1 » The University of Florida athletic program finished no. 4 in the nation in the 2010-11 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup. Thirteen Florida Gators programs finished in the top 10 of their respective sport nationally including women’s tennis (No. 1), men’s indoor track & field (No. 1), baseball (No. 2), softball (No. 2), men’s outdoor track & field (No. 3), men’s basketball (No. 5), men’s swimming & diving (No. 5), lacrosse (No. 5), gymnastics (No. 7), women’s swimming & diving (No. 7), men’s tennis (No. 9), volleyball (No. 9), women’s golf (No. 10). It is the third-straight year that the Gators have finished in the top four in the Cup’s final rankings.

2 » Competing with the 2011 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship Team, Florida center Patric Young had some difficulties in the preliminary round of the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championships against Egypt. Though Team USA won 115-60, Young only went 2-of-4 from the field for five points with eight rebounds in 14 minutes. Young played much better on Friday, posting 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting with seven boards in 18:30 as Team USA came back to top Serbia 80-78.

3 » Speaking of Young, he and head coach Billy Donovan mentioned a few times last season that he had to overcome some attitude issues during the first half off the year; once doing so, he felt much better about himself and his spot on the team. Young opened up even more about this to ESPN’s Diamond Leung, who spoke with him recently. “When you hear it over and over … if 500 people came in and told you you’re the best writer in the world, you’re going to start believing it, right?” he said. “You’re going to be the next best thing. You’re going to be one-and-done. You should be starting over Vernon Macklin. You should play 30-35 minutes a game. People say stuff like that. I was so mentally blocked that I couldn’t understand what I was doing wrong and how it was hurting my team, and coaches had to sit me down and break that down for me, and I understood from that point on forward.”

4 » Dallas Mavericks guard Corey Brewer will be making his triumphant return to Gainesville, FL…for at least three days this summer. Brewer, a member of the Gators’ back-to-back men’s basketball NCAA National Championship teams, will host The Back 2 Back Youth Basketball Camp powered by Five Star Basketball in Gainesville, FL, from July 26-28. Brewer will donate all proceeds to Shands Children’s Hospital at UF and the “Corey Brewer Fight Diabetes Fund,” both benefiting the school’s medical center. “I had a great time with the kids last year. I am so fortunate to have played basketball at the University of Florida. I always like going back to give back to the community that has given me so much,” he told The Gainesville Sun.

Times: August 1-3 from 9:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Participants: Boys and girls ages 9-18
Activities: Basketball drills, five-on-five games, contests, educational sessions, player evaluations, lectures and much more
Extras: Lunch, T-shirt, photo with Brewer, awards, certificate, etc.
Cost: $150 per camper
More information: http://www.CoreyBrewer.com

1 » Competing in their fourth and final game of the season, No. 8 Florida State Seminoles baseball (24-9) once again took it to the No. 4 Florida Gators (26-8), turning miscues into runs to prevail 3-1 on Tuesday night in Tallahassee, FL in front of a sold out crowd of 6,357 fans. Florida State improved to 3-1 against Florida with the win; the Gators’ only victory came via a hard-fought 5-4 win in extra innings. Junior left-handed pitcher Alex Panteliodis (2-1) picked up the loss for UF but only gave up one earned run while striking out five in 5.0 innings. In for relief, junior right-handed pitcher Greg Larson only allowed two hits but threw a pair of wild pitches that allowed the Seminoles to tack on two runs. Florida was held scorless through the first eight innings on the game before sophomore designated hitter Brian Johnson (2-4, RBI) knocked home junior right fielder Preston Tucker (1-3, R, BB) in the ninth.

2 » The Second Annual Florida Letterman Awards were held on Monday with a number of UF’s student-athletes bringing home honors. The list of award recipients and their respective sports is below:

- Mr. & Ms. Orange & Blue: Christian Taylor (track and field), Megan Bush (softball)
- Team of the Year: women’s swimming and diving, men’s indoor track and field
- Athlete of the Year: Conor Dwyer (swimming) and Christian Taylor (track and field), Mariam Kevkhishvili (track & field)
- Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Max Lang (track and field); Rebekah Zaiser (gymnastics)
- Performance of the Year: Conor Dwyer (NCAA swimming meet) and Gray Horn (SEC decathlon), Charlotte Browning (NCAA track meet)
- Academic Teams of Year: men’s golf, women’s gymnastics
- Play of the Year: Jeff Demps, Chris Rainey, Terrell Wilks and Jeremy Hall (4X100 relay 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships); Shara Stafford and Gemma Spofforth (200-meter freestyle at 2010 NCAA Championships)
- Rookie of the Year: Austin Maddox (baseball), Ashanee Dickerson (gymnastics)
- Comeback Athlete of the Year: Tommy Toledo (baseball), McKenzie Barney (soccer)
- Character Award: Bobby Walsh (swimming), Daisy Glasser (track and field)
- Goodwill Gator: Max Lang (track and field), Stephanie Brombacher (softball)

