golden Bears, Creighton Bluejays, Ensley Gammel, Gabi Wiegand, gymnastics, Hannah Rogers, Kajikawa Classic, Kelsey Stewart, Kirsti Merritt, Kitty Cullen, Kytra Hunter, lacrosse, Lauren Haeger, MacKenzie Caquatto, North Carolina Tar Heels, Oregon Ducks, SEC, softball, Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Taylor Schwarz, Taylore Fuller, Tempe Sports Complex

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.

» In his second contribution to the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah discusses helping host a basketball tournament that featured members of different local gangs all playing together “to promote peace and bring some positivity into the neighborhood.” Noah, through his Noah’s Arc Foundation, helps “children develop a stronger sense of self” in order to help fulfill their dreams.

What I witnessed was different gangs, different religions and different kinds of people joining forces to address the problems that affect a community they all share. I felt we accomplished our goal on a micro-level for that one day, and hopefully the effects will stretch far beyond.

» Washington Wizards rookie guard Bradley Beal recently sat down for some interviews as he prepares to begin his first NBA season. Beal spoke to a member of the Wizards’ staff about going through his first media day as a professional (Video) and The Wall Street Journal (video below) about being a young man suddenly coming into money as a professional basketball player.

Check out 10 more bites of Florida Gators news…after the break!
Continue Reading » Gator Bites for Thursday, September 27

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Becky Burleigh, Bradley Beal, Chicago Bulls, Demarcus Walker, Draft, field, Gemma Spofforth, Gregg Troy, Joakim Noah, Kelvin Taylor, Kenny Boynton, NBA, New York Jets, Nick Saban, Olympics, Patric Young, soccer, swimming, Taylor Burke, Tim Tebow, track, Urban Meyer, Washington Wizards, Will Claye, Will Muschamp

The first regular season editions of the USA Today Coaches and Associated Press Top 25 polls were released on Tuesday and a new No. 1 team has been crowned as the Alabama Crimson Tide took over the top spot in both rankings systems. Alabama received 37-of-59 first-place votes from the coaches and 45-of-59 first-place votes from the AP voters after thrashing Michigan 41-14 in their season opener.

The Florida Gators, fresh off of a lackluster 27-14 season opening victory over Bowling Green, lost points in both polls. Florida remained at No. 23 but lost 46 points in the USA Today rankings; the Gators dropped one stop to No. 24, losing 68 points in the AP poll.

USA TODAY COACHES POLL
This Week 1-5: Alabama (37), USC (14), LSU (7), Oregon (1), Oklahoma
6-10: Florida State, Georgia, West Virginia, South Carolina, Arkansas
11-15: Michigan State, Clemson, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Texas
16-20: Oklahoma State, TCU, Virginia Tech, Michigan, Kansas State
21-25: Stanford, Notre Dame, Florida, Louisville, Boise State

Last Week 1-5: LSU (18), Alabama (20), USC (19), Oklahoma (1), Oregon
6-10: Georgia, Florida State (1), Michigan, South Carolina, Arkansas
11-15: West Virginia, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Clemson, Texas
16-20: Nebraska, TCU, Stanford, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech
21-25: Kansas State, Boise State, Florida, Notre Dame, Auburn

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
This Week 1-5: Alabama (45), USC (11), LSU (4), Oregon, Oklahoma
6-10: Florida State, Georgia, Arkansas, South Carolina / West Virginia
11-15: Michigan State, Clemson, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Virginia Tech
16-20: Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma State, Michigan, TCU
21-25: Kansas State, Notre Dame, Louisville, Florida, Stanford

Last Week 1-5: USC (25), Alabama (17), LSU (16), Oklahoma (1), Oregon
6-10: Georgia, Florida State, Michigan (1), South Carolina, Arkansas
11-15: West Virginia, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Clemson, Texas
16-20: Virginia Tech, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, TCU,
21-25: Stanford, Kansas State, Florida, Boise State, Louisville

* Numbers in parenthesis represent first-place votes.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Top 25

No. 7 Florida Gators softball’s clutch hitting and dominant pitching both came to a halt on Saturday as the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide dominated the 2012 Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game and downed their rivals 10-1 in a run-ruled five-inning contest.

With home field advantage and arguably the best player in the tournament on their side, Alabama (50-7) beat up on Florida (46-11) for the third time in four matchups this season (all of which took place at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa, AL).

The Crimson Tide hit Gators freshman right-handed pitcher Lauren Haeger early and often, rallying for two runs in the bottom of the first and tagging her for two homers (a three-run shot and two-run bomb) and six total runs in the third.

