1 » No. 3 Florida Gators women’s track and field won the 2010 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championship Sunday, its first since the 2004 season. Scoring 110 total points, the team was led by junior Charlotte Browning and senior Shara Proctor, who were named co-winners of the Cliff Harper Trophy for the SEC’s high-points scorer. The men’s team finished second at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, AR, as the home team Arkansas Razorbacks beat them out for the men’s crown 123-119. Both the women’s and men’s teams also captured numerous individual SEC titles over the weekend.

2 » No. 3/11 Gators softball (12-1) swept the Northwestern State Lady Demons (8-5) 15-0, 5-0 and 10-1 over the weekend at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Sophomore outfielder Michelle Moultrie powered Florida’s offense by going 5-8 (.625) with a double, triple, home run and six RBI, while junior OF Kelsey Bruder joined her with similar 5-8 performance for four runs, two homers, six RBI and 11 total bases. Junior pitcher Stephanie Brombacher (10-1) won each game of the series, striking out a combined 13 and only allowing three walks.

Read four more BITS on gymnastics, lacrosse, men’s tennis and Senior Day…
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: SEC titles, softball sweep, gymnastics

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Alexandre Lacroix, Antoine Benneteau, Arkansas Razorbacks, Ashanée Dickerson, Auburn Tigers, Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum, Brittany Dashiell, Charlotte Browning, Cliff Harper Trophy, field, gymnastics, Illinois Illini, Jennifer George, Jennifer Mossor, Kelsey Bruder, lacrosse, Linder Stadium, Lonnika Thompson, Michelle Moultrie, North Carolina Tar Heels, Northwestern State Lady Demons, Pressly Stadium, Randal Tyson Track Center, Ring Tennis Complex, SEC, SEC Championship, Senior Day, Shara Proctor, Sharielle Smith, softball, Steffi Sorensen, Stephanie Brombacher, Susan Yenser, tennis, track, women's basketball

1 » Two-star dual-threat quarterback/athlete Tyler Murphy (Wethersfield, CT) is the newest member of the Florida Gators unanimously ranked No. 1 2010 recruiting class. Courted by QB coach Scot Loeffler and interim head coach Steve Addazio, Murphy took an official visit to Gainesville, FL, this weekend and committed on the spot. Murphy was previously committed to the Temple Owls, but as soon as the Gators offered him, it became apparent that he would end up in the Orange & Blue. “It’s been very exciting,” he told ‘Mark Wheeler of Rivals. “Just to know where everything falls into place and that all the hard work pays off. It’s very exciting and I’m very happy to be able to come down [to Florida].”

»» Rivals is also reporting that the Gators and 2010 three-star tight end commitment Michael McFarland (Tampa, FL) have agreed to have him grayshirt the 2010 season and enroll with the 2011 recruiting class. McFarland was reluctant at first, out of pride, but realized that this move would benefit him in the long run. Grayshirts usually wait until the second semester to enroll in school instead of in the fall. This move would open up an additional scholarship for Florida to fill before National Signing Day on Feb. 3.

2 » Florida women’s basketball and No. 8 tennis were in action on Sunday, both taking home victories. Basketball (11-9, 4-3 SEC) defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks (10-9, 3-4 SEC) 59-56 while tennis swept the North Texas Mean Green 7-0. Senior forward Sharielle Smith led the Gators with 11 points while freshman F Jennifer George grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Photo Credit: Mike Orazzi

Tags: grayshirt, Jennifer George, Michael McFarland, National Signing Day, North Texas Mean Green, Scot Loeffler, Sharielle Smith, South Carolina Gamecocks, Steve Addazio, Temple Owls, tennis, Tyler Murphy, women's basketball

1 » Redshirt junior transfer running back Emmanuel Moody always seems to be injured. Whether it is a sprained ankle, tweaked knee or pulled hamstring, something is consistently there preventing him from performing at 100 percent. Moody told The Gainesville Sun on Sunday that bone spurs are actually the cause of the majority of his ankle injuries both previously with the USC Trojans and now with the Florida Gators. Surgery last week cleaned out the fragments and has him excited for next season.

2 » Unranked Florida women’s basketball (9-7, 2-1 SEC) fell to the No. 8 Georgia Lady Bulldogs (16-3, 3-0 SEC) 61-52 Sunday evening in Athens, GA, at Stegeman Coliseum. Redshirt sophomore guard Jordan Jones led the Gators with 13 points while freshman forward Jennifer George nabbed a career-high and team-high 10 rebounds. Florida returns home to face the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers (14-1, 2-0 SEC) on Thursday in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center at 7 p.m. The game will air live on Comcast Sports South.

3 » Conversely, the Gators men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams had a great weekend, as the No. 6 men’s team took down the No. 18 LSU Tigers 157.5-134.5 and the No. 7 women defeated No. 21 LSU by 171-121 in the O’Connell Center. Senior Kara Salamone set a school-record in the one-meter springboard diving competition with a 318.15; she would also win the three-meter competition on Sunday. The UF women won 13 of 16 events while the men took 10 of 16. Check OGGOA’s weekly schedule to the right for the next Gators swim meets.