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1 » During the 2011 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday, the Florida Gators men’s team brought home a pair of National Championships. Competing in Minneapolis, MN, senior Brett Fraser captured the national title in the 200-yard freestyle. He was also part of the four-man team – including senior Conor Dwyer, junior Jeffrey Raymond and sophomore Sebastien Rousseau – that won the championship in the 800-yard freestyle relay.

2 » Former Florida golfer Sandra Gal picked up the first LPGA victory of her career on Sunday, winning the Kia Classic and $255,000. She finished at a 16-under 276 and won on the 18th and final hole on Sunday. “I’m a bit overwhelmed,” she said after the win. “you know, it was close all day long, so I had to kind of dig deep to pull out some shots. I’m just happy to have finally done it. I had a good feeling about today when I woke up.”

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The highlight of the weekend for softball came Saturday when senior pitcher Stephanie Brombacher tossed the second perfect game of her career to send Florida to a 9-0 shutout victory over N.C. State. Brombacher needed only 67 pitches to do the deed; she struck out six in her five innings of work. Ending up 3-0 at the tournament’s conclusion, Brombacher struck out 19 in 14 innings of work, did not give up a single earned run and only allowed four hits in her final game of the weekend against USF.

Softball may have won five games in three days, but a veteran diver did her best to earn all of the weekend’s accolades for herself.

Not to be overshadowed was the Gators women’s diving team, led by senior Monica Dodson, who broke two Southeastern Conference records and won two gold medals in the diving portion of the 2011 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL.

Dodson, a three-time All-American, won the three-meter event (six dives) with a score of 373.85 on Friday; she followed that up with a victory in the platform event (five dives) with a score of 325.20 at the final day of competition on Sunday. For her efforts and achievements this season, Dodson was named the 2011 SEC Women’s Diver of the Year. Florida diving coach Donnie Craine was honored after the event with his second-straight SEC Women’s Diving Coach of the Year award, an honor that puts him second all-time in conference history.

Check out the other UF sports that had a successful weekend…after the break!

Adding to the Gators’ weekend successes was No. 3 men’s golf, which captured its eighth-straight SunTrust Invitational when event action concluded on Sunday. Thanks to a total team effort, including a playoff win by redshirt senior Andres Echavarria of Colombia, Florida won by nine strokes with a four-over 844; Auburn and LSU finished in second and third, respectively.

No. 1 Gators gymnastics (7-0, 4-0 SEC) wanted to celebrate, too. That is exactly what the ladies did after posting a season-best 197.725 total (also tops in school history for an away meet) to sweep the No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs (6-3, 2-2 SEC) on the road at Stegeman Coliseum. Florida sophomore Ashanée Dickerson captured the balance beam, floor exercise and vault titles, while freshman Alaina Johnson won the all around and shared the vault victory with Dickerson. (Senior Maranda Smith tied both ladies with a 9.90 in the vault as well).

Though their No. 7 men’s counterpart (6-1) lost their first match of the season 4-3 to the No. 16 Illinois Illini, No. 2 women’s tennis (7-0) took down the No. 4 North Carolina Tar Heels (5-1) 5-2 and No. 6 Duke Blue Devils (6-1) 4-2 in a pair of road matches. The No. 1 duo of sophomore Allie Will and freshman Sofie Oyen lost their doubles match against UNC, but No. 7 Will, No. 28 freshman Alex Cercone and No. 30 junior Joanna Mather all won singles matches to help propel the Gators to victory. Will/Oyen made up for their loss with a 9-7 victory against Duke. Will, Mather and No. 96 Oyen captured singles wins Sunday as well.

For the men, the No. 11 duo of senior Alexandre Lacroix and junior Nassim Slilam won their doubles match; however, No. 4 Lacroix fell in singles competition.

Closing out the victorious weekend for Florida was the track and field team, which competed in three meets – the Tyson Invitational, Iowa State Classic and FloTrack Husky Classic – across the country. You can read more about the team’s numerous wins and NCAA qualifiers by clicking here.

On the other side of the coin, Gators women’s basketball (14-13, 4-9 SEC) fell apart in back-to-back road contests to continue their four-game losing streak. The No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers (23-2, 11-0 SEC) routed the ladies 61-39 on Thursday before the Alabama Crimson Tide (13-12, 2-10 SEC) overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to win 64-59 on Sunday.

