1 » Early Friday morning, Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow sat down with Hannah Storm for another interview, this one mostly about the 2011 season. Though the below video is only a clip of the interview, it will be aired in full on ESPN‘s SportsCenter on Friday. If/when the network makes it available online, OGGOA will update this thread with a video of the complete interview.

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Tags: Azania Stewart, Brandon Hicks, Buffalo Bills, Cornelius Ingram, David Lerner, Denver Broncos, Lanita Bartley, Maravich Assembly Center, Marcus Gilbert, Ndidi Madu, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tim Tebow, women's basketball

1 » Though it has been airing all season on FOX Sports Florida, a new commercial featuring Florida Gators head basketball coach Billy Donovan may have eluded some of you unable to view the game. In the spot, Donovan is doing a mock press conference praising the different offerings from Florida Gulf Seafood. It’s well-worth a view.

2 » No. 17 Florida volleyball (24-5) was selected to be a participant in the 2011 NCAA Tournament when the seedings were announced Sunday. UF will take on Missouri in the tournament’s first round on Dec. 2 in Cedar Falls, IA, marking the 21st consecutive year that the Gators have earned their way into the championship event. Florida will enter the NCAA Tournament on a seven-match winning streak including five sweeps.

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Tags: Billy Donovan, Charlotte 49ers, Illinois Illini, Jennifer Georgia, Jordan Jones, La Salle Explorers, Lanita Bartley, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Ron Zook, volleyball, women's basketball

1 » No. 23 Florida Gators soccer (17-7) advanced to the second round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament on Saturday with a strong 3-0 victory over the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (14-5-2) at James G. Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Senior midfielder/forward Tahnai Annis scored consecutive goals for the Gators in the 16th and 68th minute before senior F/MF Lindsay Thompson followed suit with a conversion of her own from 10 yards out at 80’. The Eagles only took three shots the entire game, and freshman goalkeeper Taylor Burke was only forced to make one save during the contest. Florida will take on Central Florida on Friday at 7 p.m. in second round action.

2 » Unranked heading into the season, Gators women’s basketball had an opportunity to pick up a solid win in their opener but fell just short on Friday. Florida (0-1) was defeated 69-66 by the Michigan Wolverines (1-0), which outscored their opponents 9-7 with less than three minutes left in the game to pick up the victory. Senior guard Jordan Jones led the Gators with a career-high-tying five treys for 21 points on 20 shots, and senior G Lanita Bartley added 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Florida took 27 shots from downtown in the contest, making just 10, and was outrebounded 42-36 by Michigan.

3 » No. 18/19 Gators volleyball (21-5, 14-3 SEC) concluded the road portion of their regular season in style over the weekend, picking up a pair of hard-fought victories to continue an impressive four-game winning streak. Florida topped the LSU Tigers (17-9, 10-6 SEC) 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-21, 25-12) on Friday behind a career performance from sophomore middle blocker Chloe Mann, who hit .900 on the evening with 18 kills on 20 swing with no errors and five blocks. The mark is the second-best in NCAA history for a player with 20+ swings in a single match and helped earned Mann SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors as announced Monday.

4 » The Gators had a greater test Sunday against the Arkansas Razorbacks (18-10, 10-7 SEC), fighting back from a two-set deficit to win 3-2 (18-25, 30-32, 25-21, 26-24, 15-9). Mann and senior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel each had a 19 kills. That mark was a career-high for Mann, while Jaeckel and senior right-side/setter Kelly Murphy each completed a double-double. Florida will face Georgia (Nov. 18), Auburn (Nov. 20) and South Carolina (Nov. 23) at home before beginning NCAA Tournament action in Dec.

