1 » Don’t bother telling No. 14 Florida Gators lacrosse that you’re not supposed to upset a top-10 team in only your second year of existence. On Wednesday night at Donald R. Dizney Stadium in Gainesville, FL, Florida (5-1) took down the No. 9 Georgetown Hoyas (0-2) 17-10 for the program’s first win against an opponent ranked No. 10 or higher in school history. Leading the way once again for the Gators was sophomore midfielder Kitty Cullen, who scored four goals on eight shots. Sophomore M Brittany Dashiell matched Cullen shot-for-shot, and sophomore attacker Ashley Bruns scored three goals and notched one assist. Florida out-shot Georgetown 32-19 on the evening and outscored them in both halves. The Gators’ current five-game winning streak is the longest in program history and could be stretched further as they have five games remaining on their nine-game home stand.

2 » Looking to bounce back from a stunning defeat to unranked Georgia Southern, No. 1 Florida baseball (11-2) rebounded in a big way with a 8-1 thumping of the South Florida Bulls (5-7) on the road at the USF Baseball Stadium in Tampa, FL. Junior left-handed pitcher Alex Panteliodis (1-0) only pitched 5.0 innings but struck out four and only gave up a single earned run during his outing. Offensively, the Gators were powered by a trio of home runs from junior left fielder Daniel Pigott (3-4, 2 RBI, 3 R), sophomore catcher Mike Zunino (1-2, 2 RBI, 2 R) and senior second baseman Josh Adams (1-4, RBI, R). Zunino’s two-run shot in the top of the second put Florida on the board early and ended up being the game-winning hit, and Adams followed him with a solo shot giving the Gators back-to-back homers on the night. UF returns to Gainesville for a three-game weekend series against Rhode Island.

Two more BITS on softball improving to 21-0 and Florida basketball not being able to earn a No. 2 seed in March Madness…after the break!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: lacrosse’s big win, baseball’s rebound

Tags: Alex Panteliodis, Ashley Bruns, baseball, Brittany Dashiell, Brittany Schutte, Daniel Pigott, Dizney Stadium, Georgetown Hoyas, Hannah Rogers, Josh Adams, Kasey Fagan, Kitty Cullen, lacrosse, LSU Tigers, Megan Bush, Mike Zunino, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, SEC, SEC Tournament, softball, South Florida Bulls, Stephanie Brombacher, USF Baseball Stadium

Bubble Watch » All four teams riding the 2010 NCAA Tournament bubble \in action Tuesday won their respective contests. South Florida (20-11) took down DePaul 58-49, Rhode Island (22-8) defeated Saint Joseph’s 87-76, Dayton (20-11) lit up George Washington 70-60 and Seton Hall (19-11) was victorious over Providence 109-106.

1 » In the first of what will be a 10-game homestand, No. 6/7 Florida Gators baseball (8-2) took down the Illinois State Redbirds (4-6) 8-2 Tuesday night at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Freshman starter Hudson Randall (2-0) tossed five innings of one-run ball along with five strikeouts as the Gators carried a 8-1 lead into the top of the eighth inning. Freshman first baseman Austin Maddox went 1-4 with a home run in the sixth, three RBI and two runs; sophomore outfielder Tyler Thompson supported him with a 2-4 performance with two RBI; and freshman OF Kamm Washington was 3-4 with an RBI and three stolen bases.

2 » A team filled with mostly freshman, Florida lacrosse has already had a remarkable inaugural season. Looking to put a feather in its cap Tuesday, the Gators (3-2) took the No. 5 Georgetown Hoyas (2-1) to the wire, falling 13-11 in just under two hours. Freshman goalkeeper Cara Carrington (3-2) got the loss as fellow freshman Caroline Chesterman contributed three goals and five shots in 65 minutes of field time. Each team accounted for 33 shots and 11 ground balls, but Georgetown cleared more shots than Florida – 17/17 to 12/16. The Hoyas outscored the Gators 10-5 in the first period, but UF came roaring back with a 6-3 total in the second period.

Two more BITS on awards given to the Florida Gators…after the jump!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Baseball wins, lacrosse falls to No. 5

Tags: Alex Pantelodis, Austin Maddox, baseball, Cara Carrington, Caroline Chesterman, Charlotte Browning, Christian Taylor, field, Georgetown Hoyas, Hudson Randall, Illinois State Redbirds, Kamm Washington, lacrosse, McKethan Stadium, Mike Holloway, NCAA Tournament, Todd Morgan, track, Tyler Thompson, USTFCCCA

1 » Dwyer High School head coach Jack Daniels has been pretty busy over the last few weeks – not just coaching his team but also helping to manage the commitments of some of his students such as five-star Florida Gators safety Matt Elam. “It was one of a kind,” Daniels said when speaking of Elam’s recruitment. “It’s never been like that before and will probably never be like that again. He was so highly recruited and he flip-flopped back and forth – there were so many things that played into it.” Why did Elam finally decide on Florida? “The bottom line was the relationship he had with Coach Meyer,” Daniels indicated. Worst of all, Daniels’ relationship with the Florida State Seminoles has soured a bit and he is being “vilified on Seminoles message boards” for “steering his star player to the Gators, according to the Palm Beach Post. “Whatever I say, it’s probably not going to be believed because I’m a Gator,” he concluded.

2 » Though it was a big story preseason, Gators junior transfer center Vernon Macklin’s steady play and post presence has gone somewhat unnoticed this season. Rich Radford of The Virginian-Pilot has completed a nice profile of Macklin that includes some interesting tidbits about his transfer from the Georgetown Hoyas. The first thing head coach Billy Donovan told him? “Look, I’m not going to call you ‘The Big Ticket,’” Donovan said. “There’s one Big ticket in basketball, and that’s Kevin Garnett and he plays for the Boston Celtics. So what do you want me to call you?” Macklin’s straight-forward reply? “Vernon.” Donovan continued. “A lot of guys transfer and think they can leave the baggage behind. But in reality, that baggage follows you. The thing I like about Vernon is that he came clean that a lot of it was his fault, that the effort wasn’t there when he was at Georgetown.”

Tags: Billy Donovan, Dwyer, Florida State Seminoles, Georgetown Hoyas, Jack Daniels, Matt Elam, Urban Meyer, Vernon Macklin