The Gators opened the season on Friday against the Hurricanes and took it to their in-state rivals right from the get go. Sophomore forward Taylor Travis scored Florida’s first goal of the season at 37’, and freshman midfielder Havana Solaun tacked on another at 51’ to lead the Gators to victory.

Junior MF/F Erika Tymrak got the assist on both goals, setting up a cross for the first score and passing it from the top of the box to the left side for the second.

Before returning to Gainesville, FL for a week of practice, Florida stayed in town, took a day off and faced FIU on Sunday. Like their first match of the season, the Gators scored once in each half and came away with a 2-0 win.

Freshman F Tessa Andujar placed the first one in the net, converting a cross from senior defender Jazmyne Avant in the 40th minute. Joining her on the scoreboard was senior MF/F Tahnai Annis, who corralled a through pass from freshman MF Annie Speese and struck it in from 12 yards out at 63’.

Florida split up the goalkeeping duties over the weekend with senior Brooke Chancey (five saves) and freshman Taylor Burke (three saves) each registering a shutout while playing the full 90 minutes.

The Gators will continue their road trip with a pair of contests next weekend in Knoxville, TN. Florida will take on Texas A&M on Friday and UCLA on Sunday before returning to the University of Florida for a three-game homestand.

1a » No. 3 Women’s Tennis won 2010 SEC Championship Tournament
Over the weekend, the Florida Gators women’s tennis team (24-2) captured its 16th conference title in the last 23 years and first since 2006. It defeated the LSU Tigers (10-15) 4-0 on Friday before advancing to the finals to take on the No. 13 Tennessee Volunteers (16-8). Florida took down Tennessee 4-1 in the championship finale Sunday afternoon at the Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, GA. Senior Marrit Boonstra and freshman Allie Will were named to the All-Tournament Team.

1b » No. 6 Men’s Tennis fell in 2010 SEC Championship Tournament finale
Also fighting for a conference crown over the weekend was the men’s tennis team (19-4), which defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 4-1 Friday in semifinal action at Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington, KY. The men moved on to the championship game Sunday but were swept 4-0 by the No. 2 Volunteers, who took home the title.

2 » No. 7/11 Baseball took three of four games last week
Beginning the week with a solid 18-8 defeat of the South Florida Bulls (17-20), Gators baseball (28-11, 12-6 SEC) finished out the week by winning two-of-three games at home against the No. 9/7 Arkansas Razorbacks (33-8, 13-5 SEC). UF dropped the opener 8-3 before evening the series with an 8-2 win Saturday and taking it home Sunday with a 2-1 victory.

3 » No. 4/4 Softball dropped two of three games last week
Florida softball (35-7, 15-4 SEC) was hoping for a chance to even out its week after dropping two of its previous three games; unfortunately, inclement weather on Saturday forced the team to cancel its series finale against No. 17/18 Tennessee (39-9, 15-5 SEC). The Gators began the week with a tough 8-3 home loss to the Florida International Golden Panthers (30-15, 11-5 Sun Belt) at Pressly Stadium on Tuesday. The ladies then split a weekend series with the Volunteers, winning game one 6-0 before falling 4-3 in game two at Lee Softball Stadium in Knoxville, TN.

4 » No. 4 Gymnastics fell at home in 2010 NCAA Championship
Gators gymnastics, a consistently great program that has been hoping for a NCAA Championship since it came in second in 1998, once again fell short of a title over the weekend, failing to come out on top during the NCAA Super Six team final in Gainesville, FL. The Florida women came in fifth place with a total of 197.00, behind the new NCAA Champion UCLA Bruins (197.725), second-place Oklahoma (197.25), third-place Alabama (197.225) and fourth-place Stanford (197.10). Utah (196.225) was the only team to finish behind UF). The match was the Gators’ ninth NCAA Super Six all-time and sixth in the last seven years.

Photo Credit: GatorZone.com

2 » Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Gene Smith told The Florida Times-Union that his team’s experiment with the 3-4 defense is over. Part of the reason for the change is a belief of Smith in former Gators defensive end Derrick Harvey, who only had two sacks in 2009. “The third year is usually a defining year for what you’re going to become,” Smith said as he indicated that Harvey will begin camp as the starting left end. Former Florida safety Reggie Nelson, who had an outstanding rookie campaign but has since floundered with the Jaguars, may be cut if he does not show significant improvement throughout training camp.

Women’s basketball, lacrosse and men’s & women’s tennis after the jump!