Tags: Arkansas Razorbacks, Chloe Mann, Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, Jordan Jones, Kelly Murphy, Kristy Jaeckel, Lanita Bartley, Lindsay Thompson, LSU Tigers, Michigan Wolverines, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Pressly Stadium, soccer, Tahnai Annis, Taylor Burke, volleyball, women's basketball

1 » Participating in the 2011 Southeastern Conference Tournament beginning on Thursday, Florida Gators women’s basketball did a great job beating the Arkansas Razorbacks 68-59 in the event’s opening round but ended up falling to the top-seeded No. 4 Tennessee Lady Vols 92-75 in quarterfinal action on Friday. Florida (18-14) saw five players reach double-digit point totals in the opening game with sophomore forward Jennifer George, junior guard Deana Allen and redshirt junior F Ndidi Madu scoring 12 a piece while freshman G Jaterra Bonds and redshirt junior G Jordan Jones each posted 11. Unfortunately for the Gators, the Lady Vols routed them for the third time this season, beating them by 17 Friday after wins of 43 and 22 earlier in the year. Allen (13), Madu (13), Bonds (12), Jones (10) all scored double-digit points while junior G Lanita Bartley led the team with 14.

2 » Achieving a much better outcome over the weekend was No. 2/3 Florida softball (19-0), which swept the 2011 Lipton Invitational at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, FL with five victories in three days. UF beat Valparaiso 13-4 and Syracuse 2-0 on Friday before throttling the North Dakota State 18-0 and Pacific 10-2 on Saturday. The Gators closed the tournament with a 9-0 victory over NDSU, combining to outscore them 27-0 in a two-game span. Florida senior right-handed pitcher Stephanie Brombacher (11-0) won three of the five games, only giving up one earned run and four hits in 14.2 innings while striking out 20. Finishing the sweep was freshman RHP Hannah Rogers (8-0), who spelled Brombacher and won both of her games while allowing two earned runs and seven hits while striking out 14 in 13 innings of work.

Senior second baseman Aja Paculba, sophomore outfielder Brittany Schutte and senior first baseman Megan Bush all had spectacular weekends. Paculba (9-17) hit a pair of homers while knocking in five RBI and scoring eight runs. Schutte (5-15) hit two home runs in the opening game and another each in the final two games to total four over the weekend along with 14 RBI, eight runs and six walks. Bush (8-16) was equally impressive with two homers, eight RBI, five runs and three walks. Not to be outdone, freshman third baseman Kasey Fagan hit a grand slam in the third game of the weekend, and sophomore catcher Kelsey Horton hit dingers in back-to-back games.

3 » No. 1 Gators gymnastics (12-1, 5-1 SEC) helped set a NCAA attendance record on Friday, defeating the No. 5 Utah Utes (7-2) 197.00-196.75 in front of 15,558 fans at the Huntsman Center. Florida won the match overall by capturing the vault, bars and beam team events even though they lost the floor by .075. Event winners included sophomore Ashanée Dickerson on the beam (9.875) and vault (9.90), where she tied freshman Alaina Johnson and sophomore Marissa King. Johnson and freshman Mackenzie Caquatto tied to win the bars (9.925), too. With the regular season now complete, UF will defend their SEC title at the 2011 SEC Championships beginning March 19.

4 » No. 1 Gators women’s tennis (13-1, 2-0 SEC) and No. 11 Florida men’s tennis (9-3, 2-0 SEC) each came away from their respective SEC opening weekends with a pair of decisive victories. The women swept the LSU Tigers (2-6, 0-1 SEC) 6-0 and No. 16 Arkansas 7-0 on the road, while the men stayed home and beat the Tigers (3-6, 0-1 SEC) 6-1 and Razorbacks (3-7, 0-2 SEC) 7-0. No. 7 sophomore Allie Will and No. 26 sophomore Lauren Embree won both of their singles matches over the weekend for the women, while No. 6 senior Alexandre Lacroix and No. 28 sophomore Sekou Bangoura, Jr. mirrored their performances on the men’s side.

Extra BIT » Continuing their steady rise in the sport, No. 14 Florida lacrosse (4-1) defeated the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (2-2) 15-10 after fighting back from a 5-5 tie on Saturday afternoon at Donald R. Dizney Stadium in Gainesville. Standout sophomore midfielder Kitty Cullen once again led the way for the Gators with foul goals, while sophomore attacker Ashley Bruns added three of her own.
 