1 » Capturing five events while taking home two NCAA automatic-qualifying marks, No. 2 Florida Gators track and field had a great weekend at the Texas A&M Challenge. Junior heptathlete Gray Horn and junior transfer jumper Will Claye each registered the qualifiers, with Horn registering a personal best 5,747 and Claye posting a season-leading 16.86m/55-3.25 in the triple jump. The duo joins sophomore jumper Omar Craddock, who has already registered his own automatic qualifying time.

2 » No. 5/8 Florida men’s/women’s swimming and diving swept the No. 7/10 Tennessee Volunteers on Senior Day at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Saturday. The men won 198-101, while the women were victorious 180-120. According to the University of Florida, “The 97-point victory for the UF men is the most lopsided win over UT in school history, while being the most points scored by the Gator men and the largest margin of victory in a one-day dual meet since a 208-88 conquest over Florida Atlantic on Jan. 26, 2001. The 198 points were the most in a one-day SEC dual meet since outscoring South Carolina 248-68 on Oct. 27, 2000, which was also the last time the men…had a 90-plus point margin of victory in SEC competition.”

Both teams also faced the Indian River State College Pioneers on Sunday and were victorious 165-120 and 157-106, respectively.

3 » Facing the No. 13 N.C. State Wolfpack (1-2) and No. 23 Penn State Nittany Lions (1-4, 0-2 Big Ten), No. 1 Florida gymnastics (5-0, 2-0 SEC) won the fifth annual Gators Link to Pink meet on Friday. The Gators posted 197.50 points compared to 195.3 for the Nittany Lions and 194.075 for the Wolfpack. Florida won all five events with freshman Alaina Johnson capturing four (vault, uneven bars, floor exercise, all-around) and sophomore Ashanée Dickerson bringing home one (balance beam).

4 » No. 2 Florida women’s tennis (2-0) swept a pair of matches over the weekend, defeating the Central Florida Knights (1-1) 7-0 and the College of Charleston Cougars (0-1) 6-0 at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, FL. The No. 1 duo of sophomore Allie Will and freshman Sofie Oyen won its doubles match during both contests. Also victorious in both of their singles matches were No. 7 Will, No. 22 freshman Olivia Janowicz and No. 96 Oyen. No. 28 freshman Alex Cercone won on Friday, and No. 30 junior Joanna Mather did not finish her contest on Saturday.

5 » No. 7 Gators men’s tennis (4-0) was equally successful with back-to-back wins over the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 4-0 and N.C. State 6-1 in Gainesville. The No. 11 duo of senior Alexandre Lacroix and junior Nassim Slilam won its doubles match in both events. No. 4 Lacroix and Slilam each captured singles wins on Friday and Saturday. No. 52 sophomore Bob Van Overbeek also won singles matches both days, while No. 28 sophomore Sekou Bangoura, Jr. won his opportunity on Saturday.

6 » After starting the season strong, Florida women’s basketball (13-9, 3-5 SEC) dropped three-straight contests in mid-January but ended that losing streak with a 70-64 home victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide (11-10, 0-8 SEC) on Thursday. Freshman guard Jaterra Bonds and sophomore forward Jennifer George each scored a team-high 12 points in the victory.

OGGOA RELATED: Top 10 for 2010: Off the Field Stories of the Year

10 » FLORIDA WINS INAUGURAL LACROSSE GAME (2/20/10)
When Florida decided it wanted to start another women’s athletics program, the University Athletic Association did extensive research and found out that women’s lacrosse would be the perfect fit. In preparation for their first season, the Gators and head coach Amanda O’Leary secured the country’s No. 1 recruiting class (according to Inside Lacrosse Magazine). All the hard work and preparation to get the team ready paid off on Feb. 20 when lacrosse debuted in the brand new Donald R. Dizney Stadium to a boisterous crowd of 2,114 spectators. Florida defeated Jacksonville 16-6 behind four goals and four assists from freshman sensation Ashley Bruns. All-in-all the Gators faced 16 championship-caliber teams and played so well that they reached the 2010 ALC Tournament semifinals. In just their second year of existence, Florida women’s lacrosse is ranked as the No. 17 team in the country going into the 2011 season.