3 » Though the men lost in the waning seconds of their contest, the Gators women’s basketball team (12-9, 4-3 SEC) pulled out a close 67-64 victory over the Ole Miss Rebels (14-7, 5-3 SEC) at C.M. Tad Smith Coliseum in Oxford, MS on Sunday. Senior guard Steffi Sorensen scored a team-high 18 points by going 6-for-7 from downtown. Seniors forward Sharielle Smith and G Lonnika Thompson each posted 11 points; Smith added five rebounds while Thompson contributed five assists and three steals. Florida returns to Gainseville, FL, for a three-game homestand that begins with a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

4 » Florida lacrosse played its first game in team history, albeit an exhibition, against the U.S. National Developmental team on Saturday at the Disney Wide World of Sports in Orlando, FL. The Gators fell 17-8 against their more experienced opponent and let a close 7-4 score to get out of reach by allowing the U.S. team to score five straight goals early in the second half. Florida starts its first regular season against the Jacksonville Dolphins on Feb. 20 but must first face the Princeton Tigers on the road in a final exhibition game on Feb. 14.

5 » The No. 11 Florida men’s tennis team (2-1) advanced to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships after finishing ITA Kick-Off Weekend with a 7-0 shutout victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Sunday at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex. redshirt senior Antoine Benneteau and junior Alexandre Lacroix, the No. 10-ranked doubles pair in the country, once again pulled out an impressive victory. The team’s final match of the season, before competing in the indoor championships, is against the Florida Atlantic Owls on Feb. 6

6 » While the men are on their way to the championships, the No. 8 Gators women’s team (4-0) has already advanced to the round of 16 after sweeping the Florida International Golden Panthers 4-0 in second-round action in Gainesville, FL, on Sunday. Florida will next compete in the tournament’s third round from Feb. 12-15 at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, WS.

Freshman guard Kenny Boynton spread himself out all over the box score with 15 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals on the evening while junior transfer center Vernon Macklin had the best game in his short Florida career with 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting (6-of-6 from the charity stripe) and three blocks. The Gators hit 12 three-pointers on the evening and were 60 percent from behind the arc as a team. Junior forward Chandler Parsons was 2-for-2, Walker was 4-for-5, senior F Dan Werner (13 points) was 3-for-5 and Boynton was 3-for-7 from long range.

For Jacksonville, F Ayron Hardy led the team with 16 points and six rebounds while G Travis Cohn added 15 points of his own. The Dolphins kept the game close throughout the first half, but the Gators pulled away to a nine-point halftime lead and kept their foot on the gas for the remainder of the contest.

Florida won their first true road game of the season and improved to 7-0 all-time at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL. The first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament will be held in the same location in March, and the Gators hope to return to one of their favorite places to play outside of Gainesville, FL.

The Gators three-game road trip continues on Thursday when they take on the No. 8/7 Syracuse Orange at the neutral site St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL, at 9 p.m. The game is part of the SEC/Big East Invitational and will air live on ESPN.

Volleyball in NCAA Tournament: No. 14/15 Gators volleyball (25-5) advanced to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 for the 18th time in the last 19 years after defeating the Florida International Golden Panthers (32-4) 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-16) in second round action Friday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Florida out-blocked FIU 12.0-1.0 while being led by sophomore middle blocker Cassandra Anderson, who recorded match-highs in kills (nine on .692 hitting) and blocks (seven). The Gators will face the winner of the State College, PA, subregional next Friday in the O’Dome.

Who was your Florida Gators MVP vs. FIU?
QB Tim Tebow (50%, 92 votes)
QB John Brantley (25%, 47 votes)
RB Chris Rainey (13%, 25 votes)
LB Brandon Spikes (12%, 22 votes)

Who was your Florida Gators MVP vs. FSU?
QB Tim Tebow (77%, 203 votes)
TE Aaron Hernandez (21%, 55 votes)
LB Brandon Hicks (1%, 4 votes)
RB Jeff Demps (1%, 3 votes)

Tebow’s third and fourth OGGOA MVP honors came in back-to-back weeks for the first time all season. His previous victories were against Georgia and Arkansas. Both victories are well-deserved, especially the Florida State one seeing as Tebow put up five touchdowns and had his best performance of the season.