Florida cut Alabama’s 2-0 lead in half by scoring in the top of the second but left six players on base and did not plate another run for the remainder of the contest.

Haeger (14-5, 3.0 IP, 6 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, K) was pulled as the Gators faced an 8-1 deficit, but sophomore RHP Hannah Rogers (1.0 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, K) did not fare much better. Rogers allowed two more runs to score in the fourth and gave the Crimson Tide the necessary margin to end the contest early and claim their title.

Alabama won their first SEC Tournament Championship since 2010 while Florida will wait until next year to try and capture their first since 2009. Both teams will learn of their respective seedings in the 2012 NCAA Tournament during the selection show on Sunday at 10 p.m. live on ESPNU.

Haeger, freshman third baseman Sami Fagan and sophomore shortstop Cheyenne Coyle were named to the 2012 SEC All-Tournament Team following the title game.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, All-Tournament, Cheyenne Coyle, Hannah Rogers, Lauren Haeger, Rhoads Stadium, Sami Fagan, SEC Championship, SEC Tournament, softball

No. 7 Florida Gators softball failed in their opportunity to capture a regular season title on Sunday, losing two of three games to the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide over the weekend and finishing third in the Southeastern Conference.

Florida (44-10, 21-7 SEC) opened the three-game series with a 4-1 win over Alabama (46-6, 22-5 SEC) on Friday but was routed Saturday in a 9-1 loss and defeated 5-3 on Sunday as the Crimson Tide took firm grasp of the 2012 SEC regular season championship. The Gators had to win two of three games in order to bring the title back home to Gainesville, FL.

Sophomore right-hander Hannah Rogers pitched a gem in the opening game, allowing one earned on three hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in a complete game effort. However, she struggled mightily on Saturday (2.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) and was even less effective on Sunday (0.0 IP, 3 H, 4 ER) as she fell to 26-6 on the season with a victory and two losses.

Freshman designated hitter Lauren Haeger was Florida’s only consistently productive batter in the three-game series, finishing 4/8 with a homer, four RBIs, a run and a walk. She also filled in for Rogers after she was pulled without recording an out on Sunday; Haeger allowed five hits and gave up an earned run while striking out six in 6.0 innings.

The Gators also celebrated Senior Day over the weekend, honoring center fielder Michelle Moultrie for her contributions to the team over the last four seasons. She finished the series 2/8 with a RBI, two runs and a walk.

UF will now set their sights on competing for the 2012 SEC Tournament title. Florida, the No. 3 seed in the event, will take on No. 6 seed LSU in first-round action on May 10 at 12 p.m. on ESPNU. The Gators would have to win three games over three days to bring home the tournament championship for the first time since 2009.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Hannah Rogers, Lauren Haeger, Michelle Moultrie, SEC, SEC Tournament, softball

1 » No. 1 Florida Gators gymnastics did everything they could during the 2012 NCAA Super Six on Saturday but came just short of earning their first national title as the Alabama Crimson Tide edged Florida 197.850-197.775 to win the 2012 NCAA Championship. One of four teams in 31 years to win the national title, Alabama captured their sixth in school history by a 0.075 margin thanks to a stellar 49.500 effort on the balance beam in the final rotation. The Gators led the Crimson Tide by 0.025 heading into the final rotation; however, Florida posted a 49.400 on the floor exercise, allowing Alabama to leap them and earn the championship. All is not lost for the Gators as UF’s individual gymnasts will compete for event national titles on Sunday. Freshman Kytra Hunter already won the NCAA Championship in the all-around on Friday.

2 » Looking to carry some momentum from the 16-inning marathon win Friday night, No. 1 Florida baseball (30-9, 10-7 SEC) was not as fortunate Saturday night falling 5-3 to the Georgia Bulldogs (24-16, 8-9 SEC) at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, FL. UF led 2-1 after the first inning thanks to a two-run bomb by senior right fielder Preston Tucker (1/4, HR, 2 RBI, R, SB) but found themselves in a 4-2 hole after UGA rallied for three runs in the top of the third. A solo homer by senior center fielder Daniel Pigott (1/4, HR, RBI, R) cut the Gators’ deficit to a single run in the bottom of the fourth, but Bulldogs’ starter Michael Palazzone and reliever Blake Dieterich combined to no-hit Florida over the final five innings of the game. Georgia’s timely pitching and clutch defense handed the loss to junior left-handed pitcher Brian Johnson (5-2, 7.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 5 K). UF has not swept a weekend series in over a month hopes to pick up a series win in the rubber match on Sunday at 3 p.m. (ESPN2).