9 » NEAR VICTORIES/HEARTBREAKING LOSSES (5/25/10 * 3/18/10 * 10/9/10)

It is rare for teams to go undefeated and even less likely that an entire athletic program can go through a season without its share of close losses and nail biting finishes. Such was the case for the Gators in 2010. On May 25, No. 3 women’s tennis was barely defeated by the No. 8 Stanford Cardinal for the 2010 NCAA National Championship. Stanford won 4-3 after Florida rallied when they were just two individual games away from being defeated. The Gators forced third sets in two singles matches; sophomore Joanna Mather took down her opponent but senior No. 65 Marrit Boonstra was not as lucky. Losing her first set 6-4, Boonstra fought back to even her match with No. 33 Mallory Burdette by taking the second set 6-7 (4). Down 2-0 in the third, she pushed ahead with a valiant effort to take a 5-4 lead but ended up losing her final three games, the match itself and the championship.

Returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons, No. 10-seed Florida got in a bit easier than some might have expected. Matched up against the No. 7-seed Brigham Young Cougars in the event’s opening game, the Gators fought hard but could not stop Cougars star guard Jimmer Fredette. Allowing BYU to jump ahead 59-46 in the second half, UF came back behind freshman G Kenny Boynton and junior forward Chandler Parsons. Florida missed potential game-winners during regulation (Parsons) and the first overtime (Boynton) and eventually fell to Brigham Young 99-92 in a double-overtime heartbreaker with Fredette adding to his game-high 37 points.

Though losing a national championship and NCAA Tournament game are both difficult, Gators fans will probably look back on No. 12/14 Florida’s shocking loss to the No. 9/12 LSU Tigers on Oct. 10 as the worst near-victory of the season. Wearing orange jerseys for the first time since 1989, the Gators came back from a 12-point deficit when freshman wide receiver Andre Debose returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, sophomore running back Mike Gillislee rumbled in for a touchdown and redshirt junior quarterback John Brantley completed a two-point conversion to sophomore WR Frankie Hammond, Jr. to cap a 10-play, 80-yard drive. All Florida wanted when its defense came out was a stop, but LSU put together a 62-yard game-winning drive that included numerous third down conversions and a converted fake field goal attempt on fourth down from UF’s 36-yard line with 35 seconds remaining. Back-to-back passes to WR Terrence Toliver (of 28 and 3 yards, respectively) and the Tigers left The Swamp with a 33-29 victory. Players have noted that the loss was a negative turning point in the season, one that may or may not have led to the team dropping their third-straight game one week later at home to Mississippi State.


8 » MOMENTS OF RAW EMOTION (11/20/10 * 5/12/10)

What gets most fans to rise to their feet during athletic contests are spectacular plays, but in 2010 there were three on the field moments that received standing ovations for simply being emotional. After back-to-back 13-1 seasons including wins in two BCS bowl games, Gators football was expected to live up to the same level of greatness in 2010. Faced with a fractured locker room, rabid fan base and disappointing record, the team celebrated Senior Day prior to facing the Appalachian State Mountaineers. Though Florida would go on to win the game 48-10, the two most memorable moments from the game were not game-winning plays or athletic feats.

Running on the field individually to be recognized by head coach Urban Meyer and the roaring crowd, seniors safety Ahmad Black and center Mike Pouncey broke down crying. Black was so overcome with emotion that he took a knee in the end zone before sprinting to Meyer, while Pouncey kept his helmet on to hide his tears before running to Meyer and giving him a bear hug. “I don’t use the word ‘cry’ – that’s soft,” Meyer said after the game. “Whimper? Eye moisture and whimper. [Does] ‘whimper’ sound tough enough? Balled my eyes off then. I was emotional, those are good guys.”

That day was also special for redshirt senior walk-on Gary Beemer, a workhorse practice player who Meyer made sure scored a touchdown on Senior Day. After getting into the end zone on his third attempt, Beemer celebrated like he had won a championship by ripping off his helmet and letting his long hair flow. His jovial post-game press conference only furthered his 15 minutes of fame. “[It was] overwhelming,” he said of scoring the touchdown. “When you’re a kid you dream of something like this. And I’m a lineman, so the chance that – if I was a starter here – to score a touchdown as a defensive lineman is astronomical in itself. For them to just come up to me with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter and say, ‘Hey, would you like the ball on the goal line?’ I’m still trying to process it and make it a reality right now.”

In the same category as these moments was one that occurred on the baseball diamond. Recovered from a fractured face that kept him out two months and occurred when a line drive hit him directly in the mug, sophomore right-handed pitcher Tommy Toledo took the mound and received a standing ovation from the McKethan Stadium crowd of 3,147. Toledo was overcome with emotion during the moment. “That was probably one of the best feelings I’ve ever had here at Florida,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting that at all. […] I was shaking out there. The fans were amazing.” Freshman catcher Mike Zunino said the moment gave him and most of his teammates chills. A starter, Toledo came in as a relief pitcher during the game and helped his team complete a 7-3 victory.