Tags: Aja Paculba, Alaina Johnson, Arkansas Razorbacks, Ashanée Dickerson, Ashley Bruns, Brittany Schutte, Deana Allen, Dizney Stadium, gymnastics, Hannah Rogers, Huntsman Center, Jaterra Bonds, Jennifer George, Jordan Jones, Kasey Fagan, Kelsey Horton, Kitty Cullen, lacrosse, Lanita Bartley, Lehigh Mountain Hawks, MacKenzie Caquatto, Megan Bush, NCAA, Ndidi Madu, Pressly Softball Stadium, SEC, SEC Championship, SEC Tournament, softball, Stephanie Brombacher, Tennessee Lady Vols, Utah Utes, women's basketball

1 » No. 1 Florida Gators gymnastics (11-1, 5-1 SEC) suffered its first defeat of the season on Friday, falling 196.70-196.10 to the No. 15 Arkansas Razorbacks (5-3, 5-1 SEC) in Fayetteville, AR. Florida captured three individual events with sophomore Ashanée Dickerson winning the vault and floor exercise and freshman Mackenzie Caquatto taking home the even bars; however, Arkansas surpassed UF in their team totals and came out on top. The Gators final match before the 2011 SEC Championships begin on March 19 is against Utah next Friday in Salt Lake City, UT.

2 » Florida’s other top-ranked team, No. 1 baseball, had better luck Friday, taking down the Boston College Eagles 9-3 in the second game of the teams’ three-game series. The Gators (6-0) scored three runs in the seventh inning alone to escape a 3-3 tie and move past the Eagles (2-3) for the victory. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Hudson Randall (1.64 ERA) got the start for Florida and tossed four innings of shutout ball before giving up an earned run in the fifth and getting pulled at the end of the inning. The Gators led 2-1 at that point on a solo homer from junior right fielder Preston Tucker (3-4, 2 RBI, 2 R) in the third and an RBI from junior first baseman Ben McMahan (2-2, RBI) in the fourth. Junior left-handed pitcher Nick Mardone allowed a batter on via a bunt in the top of the seventh and junior RHP Greg Larson, coming into relieve him, let another batter hit himself on base. Freshman LHP Daniel Gibson, trying to get out of the inning, struck out his first batter before giving up a two-RBI triple to clear the bases and put Boston College up 3-2.

Looking to get out of a jam, Florida utilized the infamous hidden-ball trick to get the final out of the inning. With Eagles shortstop Brad Zapenas (2-4, 2 RBI) on third after his game-tying triple, freshman third baseman Zach Powers corralled the ball as Gibson pretended to wind up. Once Zapenas took a lead, Powers tagged him out, ended the inning and stopped the bleeding. The Gators responded with a three-run bottom of the seventh including a RBI each from Tucker (via a bases loaded walk), sophomore catcher/1B Austin Maddox (1-5, RBI) and sophomore designated hitter Brian Johnson (3-5, 3 RBI, R). Florida added three more runs in the bottom of the eighth with sophomore center fielder Kamm Washington (1-1, RBI, R) doubling down the left field line to score sophomore C Mike Zunino (BB, R) and Johnson singling through the left side to bring home sophomore SS Nolan Fontana (1-2, 2 R, 3 BB) and Washington. Gibson (1-0) earned the win after juniors RHP Tommy Toledo and LHP Alex Panteliodis combined to strikeout three in 1.2 innings.

3 » No. 4 Gators softball (13-0) earned a pair of victories Friday at the Cathedral City Classic in Palm Springs, CA, defeating the San Diego State Aztecs (5-6) 4-2 in the afternoon and the No. 2 UCLA Bruins (10-2) 4-1 in the evening. Junior RHP Stephanie Brombacher (7-0) earned the win in the early game after giving up two earned runs in 5.1 innings. Freshman RHP Hannah Rogers (6-0), who tossed the final 1.2 innings of the San Diego State game in relief of Brombacher, threw a complete game against UCLA; she struck out 10 and only gave up a single earned run in the second inning. Senior left fielder Kelsey Bruder led the way for Florida offensively, combining to go 4-6 with three RBI and a walk in the two games. Junior CF Michelle Moultrie scored three runs and notched a pair of RBI on a 4-8 outing from the plate.

