1 » Five-star 2011 guard recruit Brandon Knight (Fort Lauderdale, FL) looked to be heading anywhere but the University of Florida, after a report surfaced last week that the Florida Gators have decided to stop pursuing him and move on. Whether you believe that to be the case or you think Knight has already made up his mind to play for the Kentucky Wildcats is no matter – Knight has told The Miami Herald that he has not made a decision yet. “I still have an offer [from Florida],” Knight said. “They’re not not recruiting me. They’re just trying to make sure they get a point guard before the signing period is over. […] I don’t feel anything wrong with [that decision]. It’s smart. As a head coach, you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket and not end up with anything. They just don’t feel as strongly as they did before. Since they’re the hometown school, they thought I would have signed early or something of that nature. I’m not exactly sure.”

2 » Though Gators men’s swimming failed to match the women’s team with a 2010 National Championship, the team did finish in fifth at this year’s event and is the backbone of the 2010 Division I National Men’s Swimmer of the Year, junior Conor Dwyer. The Texas Longhorns ended up winning the event even as 11 Florida swimmers earned 38 All-America performances while simultaneously shattering two school records. Dwyer picked up seven honors of his own along with two national titles in the 500- and 200-yard freestyles. Read more about the event.

3 » No. 2/5 Florida baseball (18-5, 4-2 SEC) succeeded in ending its two-game road losing streak with a dominating 13-1 victory Sunday against the No. 17/19 Ole Miss Rebels (19-6, 4-2 SEC). After falling 3-2 in a tight first game and being trounced in the second game 15-3, the Gators rebounded with three RBI apiece from freshman catcher Austin Maddox (2-4, two runs) and sophomore outfielder Daniel Pigott (1-4) as well as 5.1 solid innings from freshman starter Brian Johnson (2-1). Johnson did not allow a single earned run in the outing.

Catch up on No. 6/13 softball, No. 4 women’s tennis and No. 6 men’s tennis!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Knight, NCAAs, baseball, softball, tennis

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Alexandre Lacroix, All-America, Allie Will, Antoine Benneteau, Austin Maddox, baseball, Brandon Knight, Brian Johnson, Conor Dwyer, Corrie Brooks, Daniel Pigott, diving, Ensley Gammel, Kentucky Wildcats, Lauren Embree, Linder Stadium, Marrit Boonstra, National Championship, NCAA, NCAA Championships, Ole Miss Rebels, Ring Tennis Complex, SEC, softball, Stephanie Brombacher, Swimmer of the Year, swimming, tennis, Texas Longhorns

1 » No. 4 Florida Gators gymnastics (15-2, 5-1 SEC) took home the 2010 Southeastern Conference Championship Saturday at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL. The program’s seventh conference title and first since 2007, it came on a slight 197.05-196.875 victory over the No. 1-ranked and defending SEC champion Alabama Crimson Tide. “There was never a moment in mind I doubted us,” head coach Rhonda Faehn said. “It is a huge sense of accomplishment. Look at what makes up our routines. The majority of our routines were done by freshman who have never taken part in an SEC Championship. They don’t even know what it’s like. For them to come up here and compete the way they did, with the guidance of our upper classmen, gives them a huge sense of accomplishment. Look what we can do and what our future holds. It’s really exciting for them.” Next up? The 2010 NCAA Championship.

2 » While gymnastics was busy winning a title, No. 2/5 Gators baseball (17-5, 3-2 SEC) dropped two straight games to the No. 17/19 Ole Miss Rebels (19-5, 4-1 SEC). Ole Miss squeaked by Florida in the first game, taking a 3-2 win after freshman catcher Austin Maddox struck out looking with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth. Rebels’ starter Drew Pomeranz (4-0) only gave up a run over 7.1 innings with nine strikeouts, out-dueling Gators’ sophomore pitcher Alex Panteliodis (5-1), who also pitched 7.1 innings but gave up three earned runs combined in the first two innings. In the second game, Florida jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but gave up nine unanswered runs to fall behind by seven through three innings. They would eventually fall 15-3 with freshman starter Hudson Randal (2-1) giving up five earned runs on six hits in an inning’s work. The Gators hope to salvage the weekend road series with a win in the finale Saturday before facing Florida State in Jacksonville on Tuesday.