7 » TWO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS IN EIGHT DAYS (3/13/10 – 3/21/10)
No. 1 Florida men’s track & field captured its first NCAA Indoor Championship in 2010 and did so with a 13-point margin of victory over the second-place finisher (Oregon). Fantastic individual performances by senior Charlotte Browning (mile), freshman/sophomore Jeff Demps (60-meter dash), senior Mariam Kevkhishvili (shot put) and sophomore Christian Taylor (triple jump) propelled the Gators to victory. Pulling off an equally impressive feat was Florida’s women’s swimming and diving team, which captured the 2010 NCAA Championship with a near 2.5-point victory over second-place Stanford just eight days later. In all, 12 Gators were named All-Americans and five school records were set in the event. It was Florida’s first national title in women’s swimming since 1982.

6 » ENEA SETS HOME RUN RECORD, GETS ENGAGED ON SENIOR DAY (5/9/10)
Her final home game in the orange and blue was an emotional day for senior softball player Francesca Enea – for more than one reason. In addition to hitting her Southeastern Conference record 61st career home run and winning her final game with the Gators on Senior Day, Enea was surprised when her longtime boyfriend Christian Bruey proposed to her at the pitcher’s mound before the game in front of over a thousand fans. She said yes and, at the end of the season, traded in the black Florida jersey she was wearing that day for a bright white wedding dress. “I had a dream two years ago,” Enea said during the post-game press conference. “I told him, ‘I had a dream you proposed to me on Senior Day,’ and he said, ‘Well, that will never happen because I’ll never make enough money for the ring you want, and I said, ‘Yeah, you’re probably right.’ He said he wasn’t going to be able to make it [to the game] and I was giving him [grief] about it for weeks. […] All of a sudden someone shouted his name out from the crowd, I looked and saw him. He didn’t waste any time, he went right down on one knee. I was just shocked. Everything with Mother’s Day, my family being here, Senior Day, my engagement, it’s just amazing. I’m happy.”

5 » TEBOW DELIVERS SWEET FINALE WITH SUGAR BOWL PERFORMANCE (1/2/10)
Disappointed after losing the 2009 SEC Championship and coming off a week filled with seemingly endless questions and distractions, the No. 5 Gators routed the No. 3 Cincinnati Bearcats 51-24 in the 2010 Sugar Bowl. In the final game of his college career, Florida senior quarterback Tim Tebow delivered arguably his best performance, completing 31-of-35 passes for a career-high 482 yards passing and three touchdowns through the air to go along with 51 yards and another touchdown on the ground. Tebow, who won the game’s Most Outstanding Player award, completed his first 12 consecutive passes and finished with 533 total yards – more than anyone in both BCS and Sugar Bowl history. “It was incredible,” Tebow said of the contest. “Just a great game. It was exactly how you want to go out with these seniors and these coaches in your last game and your last time together. It just really doesn’t get any better than this.”

4 » BASEBALL ADVANCES TO COLLEGE WORLD SERIES WITH EXTRA INNINGS COMEBACK vs. MIAMI IN GAINESVILLE (6/13/10)

Looking to advance to the NCAA College World Series for the first time since 2005, No. 4 Gators baseball defeated the No. 11 Miami Hurricanes 4-3 in extra innings due to the Hurricanes tying a postseason school record with seven errors including three in the final two innings. In a rare position as the away team in their home stadium, Florida was down 3-2 with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning. Miami shortstop Stephen Perez was charged with a throwing error on a routine grounder by Zunino, which advanced all runners and tied the score. In the top of the 10th, freshman SS Nolan Fontana got on base after Canes right fielder Chris Pelaez misjudged a fly ball and eventually scored as his teammates drove him home for what would eventually be the game-winning run. The Gators also salvaged a 15-game home winning streak and extended their record to 30-9 all-time at home during NCAA play.