4 » Gators freshman golfer Tommy Mou took home the 84th annual New Year’s Invitational at the St. Petersburg Country Club with a four-day score of 2-over 290. “I tried to play my game, and it was so hard to do that (Sunday),” Mou told the St. Petersburg Times. “I only hit four or five greens all day. It was tough out there.”

Tags: diving, Emmanuel Moody, Georgia Lady Bulldogs, golf, Jennifer George, Jordan Jones, Kara Salamone, LSU Tigers, O’Connell Center, Stegeman Coliseum, swimming, Tommy Mou, USC Trojans, women's basketball

Still trying to recover from three straight losses after climbing to No. 10/11 in the AP Top 25 and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 polls three weeks ago, Florida Gators basketball (10-3) rolled the Presbyterian Blue Hose (2-12) 79-38 on Wednesday night in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Junior forward Chandler Parsons led Florida with 21 points including two three-pointers and three dunks.

Fellow forwards juniorAlex Tyus and freshman Erik Murphy posted double-doubles in the Gators’ victory, scoring 16 points each; Tyus collected 13 rebounds while Murphy grabbed 11 boards. Florida shot 30 percent from downtown with freshman guard Kenny Boynton going 3-for-8 from beyond the arc, leading the team in makes and attempts while finishing with 14 points. Freshman point guard Rod Tishman saw seven minutes of limited action, earning two points, rebounds and assists.

Gators sophomores G/F Ray Shipman (knee) and center Kenny Kadji (back) both sat out the contest; starting redshirt junior transfer C Vernon Macklin only played 14 minutes. F Jake Trovli led the Blue House with 14 points. Florida will next face the North Carolina State Wolfpack in Raleigh, NC, on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2010, at 3 p.m.

Also on Wednesday, the women’s basketball team (7-6) defeated the Jacksonville Dolphins (1-9) for head coach Amanda Butler’s 50th win at the school. The Gators shot 54.5 percent from the floor while limiting Jacksonville to only 26.5 percent shooting. Sophomore G Trumae Lucas and freshman F Jennifer George led the team with 15 points each while senior F Sharielle Smith turned in the sixth double-double of her career with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Tags: Alex Tyus, Amanda Butler, Chandler Parsons, Erik Murphy, Jacksonville Dolphins, Jake Trovli, Jennifer George, Kenny Boynton, Kenny Kadji, O'Connell Center, Presbyterian Blue Hose, Ray Shipman, Rod Tishman, Sharielle Smith, Trumae Lucas, Vernon Macklin, women's basketball

Florida Gators soccer, cross country and women’s basketball were all in action this weekend coming off a Friday that saw softball, soccer and volleyball compete just one hour apart from another.

Just two days after defeating the Illinois State Redbirds in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Championship at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus, OH, the Florida soccer team (16-6-2, 8-1-2 SEC) fell in a heartbreaking 1-0 overtime loss to the Oregon State Beavers (14-7-1, 4-5 Pac 10). Having reached the round of 16 in 2006, 2007 and 2008, the Gators’ loss was the earliest exit for the team in four years. UF had multiple opportunities to score throughout the first 90 minutes, but a ball would not see the net until a turnover in the defensive third resulted in a through ball from Oregon State’s Rachael Axon to Melinda Ingalls for the goal. The Beavers’ first overtime win of the season ended the Gators season and hopes of a title.

The No. 3 women’s cross country team, on the other hand, found success this weekend, winning the NCAA South Region Championship on Saturday morning. Earning an automatic bid to the National Championship on Nov. 23, redshirt sophomore Rebecca Lowe led the way by winning the individual title while the Gators placed five runners in the top 17 and earned six All-South Region honors. Florida won their third regional title in program history, their first in over a decade (1998).

Men’s basketball was not the only Florida team to take their shot at the Stetson Hatters on the hardwood. The women faced them first on Saturday in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, earning an 85-63 win to open the season. Leading the way for the Gators were freshman forward Jennifer George and redshirt sophomore transfer guard Jordan Jones, who combined for 38 points in their first career games in the Orange and Blue. Florida shot 50 percent from the field, grabbed 14 steals and was 7-of-18 from beyond the arc. Jones also led the team in assists (5) and George helped out on the boards (5) while seniors F Sharielle Smith (9) and G Steffi Sorensen (6) led the way in rebounds. The Gators will face the No. 15/12 Florida State Seminoles on Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Gainesville, FL.

Tags: All-South Region, Becky Burleigh, cross country, Jennifer George, Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, Jordan Jones, Melinda Ingalls, National Championship, NCAA South Region Championship, O'Connell Center, Oregon State Beavers, Rachel Axon, Rebecca Lowe, Sharielle Smith, soccer, Steffi Sorensen, women's basketball