3 » Former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow’s “The Promise” speech, and Gators football itself, has inspired 7th grade students at a Harlem public school to dub their classroom “Gator Nation” and work to achieve their dreams. (h/t “mudlizard”)

4 » Trying to match their female counterparts with an NCAA Championship, the men’s swimming and diving team is currently in fourth entering the final day of the 2010 NCAA Championship meet. Junior Conor Dwyer, who became the first NCAA men’s swimmer since 2001 to win both the 200 and 500 freestyle races in the same meet, is leading the team in its efforts. OGGOA will update you on the team’s finish after action concludes.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Alex Panteliodis, Austin Maddox, baseball, Conor Dwyer, diving, Drew Pomeranz, gymnastics, Hudson Randal, NCAA, NCAA Championship, Ole Miss Rebels, Rhonda Faehn, SEC, SEC Championship, swimming, The Promise, Tim Tebow, Veterans Memorial Arena

Competing for four days in the Gabrielsen Natatorium at the University of Georgia, the No. 6 Florida Gators men’s and No. 7 women’s swimming and diving teams each finished in second place at the 2010 Southeastern Conference Championships. On the men’s side, the Auburn Tigers took first place by only 19 points (784-765), while the Georgia Bulldogs finished ahead of the Florida women by a larger margin (824.5-698).

Men’s coach Gregg Troy and women’s coach Donnie Craine led the Gators’ efforts all season long, bringing home recognition for themselves while assisting numerous student-athletes in reaching accolades of their own. The men’s and women’s teams combined for 14 SEC Championship titles (six and eight, respectively), two SEC records and six school records. Florida also earned 18 NCAA automatic qualifying marks/times.

2010 Florida SEC Awards
SEC Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year – Gregg Troy
SEC Women’s Diving Coach of the Year – Donnie Craine
SEC Men’s Swimmer of the Year – Conor Dwyer
SEC Women’s Swimmer of the Year – Gemma Spofforth
SEC Women’s Diver of the Year – Kara Salamone
Commissioner’s Trophy, High Point Award (Men’s) – Conor Dwyer, Shaune Fraser
Commissioner’s Trophy, High Point Award (Women’s) – Gemma Spofforth

Check out Florida’s numerous new SEC titles, SEC records, school records, NCAA qualifiers and more after the break!
Continue Reading » Swimming finishes second at SEC Championships

Tags: Auburn Tigers, Brett Fraser, Coach of the Year, Commissioner's Trophy, Conor Dwyer, Diver of the Year, diving, Donnie Craine, Gabrielsen Natatorium, Gemma Spofforth, Georgia Bulldogs, Gregg Troy, High Point Award, Jemma Lowe, Kara Salamone, Marco Loughran, NCAA, Roberto Gomez, Sarah Bateman, Sebastien Rousseau, SEC Championship, Shara Stafford, Shaune Fraser, Stephanie Napier, Swimmer of the Year, swimming, Teresa Crippen, University of Georgia

1 » No. 3/9 Florida Gators softball (5-1) shutout the Campbell Camels (1-4-1) 7-0 Friday night on the back of a school-record six home runs. Leading their team to victory, junior first baseman Megan Bush had lead-off home runs in back-to-back plate appearances, and junior starter Stephanie Brombacher (4-1) blanked Campbell over five innings while compiling a season-high 11 strikeouts. Six of Florida’s seven runs came on solo homers from five different Gators including Bush (4th, 6th), sophomore outfielder Michelle Moultrie (4th), junior catcher Tiffany DeFelice (6th), freshman C Kelsey Horton (6th) and junior outfielder Kelsey Bruder (7th).