3 » VOLLEYBALL RALLIES TO BEAT FLORIDA STATE IN FIVE-SET THRILLER AND ADVANCE IN NCAA TOURNAMENT (12/4/10)

Having won 28 of their first 29 contests of the season, No. 1 Florida volleyball did not expect to be faced with too much opposition when they faced the Florida State Seminoles in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Championships at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Down two sets to one and facing elimination, the Lady Gators rallied together and pulled off a spectacular come-from-behind five-set victory to defeat their bitter rivals 3-2 (20-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-21, 17-15). After squeaking out a win in the fourth set, Florida trailed by four points (11-7) in the final set and was facing a seemingly insurmountable deficit (considering it takes 15 points to win). Fighting to even things up, the Gators found themselves down 13-11 after senior outside hitter Callie Rivers nailed a service ace. The officials believed UF touched the ball four times on the next point and whistled them for illegal contact, giving FSU a temporary 14-11 lead before they decided to negate the call and play the point over. Florida would go on to tie the set at 13 and eventually win it outright after junior OH Kristy Jaeckel hit consecutive kills to win it 17-15. The Gators were so thrilled with their victory that they formed a dogpile at center court as the crowd erupted in applause.

2 » OVERTIME MIRACLES: HILL’s INTERCEPTION / HENRY’s FIELD GOAL (10/30/10)

Trying to stop the bleeding after losing three games in a row for the first time since 1988, Florida football entered the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party against the Georgia Bulldogs and surprised their opponents with an up-tempo offense that kept them in the game despite the defense struggling for a third-straight contest. Nevertheless, the most memorable plays of the game did not come from the offensive side on the ball but instead from the secondary and special teams. Though only two of his three interceptions will count when looking at the box score 10 years from now, junior safety Will Hill’s performance will be remembered for some time. Following in the footsteps of some of the Gators’ other terrifying free safeties, Hill came through when it counted by saving a two-point conversion with a pick and starting Florida’s celebration early with an 89-yard interception return that was stopped four yards short of the goal line in overtime. “I was struggling earlier in the season and coaches never gave up on me, teammates never gave up on me,” Hill said after the game. “And for me to come out and playing like this, it’s just like paying the team back.’’

Though Hill’s play was the most electric, senior punter/kicker Chas Henry’s performance is likely the most memorable. After missing his initial field goal attempt wide left in the first quarter, Henry nailed two in a row including a 37-yarder in overtime to ice the game, start a massive celebration and allow the Gators to go 5-1 against the Bulldogs under Meyer. “It was the best feeling I’ve ever had,” he said in a post-game press conference. “The main thing that went through my mind was how I let my team down two weeks ago against Mississippi State. That was one of the hardest things I’ve had to go through. I got so much support through the coaches, my family and friends, and my brothers in the locker room. The internal family we have is as strong as you can get. I let them down one time. I was never going to let it happen again. It felt great. Unbelievable.”

Hill, Henry, their teammates and fans were not the only ones emotional about their performances. “Big play of the day,” Meyer said of Hill’s overtime pick. “We’ve been waiting for that all year. Will Hill played very well tonight.” He also commented on Henry’s game-winning kick, one which made Meyer drop to his knees on the field. “After he hit that field goal? It was Chas Henry hitting a damn field goal. Think about that for a minute. That’s not easy. I didn’t realize I [dropped to my knees]. It was a good moment.”

1 » OH MY! PARSONS HITS TWO BUZZER BEATERS IN JANUARY! (1/3/10 * 1/23/10)

Hitting a buzzer beater in a game will automatically get you a spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10. But hitting two not only in less than a month? That gets you on ESPN’s Top 10 Plays of the Year. Who are we to deny Parsons a similar honor here at OGGOA? Down two with 2.6 seconds left in overtime, Parsons converted a missed free throw into a 75-foot buzzer-beating, game-winning three-pointer to give Florida a big road win over the N.C. State Wolfpack. Just 20 days later, chants of “Chandler! Chandler! Chandler!” rang throughout the O’Connell Center as Parsons did it again with another game-winning, buzzer-beating three-pointer. South Carolina Gamecocks guard Devan Downey hit a dynamic layup and left 5.1 seconds on the clock. Senior F Dan Werner grabbed the ball and immediately inbounded it to sophomore point guard Erving Walker, who drove the length of the court before dishing it to Parsons, who was waiting beyond the arc. Keep your eyes pealed for Werner calling Parsons’s shot in the N.C. State video and injured F Adam Allen limping down the court to celebrate with Parsons after the USC win.

Photo Credits: John Raoux/Associated Press, The Gainesville Sun, University of Florida, Stephen Morton/AP

1 » Injured Saturday while facing the Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat power forward Udonis Haslem has been diagnosed with a torn ligament in his left foot and is expected to be out until at least the NBA All-Star break in February – if not longer. Haslem’s injury – should it require surgery – could keep him out the entire regular season though he would likely be able to return for the playoffs.

