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…

3 » Also posting a win this weekend was No. 4 Florida gymnastics (6-2, 5-1 SEC), which took down the No. 16 Auburn Tigers (2-5, 2-4 SEC) 196.80-195.70 on the road at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum. The Gators swept the event titles as freshman Ashanée Dickerson won her fifth all-around title of 2010.

4 » Though the Gators’ inaugural lacrosse season has been nearly flawless thus far, perfection had to come to an end sometime. Sunday, the ladies fell 18-5 to the No. 4-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels on the road. Freshman Brittany Dashiell led Florida with two goals, but North Carolina’s 19 additional shots on goal doomed UF.

5 » Also in action Sunday was the No. 6 men’s tennis team, which found success against the No. 13 Illinois Illini. Taking their competitors down 5-2 at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex, the Gators (8-2) now look ahead to conference play beginning this week. The No. 10-ranked doubles pairing of redshirt senior Antoine Benneteau and junior Alexandre Lacroix fell, and Benneteau lost in singles competition for the first time this season. No. 17 Lacroix won his singles match 6-4, 6-4.

6 » On Senior Day, forward Sharielle Smith and guards Steffi Sorensen, Lonnika Thompson, Jennifer Mossor and Susan Yenser played their hearts out, but the Florida women’s basketball team (14-15, 7-9 SEC) would eventually fall 66-61 to the Alabama Crimson Tide (12-17, 4-13 SEC). Freshman F Jennifer George recorded her first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in the contest.

Opening BIT » Congratulations to forward/center Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks for a career-high 31 points in his 200th NBA game on Wednesday! “In the fourth quarter, I looked up at the scoreboard and I was pretty excited about it,” Horford said. “Obviously, I’m more concerned about winning. But when you’re able to do something like that individually, it always feels good.”

1 » Coming through with two titles, one Southeastern Conference record and one school record on the first day of competition, Florida Gators swimming and diving completed its second of four days of competition in the 2010 SEC Championships by taking home three more individual conference titles as well as a relay title. Junior Conor Dwyer and seniors Shaune Fraser and Gemma Spofforth all won individual SEC Championships, while the Gators women’s 200 free relay team defended its title. Florida now has six SEC titles in the first two days of the meet. The Gators men’s and women’s teams each led their respective fields going into Thursday’s events; however, both fell to second by the time the day was over. UF also achieved numerous NCAA qualifying times throughout the day. Day three of the SEC Championships begins Friday at 10 a.m. from the Gabrielsen Natatorium at the University of Georgia.
Men: Auburn (291 points), Florida (282), Georgia (205)
Women: Georgia (300 points), Florida (266), Auburn (248)

2 » While the men’s team bounced back with a win Thursday against Auburn after suffering consecutive losses, Florida women’s basketball (13-13, 6-7 SEC) fell to their third-straight ranked opponent on the road against the No. 16 Kentucky Wildcats (22-4, 10-3 SEC) in the Memorial Coliseum. A three-pointer by senior guard Lonnika Thompson with 9:04 remaining in the game brought the Gators within two points of the Wildcats (47-45), but Florida would allow Kentucky to outscore them 30-6 in the remaining time to pull off a 77-51 victory. Dooming the Gators were 23 turnovers and poor defense – the Wildcats shot 66.7 percent from the floor. Florida will try to bounce back against another ranked opponent, the No. 20 Georgia Bulldogs, who they host in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Sun., Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. The game will air on ESPN2.

2 » While most of the country was focused on the Super Bowl, the Florida women’s basketball team (13-10, 6-4 SEC) was in Gainesville, FL, hosting the Mississippi State Bulldogs (15-9, 6-5 SEC) at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The Gators kept it close all game, eventually pulling out a hard-earned 80-78 double-overtime victory. Senior guard Lonnika Thompson scored all of her 11 points in overtime while classmates G Steffi Sorensen and forward Sharielle Smith each recorded double-doubles. Redshirt sophomore G Jordon Jones was responsible for the game-winning free throws with only 2.7 seconds left to lift Florida for the win.

3 » Following in the footsteps of their male counterparts, the No. 7 Gators women’s tennis team (5-0) completed a sweep at home over the weekend. The Florida women took on and defeated the Troy Trojans 7-0 at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex. No. 13-ranked freshman Allie Will and No. 81-ranked senior Marrit Boonstra each won their singles matches and combined as the No. 26 doubles duo to take the event’s first doubles match 8-1.

4 » The Florida club cycling team took home the annual Swamp Classic in Gainesville, FL, on Sunday. Called “one of the most dominant teams in the nation,” by The Gainesville Sun, the Gators group seemingly dominated the event from start-to-finish. For more, read Ray FItzGerald’s report here.

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.

Down two with 2.6 seconds left on the clock in overtime and N.C. State Wolfpack guard Farnold Degand on the line ready to shoot his second free throw, the Florida Gators‘ hopes of winning a big out-of-conference game on the road looked dashed. Instead, Degand missed his shot, Florida junior forward Chandler Parsons grabbed the rebound, took two dribbles and threw up a 75-foot buzzer-beating, game-winning three-pointer to give the Gators (11-3) a much-needed 62-61 overtime victory in Raleigh, NC, at the RBC Center.

“It feels like a fantasy,” Parsons said while trying to gain perspective shortly after the game. “I’m waiting for someone to pinch me to wake me up. I’d by lying to you if I said I thought it was going to go in. It was pure luck. But I’m happy I was able to help my team and I was happy we were able to get out of here with the win. North Carolina State is a good team and they are going to have a great season. To be able to pull this out in front of their fans, with that crowd, it’s huge for us.”

One of Florida’s most consistent players this season, Parsons’ remarkable trey was his first made field goal of the game. The entire Gators squad struggled from beyond the arc yet again, shooting a combined 2-of-23 from three before Parsons’ final attempt. UF missed its first 13 three-point attempts and even rimmed out another that would have won the game in regulation.

Florida was within three numerous times at the end of overtime, but N.C. State (10-4) head coach Sidney Lowe directed his team to foul sophomore point guard Erving Walker before he could hoist up a three, limiting his ability to tie the game or take the lead. The Wolfpack missed four free throws in the final 38 seconds of overtime, allowing the Gators to stay in the game even with their poor shooting down the stretch.

Redshirt junior center Vernon Macklin led Florida with 14 points while Walker posted 13 of his own. Junior forward Alex Tyus added 11 points in the contest, his fifth-straight game with double-figure points. Tyus also led the Gators with seven rebounds, while Parsons and freshman guard Kenny Boynton each contributed six boards. For N.C. State, star F Tracy Smith scored 21 points and G Javier Gonzalez added 13 of his own, eight of which were in overtime.

Florida hopes to continue their lucky streak when they open Southeastern Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 9 at noon in Nashville, TN, against the Vanderbilt Commodores. The game will air live on ESPN.

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Women’s basketball (8-6) also took home a road win Sunday, toppling the Alabama Crimson Tide 59-53 in both teams’ conference opener. Senior G Lonnika Thompson and sophomore C Azania Stewart led the Gators with 12 points each.