4 » Struggling all season, Gators women’s basketball (16-13, 6-9 SEC) scored a much-needed 74-69 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores (18-10, 9-6 SEC) on the road in Nashville, TN on Friday. Postponed a day due to severe weather, the game marked Florida’s first win on the road against Vanderbilt since 2004. Three Gators junior starters – center Azania Stewart (14) and guards redshirt Jordan Jones (16) and Lanita Bartley (15) – scored in double figures as Stewart also grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double. UF has now won back-to-back contests after dropping four-in-a-row to begin the month of February.

Tags: Alex Panteliodis, Arkansas Razorbacks, Ashanée Dickerson, Austin Maddox, Azania Stewart, baseball, Ben McMahan, Boston College Eagles, Brad Zapenas, Brian Johnson, Cathedral City Classic, Daniel Gibson, Greg Larson, gymnastics, Hannah Rogers, Hudson Randall, Jordan Jones, Kamm Washington, Kelsey Bruder, Lanita Bartley, MacKenzie Caquatto, Michelle Moultrie, Mike Zunino, Nashville Commodores, Nick Mardone, Nolan Fontana, Preston Tucker, San Diego State Aztecs, softball, Stephanie Brombacher, Tommy Toledo, UCLA Bruins, women's basketball

1 » The word “dominate” is thrown around a lot, but that is exactly what No. 6/5 Florida Gators softball (39-7, 17-4 SEC) did Wednesday evening, shutting out the North Florida Ospreys (23-27) 22-0 and 8-0 in a doubleheader at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, FL. The Gators won each game in five innings, hitting seven total home runs (six in the first game – tying UF single-game record) and scoring 30 runs. The 22 runs that crossed home plate in the first game of the series (14 in the third inning alone) set a school record. Wins were achieved by junior Stephanie Brombacher (26-5), who began a no-hitter with five strikeouts in three innings, and freshman Ensley Gammel (12-2), who struck out six and only gave up three hits.

Senior outfielder Francesca Enea (18), freshman first baseman Brittany Schutte (14), junior OF Kelsey Bruder (10), junior catcher Tiffany DeFelice (7), senior third baseman Corrie Brooks (8) and freshman OF Kelsey Horton (4) hit the first six bombs, with DeFelice (8) adding a second in the late game. Schutte’s moon shot also broke Florida’s freshman home run record, last set in 2008.

2 » Gators women’s basketball added its sixth 2010-11 commitment Monday when Santa Fe College sophomore point guard Lanita Bartley (Jacksonville, FL) signed a National Letter of Intent to join the University of Florida. “Lanita is a dynamic scoring point guard, who brings experience in the point guard position,” head coach Amanda Butler said. “She’s been in the Florida Junior College system for two years, which is consistently the most competitive in the country.”

3 » Also increasing its talent level is Florida’s track and field team, which added a commitment from Luc Lawrence (Fort Walton Beach, FL), Lawrence, who can run both track and cross country, began running in eighth grade and caught the eye of cross country coach Todd Morgan almost immediately.

4 » As OGGOA first reported on Twitter early Wednesday, Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow officially had the top selling jersey in the month of April according to sales figures from NFLShop.com. Tebow’s new Broncos jersey was only available for eight days of the month (he was drafted on April 22), yet it easily surpassed jersey sales for new Washington Redskins QB Donovan McNabb, who was traded away from the Philadelphia Eagles on April 4 and came in second overall on the list.

“I think it’s an honor for people to want my jersey and want to have it and want to wear it,” Tebow told the Denver Post on Wednesday. “It is somewhat surreal to have it sell more than some of these people I grew up idolizing.”

Photo Credit: University of Florida

Tags: Amanda Butler, Brittany Schutte, Corrie Brooks, Denver Broncos, Donovan McNabb, Ensley Gammel, field, Francesca Enea, Kelsey Bruder, Kelsey Horton, Lanita Bartley, Luc Lawrence, NFL, North Florida Ospreys, Philadelphia Eagles, Pressly Stadium, Santa Fe College, Stephanie Brombacher, Tiffany DeFelice, Tim Tebow, Todd Morgan, track, University of Florida, Washington Redskins, women's basketball