Who has done more for the Florida Gators?
AD Jeremy Foley (39%, 166 votes)
HC Steve Spurrier (32%, 135 votes)
HC Urban Meyer (27%, 114 votes)
HC Billy Donovan (2%, 9 votes)

Reviewing the results of this poll, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the respect and appreciation for what Foley has done for UF’s athletic program is wide-spread. Often times, fans look at the coaches and players and do not know who is really taking care of things behind the scenes. Though I do not need to convince you to vote for Foley, this is just a taste of what he has done since becoming the athletic director in 1992. He hired Meyer, Donovan, Becky Burleigh (soccer), Tim Walton (softball) while retaining Buddy Alexander (men’s golf) and Mary Wise (volleyball) and helping the Gators finish as the top-ranked overall program in the Southeastern Conference in 15 of his 16 years.

“I’ll dispel those rumors right now,” Meyer said during his Monday afternoon press conference. “I’m going to be the coach at Florida for as long as they’ll have me. We’ll make that clear.”

Prior to Meyer speaking, senior quarterback Tim Tebow was at the podium and asked a similar question about Meyer’s future. “I don’t think that’s anything he’ll do now, I think he’s enjoying his time here,” he said. “He loves working for [athletic director] Mr. [Jeremy] Foley. He loves being here at the University of Florida. He loves his players and I don’t think he wants to go to a place where he has to start fresh and start new. I don’t think he wants to do that. He enjoys being here. It’s the best place in football. I don’t know why he would leave. He’s enjoying it.”

Press Conference Notes:
- Redshirt sophomore back-up QB John Brantley was named Offensive Player of the Week for his three touchdown performance against the FIU Golden Panthers.

- Michael Guilford, a walk-on defensive back/quarterback for the Gators who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2007, will be honored with his senior class next Saturday in The Swamp on Senior Day. “He’s got a terrific family, and we’ll just try to do the best we can to make that family feel at peace with what he did here, because he was a phenomenal young man and a phenomenal member of this team,” Meyer said.

- As he has been in the past, Meyer was emotional when discussing the Gators’ senior class, pausing multiple times during the press conference to compose himself and fight back tears when talking about the players.

- Meyer also mentioned that he believes Tebow has the intelligence and ability to coach Florida later in his football career.

OGGOA will have more news and notes for you later.

QUARTERBACKS: A+
While his 17-of-25 completion numbers do leave something to be desired, it is tough to dock any points from senior Tim Tebow for his performance on Saturday. Piling up 102 yards on the ground including a career-long 55-yard touchdown run as well as 215 yards and two more touchdowns through the air, Tebow was his old self. Then again, he was playing against FIU. More impressive on Saturday was redshirt sophomore back-up John Brantley, who went 9-for-13 for 146 yards and three touchdowns. Tebow and Brantley combined to spread the ball around to nine receivers, seven of whom had more than one catch on the day.

RUNNING BACKS: B
Redshirt junior transfer Emmanuel Moody sat out the game, though his classmate Christopher Scott got to see action late in the game. Sophomore Jeff Demps and redshirt sophmore Chris Rainey started. Even so, there were only 22 carries dished out between the three, with Demps getting nine for 46 yards (5.1 average), Rainey taking four for 30 yards and a touchdown (7.5 average) and Scott running nine for 26 yards (2.9 average). Rainey, however, added 61 yards and a touchdown in the receiving game. Nothing too impressive or surprising overall against a porous FIU defense.

Read the rest of Florida’s grades from the FIU game after the jump…

WIDE RECEIVERS: A-
Probably the best day for the Florida pass catchers this season, nine Gators caught balls from Tebow and Brantley, eight of whom are listed as receivers. Redshirt sophomore Deonte Thompson led the way with both five receptions and 66 yards, while redshirt freshman Omarius Hines proved he can hold his own with four catches for 50 yards and a touchdown. Others contributors included seniors Riley Cooper (48 yards, TD) and David Nelson (45 yards), redshirt freshman Frankie Hammond, Jr. (38 yards, TD) and redshirt junior Justin Williams (16 yards, TD).

TIGHT ENDS: F
“F” is for failure, and junior tight end Aaron Hernandez failed in head coach Urban Meyer‘s eyes. Hernandez did something get a cage in Meyer’s doghouse, and I believe he did not even step foot on the field until the second quarter. There is no other grade to give someone who barely played and had no impact on the game whatsoever.