Florida softball (6-1) continued its dominance Friday with a 12-4 win over the Kansas Jayhawks (2-5) in the Gators’ second game of the night. Junior second baseman Aja Paculba went 4-4 with a career-high five RBI. In all, seven UF players accounted for 14 hits and freshman pitcher Erin Schuppert (1-0) earned her first career win in four innings of relief with seven strikeouts while allowing only two runs. Freshman Ensley Gammel started for the Gators.

2 » Florida’s newest sport, women’s lacrosse, is set to debut Saturday against the Jacksonville Dolphins (0-2) at 6 p.m. in the brand new Donald R. Dizney Stadium for the first regular season game in school history. Head coach Amanda O’Leary has done a terrific job preparing the Gators, including recruiting the No. 1–ranked signing class in the nation according to Inside Lacrosse Magazine. The team, which fell 17-8 in its first exhibition match against the U.S. National Development team before rallying to a 7-7 tie at Rutgers and a 10-8 win over Princeton, is made up of two seniors, one junior, two sophomores and 24 freshmen. Admission is free for all home games, so be sure to go out and support this up-and-coming team in its first season!
- Athletic director Jeremy Foley is proud of the school’s newest sport.
- The Florida lacrosse team was years in the making.
- Everything you need to know about how lacrosse is played.

Gators swimming & diving and gymnastics also impressed on Friday…
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Softball sets record, lacrosse debuts

Tags: Aja Paculba, Amanda O’Leary, Campbell Camels, Conor Dwyer, diving, Dizney Stadium, Ensley Gammel, Erin Schuppert, Gemma Spofforth, Georgia Gym Dogs, gymnastics, Jacksonville Dolphins, Kansas Jayhawks, Kelsey Bruder, Kelsey Horton, lacrosse, Megan Bush, Michelle Moultrie, NCAA Championship, O'Connell Center, SEC Championship, Shaune Fraser, softball, Stephanie Brombacher, swimming, Teresa Crippen, Tiffany DeFelice

Opening BIT » Congratulations to forward/center Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks for a career-high 31 points in his 200th NBA game on Wednesday! “In the fourth quarter, I looked up at the scoreboard and I was pretty excited about it,” Horford said. “Obviously, I’m more concerned about winning. But when you’re able to do something like that individually, it always feels good.”

1 » Coming through with two titles, one Southeastern Conference record and one school record on the first day of competition, Florida Gators swimming and diving completed its second of four days of competition in the 2010 SEC Championships by taking home three more individual conference titles as well as a relay title. Junior Conor Dwyer and seniors Shaune Fraser and Gemma Spofforth all won individual SEC Championships, while the Gators women’s 200 free relay team defended its title. Florida now has six SEC titles in the first two days of the meet. The Gators men’s and women’s teams each led their respective fields going into Thursday’s events; however, both fell to second by the time the day was over. UF also achieved numerous NCAA qualifying times throughout the day. Day three of the SEC Championships begins Friday at 10 a.m. from the Gabrielsen Natatorium at the University of Georgia.
Men: Auburn (291 points), Florida (282), Georgia (205)
Women: Georgia (300 points), Florida (266), Auburn (248)

2 » While the men’s team bounced back with a win Thursday against Auburn after suffering consecutive losses, Florida women’s basketball (13-13, 6-7 SEC) fell to their third-straight ranked opponent on the road against the No. 16 Kentucky Wildcats (22-4, 10-3 SEC) in the Memorial Coliseum. A three-pointer by senior guard Lonnika Thompson with 9:04 remaining in the game brought the Gators within two points of the Wildcats (47-45), but Florida would allow Kentucky to outscore them 30-6 in the remaining time to pull off a 77-51 victory. Dooming the Gators were 23 turnovers and poor defense – the Wildcats shot 66.7 percent from the floor. Florida will try to bounce back against another ranked opponent, the No. 20 Georgia Bulldogs, who they host in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Sun., Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. The game will air on ESPN2.