2 » No. 1/1 Florida Gators volleyball (26-1, 19-0 SEC) continued its roll through the Southeastern Conference on Sunday with a 3-1 (25-19, 33-31, 25-27, 25-13) victory over the No. 16 LSU Tigers (24-4, 15-4 SEC) at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, LA. Senior outside hitter Callie Rivers accounted for a career-high 21 kills, and junior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel registered 15 kills. Junior right-side/setter Kelly Murphy’s dominance continued with her 14th straight double-double; she notched a season-high 31 assists along with 13 kills and eight digs. Florida ends regular season action on Friday on the road at South Carolina before beginning the 2010 SEC Tournament as the likely No. 1 overall seed.

Four more BITS on women’s basketball’s near upset victory, an achievement for men’s golf and updates on swimming and diving…after the break!

3 » Participating in the 2010 Preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament, Gators women’s basketball (2-1) ended their efforts early after securing two wins and almost upsetting a talented semifinals opponent. In the first game, Florida defeated the Central Florida Knights 77-67 after being led by freshman guard Jaterra Bonds’ team-high 15 points. The Gators kept the momentum going with a 76-70 victory over the Charlotte 49ers in their second contest as redshirt junior G Jordan Jones posted 19 points. The second win was No. 100 for head coach Amanda Butler.

4 » Unfortunately Florida’s upset bid against the DePaul Blue Demons was thwarted by one mere second in the semifinals as the Gators fell 74-73. Freshman G Kayla Lewis, who tipped in a ball at the buzzer, had her basket denied when the officials ruled the shot was taken after it had sounded. There was not a court-side monitor to review the basket, giving DePaul (3-0) the win. Jones ended up being named to the WNIT All-Tournament Team after totaling 36 points, nine rebounds and six assists over the three games.

5 » If you want to thank someone for the Gators’ men’s golf team’s rise to No. 1 in the SEC, that man would be senior Bank Vongvanij, who was named to the 2010 SEC Fall Golf Honor Roll on Friday. Ranked first individually in the SEC going into the spring season, he recorded three top-five finishes in Florida’s three fall tournaments and won the Isleworth Invitational. UF’s spring season begins with the JU Invitational on Feb. 1.

6 » Though neither took home the win at the 2010 Georgia Tech Invitational over the weekend, the No. 4 men’s (2-1, 2-0 SEC) and No. 4 women’s (2-2, 0-1 SEC) swimming and diving teams each placed in the top three at the end of competition on Saturday. The men finished second with 1,221 points while the women were third with 939 points.

Photo Credit: Gary Dineen/Getty Images

1 » Just one week ago, Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee knocked out New York Knicks forward Wilson Chandler’s tooth during a game. When Lee’s elbow hit Chandler’s face, it was deeply punctured by the tooth, which was then removed by force. Lee was only expected to be out of action a few days to let the deep wound heal properly, but he has no missed a week and has yet to return to the court. In fact, Lee has been hospitalized most of the time due to a massive infection and serious swelling that occurred in the area. He has already undergone two procedures to clean the infection and may mess two-to-three more weeks as he tries to recover. “I know there is a lot of speculation out there, but it almost doesn’t matter how it was treated,” Dr. Bill Maloney told the media on Wednesday. “I don’t think they could have avoided this. The die was cast when he got the tooth through the skin with a deep enough puncture wound to allow the bacteria to get in there.” The infection may need to be “washed out” four or five more times before Lee can leave the hospital, which the team hopes will occur by week’s end.

2 » In a move many fans of the team have expected to come for quite some time, the Denver Broncos have released the No. 17 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, defensive end/outside linebacker Jarvis Moss. Since being drafted by Denver, Moss has totaled 40 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 33 games; however, he has only registered five tackles and has not notched a single sack in 16 games since the start of last year. When head coach Josh McDaniels took over in 2009, he began utilizing a 3-4 defense and moved Moss from DE to OLB. Unfortunately for the former Florida Gators star, the change in position did not help his production. “He’s been a great kid for us, done everything we asked him to do. It just hasn’t been a perfect fit,” McDaniels said. “Hopefully he can find a place that will be a better fit and suits what [he] can do.”

Read about Florida’s big-time signees in golf and swimming…after the break!

3 » Florida announced today that the women’s golf program has officially signed “standout Spanish golfer” Camilla Hedberg to join the team for the 2011-12 season. “Camilla will have an immediate positive impact on our team both on the golf course and as a teammate,” head coach Jan Dowling said. “She is committed to achieving her goals and also comes from a very supportive and positive family. […] She has an abundance of international tournament experience and has succeeded at the highest level in Europe. She loves to compete and loves the game of golf, which is exactly what we are looking for.”