OFFENSIVE LINE: A-
Neither Tebow nor Brantley was a victim of a sack, freshman left tackle Xavier Nixon looked solid and the line as a whole played quite well. Redshirt junior left guard Carl Johnson (ankle) and junior center Maurkice Pouncey (leg) were both dinged up in the game but are expected to be ready for the Florida State Seminoles.

DEFENSIVE LINE: A-
Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Jaye Howard led the way for the Florida defense with seven tackles while the entire line held FIU’s rushing game to 53 total yards on 30 attempts. Howard shared a sack with redshirt junior DT Lawrence Marsh as the line paved the way for three total sacks on Golden Panthers’ QB Paul McCall who finished 9-of-21 on the day.

LINEBACKERS: A
Another dominating performance for the linebackers began with a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown by senior Brandon Spikes on the first series of the game. Spikes added five tackles, while fellow seniors Dustin Doe (five tackles, sack) and Ryan Stamper (three tackles, sack) both had good games as well. Redshirt junior A.J. Jones went down with an MCL injury, but junior Brandon Hicks filled in admirably and will for the foreseeable future.

SECONDARY: A-
You may not have seen the secondary much on Saturday, but they were there doing their job by limiting McCall to an under-50 percent completion percentage. To be fair and balanced, though, FIU receivers did beat coverage a few times. On these instances, McCall was either pressured to throw the ball away or simply overthrew the route. Good performance by this unit, but nothing too spectacular one way or another.

SPECIAL TEAMS: D
Junior punter Chas Henry did not step on the field Saturday. Normally, his presence alone would have been enough to save this unit from OGGOA grading hell – not this time. Sophomore kicker Caleb Sturgis missed a 53-yard field goal (his only attempt) and redshirt senior Jonathan Phillips had an extra point blocked (also his only attempt). That marks four consecutive missed field goals for Sturgis, three of which were from beyond 50 yards. While you cannot expect a kicker to nail every 50+ yarder, Sturgis had Gators fans expecting as much from his prior performances. He now has fans expecting the worst and must have a Chris Hetland-like renewal to get back in Meyer’s good graces. Senior kick returner Brandon James continued to be lackluster in his duties, earning a total of 25 yards on four punts and 53 yards on two kickoffs… vs. FIU.

COACHING: A
The team was prepared, the ball was spread around, the reserves got plenty of time on the field and injured players were rested. There is not much more you can ask for from the coaches. One has to assume plenty of time was spent game planning for FSU this week, meaning the staff used their time wisely.

OVERALL: B+
The Gators won the game, covered the spread and scored 62 points while only allowing three. Nevertheless, the performance was not perfect and left much to be desired on a few fronts. When evaluating a team of Florida’s caliber against a lesser opponent, you have to grade on a scale. The Gators did exactly what they needed to do – win and move on to the Seminoles.

2 » If Meyer sounded pumped up for Florida State, his team appeared ready to take them on right after FIU left the field. “It’s a lot of hatred,” junior safety Ahmad Black said. “It started even before us. It goes way back to the earlier days. We’ve won five straight. We don’t want to be the team that loses the streak.” Junior guard Mike Pouncey didn’t even question the result of the game. “It’s five [in a row]? So, it will be six,” he said. “They’re always good and it’s a rivalry game, so everybody’s going to play a little harder. Linebacker Ryan Stamper, one of the seniors who will play their last game in The Swamp on Saturday, believes his class has a mission to accomplish. “I grew up watching the Florida-Florida State rivalry since I was little. Going out with them not beating us once would be a great thing.”

3 » While taking down the Seminoles is just another “mission” for the Gators, it could be a season-defining victory for Florida State. FSU did extend its bowl streak to 28 years with a victory over the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday, but head coach Bobby Bowden said taking a win from Florida this week would be among the most memorable victories of his career. “It probably would,” he said. “In other words, this thing has got to turn around. And I would say if you [beat the Gators], it’s around. You’re betting good if you can beat them, I’ll tell you what. What a task. What a task.” Whether or not Bowden can pull of a victory may not even matter, because if the Seminoles’ boosters get there way, this season could be his last in garnet and gold.

4 » Limping off the field with an injured medial-collateral ligament on Saturday, redshirt junior starting linebacker A.J. Jones needed to be replaced. Meyer immediately sent junior Brandon Hicks into the game, and the team did not lose a step. Why? Because Hicks started the final five games of the 2008 season – including the BCS National Championship game against the Oklahoma Sooners – when Jones went down with his previous knee injury. “Here we go,” Meyer told him before he stepped on the field. “You’ve been here before.” Hicks’ performance last year earned him a reputation as one of the best defenders on the team, though an ankle injury kept him from starting in 2009. On a side note, Meyer said Jones’ injury is “nonsurgical,” meaning there is a possibility he could be ready for the team’s bowl game.