Click to expand and read two more BITS in this post.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Allie Will, baseball, Brian Johnson, Cheyenne Coyle, Daniel Pigott, Ensley Gammel, Florida International Golden Panthers, Georgia Bulldogs, gymnastics, Hannah Rogers, Jessica Damico, Joanna Mather, Kytra Hunter, Lauren Embree, McKethan Stadium, NCAA, NCAA Championship, NCAA Super Six, Ole Miss Rebels, Preston Tucker, Sami Fagan, SEC, SEC Tournament, Sofie Oyen, softball, tennis

The No. 19/22 Florida Gators squeaked out a 66-63 victory against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday in the second round of the 2012 Southeastern Conference Tournament. Before Florida can advance to take on the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats in the semifinals on Saturday at 1 p.m. on ABC, head coach Billy Donovan and a handful of players met with the media to discuss the hard-earned win.

FLORIDA PUTS FORTH A PRAISEWORTHY EFFORT

After being admonished by Donovan for the way they played in Athens, GA four games ago, Florida received praise from their head coach on Friday for executing well for the third-straight game. He was especially pleased with the way the team practiced during the week but did offer one criticism of the Gators’ game.

“This time of year, you got to find ways to advance and move on and we did,” he said. “I thought we had some opportunities both in the first half and the second half to really extend our lead and we weren’t able to do that. We got it up by 12, and I thought our defense hurt us in terms of let ting them get back into the game and tie it.”

Florida had multiple six-point leads and went up a game-high 12 points mid-way through the second half but allowed Alabama to tie it up. Though the Gators shot poorly (38.5 percent from the field) in the contest, Donovan blamed UF’s defense for allowing UA to stop their scoring stretch and tie things up.

“The problem was on the defensive end of the floor. We would get a stop and we wouldn’t come down with the ball, wouldn’t come down with the rebound,” he said. “They came down with it, and it gave them an extra possession in the game. And they didn’t have a lot of offensive rebounds, but I think they had some timely possessions, where they got the ball back. That kind of shut down our run.”

Donovan noted that Florida hitting 10 threes – even though the Gators were not exceptionally proficient from beyond the arc – was easily the difference in the game, calling treys “the greatest equalizer in college basketball.” He continued, “You can sometimes overcome a tough defensive night if you make enough threes and the other team doesn’t, and I think that’s what happened today.”

Crimson Tide head coach Anthony Grant, formerly an assistant under Donovan, took the exact same stance on the outcome of the contest.

“You look at it, probably the difference in the game was the 3-point line,” he said. “Florida was able to make 10 threes. We knew coming into the game that that would be key. But they had some guys that stepped up, made some contested ones, very difficult from a defensive standpoint to be able to contain them. [...] Florida did a good job attacking the paint and just finding open guys and making the extra pass, and that’s what their team do. Erv[ing Walker], he got going and started looking for his teammates and opened things up. They just played to their identity.”

BEAL AND MURPHY LEAD THE WAY FOR THE GATORS
Click to expand and read the remainder of this post.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Anthony Grant, Billy Donovan, Bradley Beal, Erik Murphy, Erving Walker

Despite never trailing in the game, the No. 19/22 Florida Gators (23-9, 11-6 SEC) coughed up a number of leads to the Alabama Crimson Tide (21-11, 9-8 SEC) on Friday afternoon but found a way to pull out a 66-63 victory and advance to the semifinals of the 2012 Southeastern Conference Tournament.

The Gators, held to 38.5 percent shooting from the field, were outrebounded 30-25 by the Crimson Tide but managed to force 10 turnovers while only coughing up the ball five times. UF’s 10 makes from three-point range were the difference in the contest even though UA connected on four more baskets over the duration of the game.

Florida outscored Alabama 7-1 to start, but the Gators followed up their hot start by going scoreless for 5:22 and allowing the Crimson Tide to tie things up by scoring six-straight points in that stretch.

UF again jumped ahead of UA by six thanks to an 8-2 run including two threes by freshman guard Bradley Beal, but Florida suffered another scoring drought (this time for 3:08) and let Alabama tie things up again at 15 all with 6:36 left in the opening half.

The Gators went back up six as Beal scored five-straight points including his third trey of the half with 2:57 remaining, but a buzzer-beating three by Crimson Tide G Levi Randolph cut their lead to just two points at the break.

Click to expand and read the rest of the Florida-Alabama game story.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Bradley Beal, Erik Murphy, JaMychal Green, Kenny Boynton, Patric Young, SEC, SEC Tournament