The men’s golf team also signed three standout performers – James Monnerville (Vero Beach, FL), J.D. Tomlinson (Gainesville, FL) and Thomas Stewart (Ponte Verda/St. Augustine, FL). “I’m really excited about these three players,” head coach Buddy Alexander said. “They have all had a lot of success in junior golf and we needed a relatively big class because we will be losing a couple of seniors.”

4 » Gators swimming and diving hauled in an impressive 15 total recruits on Wednesday. Head coach Gregg Troy announced that Florida has signed 10 men and five women to the respective teams, most of whom hail from the state. “The most exciting thing about this class is that they’re all class-act people,” Troy said. “They’re all very much team players. They’re all state champions that are used to putting their hand on the wall first. You have men and women that are used to winning and have high expectations. It speaks well for the future of the program here at the University of Florida.” The newest members of the Gators athletic program are: Nicholas Caldwell (Sarasota, FL), Matthew Curby (Oviedo, FL), Harrison Curley (Winter Park, FL), Matt Elliott (Peoria, IL), Natasha Fung (Edmondon, Canada), Colin Hamilton (Jacksonville, FL), Ricky Munch (Fairfax, VA), Lauren Neidigh (Orange Park, FL), Carlos Omana (Miami, FL), Rebecca Rainer (Richmond, VA), Austin Ringquist (Hillsboro, OR), Billy Silva (Gainesville, FL), Jordan Smith (Longwood, FL), Summer Stephens (Louisville, KY) and Matthew Thompson (Seminole, FL).

Photo Credit: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

2 » Contrary to volleyball’s performance, No. 6 Florida soccer (10-2-2, 4-1-1 SEC) had a rougher road trip weekend tying Alabama (8-2-2, 3-0-2 SEC) 1-1 in double overtime Friday before falling to the Auburn Tigers (9-5, 3-3 SEC) 1-0 on Sunday. Against the Crimson Tide, Gators midfielder/forward Tahnai Annis got her team on the board early with a goal from four yards out at 47’. Unfortunately on both Friday and Sunday, Florida allowed an opposing goal at 90’ which led to the respective tie and loss. The Gators remain the leaders in the SEC even after the tough weekend.

3 » Florida men’s (0-1) and women’s (1-0) swimming and diving competed against the Virginia Cavaliers at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Natatorium on Monday with the men falling short 153-145 while the women pulled off a close 150-148 victory in the first team event of the season. Freshman Elizabeth Beisel led the ladies by winning the 200-yard backstroke (1:58:.29) and 200-yard individual medley (2:00.89). Like usual senior captain Conor Dwyer was the best men’s performer winning the 200-yard IM and both 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle.

4 » As the Gators basketball team prepares for the 2010-11 season (media day is this week!), head coach Billy Donovan spoke about the expectations surrounding his squad, which is returning all five starters from a year ago. “What ends up happening sometimes in college basketball is that when you have all five starters returning from a team that went to the NCAA Tournament, the expectation is we’re going to be really, really good,” Donovan said, according to The Gainesville Sun. “But I also think we were one of those teams on Selection Sunday that had our fingers crossed. If we were left out, it would maybe be a different feel.”

2 » No. 6 Florida soccer (10-1-1, 4-0 SEC) also kept its winning ways going on Sunday, defeating the Ole Miss Rebels (5-7-1, 1-3 SEC) 3-0 at James G. Pressly Stadium in Gainesville to win their 10th match of the season. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Katie Fraine played the full 90 minutes and notched two saves as the Gators scored as the result of an own goal (21’), shot into the near post by senior defender Nicky Kit (74’) and one-touch strike from redshirt sophomore midfielder McKenzie Barney (90’).

3 » Florida’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams both won the All Florida Invitational over the weekend. In the first-ever instance of the event, the Gators won the men’s and women’s team categories by 259 and 184.5 points, respectively. Senior captain Connor Dwyer won eight men’s events both as an individual – 200-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard breaststroke and 100-yard freestyle, and member of a team – 200-yard freestyle relay, 400-yard freestyle relay, 800-yard freestyle relay and 200-yard medley relay.

4 » Also in action Saturday was Florida lacrosse (2-0), which began its second fall season in team history with two wins over the Jacksonville Dolphins (23-5) and Rollins Tars (25-8). 2009 star sophomore attacker Ashley Bruns along with junior A Caroline Cochran and sophomore midfielders Caroline Chesterman and Kitty Cullen each scored four goals during the contests with Bruns also posting four assists.

Extra BIT » Every Monday is “Music Monday” on Twitter, but this week that is true for OGGOA as well. Check out the song and music video: “Gator Like Me” by Big Uly.