- Defeating the Florida International Golden Panthers by 59 points, Florida’s has now won 20 of their 21 straight games by double digits.

- Senior quarterback Tim Tebow broke Kevin Faulk’s (1995-98) SEC record of 53 touchdowns with his 55-yard scoring run in the first quarter. Tebow has now set three all-time SEC records this year (rushing touchdowns, rushing yards by a QB). Tebow also tied Eli Manning (Ole Miss, 2000-03) for fourth in SEC history with 81 career touchdown passes after his two scores through the air on Saturday.

- The Gators recorded 11 interceptions over the past five weeks, best in the nation.

- For the eighth time in 2009, Florida’s defense held an opponent under 100 rushing yards. They also held their sixth opponent to an under-50 percent completions.

- The Gators offense recorded 30 first downs on Saturday, the second-highest total under head coach Urban Meyer (32 vs. Troy Trojans, 2009).

- Florida has not surrendered a turnover in the last four games.

- For the 10th time in 11 games, special teams did not allow a single punt return yard.

- Senior middle linebacker Brandon Spikes‘ 41-yard interception return for a touchdown was his fourth in the last two seasons. He is the only player in the country with as many in the same time span.

- Tebow recorded over 100 rushing yards for the fifth time in his career. He also moved into third on the SEC’s all-time total offensive yards gained list with 11,078.

Running onto Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for the second-to-last time in their Florida careers, the group ended the game as the winningest all-time Southeastern Conference senior class with a record of 46-5. Tebow would take seven caries for 102 total yards on the ground while accounting for 215 more with two touchdowns through the air on 17-for-25 passing. It was the fifth time in his career that Tebow rushed for more than 100 yards. Redshirt sophomore QB John Brantley took over for Tebow early in the third quarter, compiling 146 yards passing and three touchdowns as well as 23 yards on three carries.

Redshirt sophomore running back Chris Rainey had a monster game of his own, carrying four times for 30 yards and a touchdown while also reeling in three receptions for 61 yards and a score. Both of Rainey’s touchdowns came in the second quarter, putting the Gators up 28-0 with 9:41 left in the first half. Fellow redshirt sophomore wide receiver Deonte Thompson led the Gators in both receptions (5 – career high) and receiving yards (66). Nine Florida players had receptions on Saturday, seven with more than one including seniors Riley Cooper (48 yards, touchdown), redshirt David Nelson (45 yards) and Brandon James (15 yards) as well as redshirt freshmen Omarius Hines (50 yards, touchdown) and Frankie Hammond, Jr. (38 yards, touchdown).

Defensively for the Gators, redshirt sophomore Jaye Howard recorded a team-high seven tackles, senior linebackers Ryan Stamper and Dustin Doe each recorded a sack and redshirt junior defensive tackle Lawrence Marsh split another with Howard. Spikes’ interception at 13:10 in the first quarter was the sole turnover of the game for either team. Florida’s defense held FIU to only 189 total offensive yards (most of which came against the second and third units), while only allowing the Golden Panthers to convert 4-of-15 third-down attempts.

Sophomore kicker Caleb Sturgis continued to struggle, missing his fourth consecutive field goal attempt – this time a 53-yarder. Sturgis, however, made all eight of his extra points while redshirt senior Jonathan Phillips had his sole attempt blocked in the fourth quarter. James was silent in the return game, bringing back two kickoffs for 53 yards and four punts for 25 yards. Coverage teams allowed FIU an average of 24.9 yards per return on seven chances.

Florida finishes its 2009 regular season against the in-state rival Florida State Seminoles on Nov. 28 at 3:30 p.m. The Gators will wear special Nike Pro Combat jerseys for the game, which will feature an appearance from ESPN College GameDay and is also the last in The Swamp for the 2009 senior class.

Game Notes:
- Junior tight end Aaron Hernandez missed the first quarter on a coach’s decision. Head coach Urban Meyer would not elaborate.
- Redshirt junior linebacker A.J. Jones injured his MCL during the game. He is out for FSU, after that to be determined.
- Redshirt junior left guard Carl Johnson (ankle) and junior center Maurkice Pouncey (bone bruise) were both injured in the game but will most likely be able to play next week.