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Conor Dwyer, diving, Gabrielsen Natatorium, Gemma Spofforth, Kentucky Wildcats, Lonnika Thompson, Memorial Coliseum, NBA, NCAA, SEC Championship, Shaune Fraser, swimming, University of Georgia, women's basketball

1 » Florida Gators swimming and diving completed its first of four days of competition in the 2010 Southeastern Conference Championships by taking home two SEC titles, one SEC record, one school record and two NCAA automatic-qualifying marks. The Gators, who are tied for first place in both the men’s and women’s team competitions through the first day, hope to build on their already outstanding performances. Senior diver Kara Salamone earned UF’s first diving title since 2001 on the one-meter springboard, while the men’s 800-yard free relay team brought home the second title of the evening with a 6:15.91 time – the fastest in the country this season. Composed of freshman Sebastien Rousseau, junior Conor Dwyer and senior/junior brothers Shaune and Brett Fraser, the men’s team also set the SEC and Florida records with their NCAA automatic-qualifying mark. Day two of the SEC Championships begins Thursday at 10 a.m. from the Gabrielsen Natatorium at the University of Georgia.

2 » Also victorious Wednesday was the No. 3/5 Gators softball team (4-1), who took down the Jacksonville Dolphins (4-1) 6-1 in its home opener at Katie Pressly Seashole Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Junior pitcher Stephanie Brombacher (4-1) earned the win on a two-hit, nine-strikeout performance which began with her striking out the side in the first inning. Offensively, junior catcher Tiffany DeFelice powered Florida with two home runs and three RBI while going 3-for-3 from behind the plate.

Tags: Brett Fraser, Conor Dwyer, diving, Gabrielsen Natatorium, Jacksonville Dolphins, Kara Salamone, NCAA, Pressly Stadium, Sebastien Rousseau, SEC Championship, Shaune Fraser, softball, Stephanie Brombacher, swimming, Tiffany DeFelice, University of Georgia

1 » The Florida Gators baseball team will be participating in its first team practice and scrimmage at 3 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 29 at McKethan Stadium. The event, which is open to the public, is just a precursor to the team’s regular season opener on Feb. 19 at 6:30 p.m. against the South Florida Bulls. Other baseball events including autograph signings and a “Meet the Team” will occur before the Gators’ first game, so stay tuned. Baseball is currently ranked No. 9 in a preseason poll conducted by Collegiate Baseball.

2 » Florida was named one of four regional host sites for the 2010 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championships in an announcement from the NCAA Tuesday. This is the 11th time in school history and the fourth time in the last six years that the University of Florida has been selected to host regional action. The Gainesville, FL, regional will take place in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Dec. 9-10, 2011.

3 » Ashanée Dickerson has been named the Southeastern Conference Freshman Gymnast of the Week for the second-straight week. Scoring her third consecutive all-around title against the then-No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats on Jan. 22, Dickerson is the first Gators gymnast to open a season with three straight all-around titles since 1988. She leads the team with six event titles in 2010. Dickerson and the rest of the No. 4 Florida gymnastics team will face the No. 13 LSU Tigers on Friday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. in the Fourth Annual Gators Link to Pink event to raise awareness for breast cancer.

4 » Gators sophomore Teresa Crippen and junior Conor Dwyer received National Collegiate Swimmer of the Week honors Tuesday. Both Crippen and Dwyer had outstanding performances in Florida’s dual meet against the Auburn Tigers on Jan. 22.

Tags: Ashanée Dickerson, baseball, Conor Dwyer, Freshman Gymnast of the Week, Gators Link to Pink, gymnastics, McKethan Stadium, O'Connell Center, SEC, swimming, Teresa Crippen, University of Florida, volleyball