1 » After suffering their first loss of the season against No. 6/3 Florida State in the inaugural Florida Four tournament, the No. 5/6 Florida Gators traveled to Coral Gables, FL, for a three-game series against the No. 16/11 Miami Hurricanes. OGGOA will wrap-up the series on Sunday, but on Friday, the Gators (6-1) took down the Hurricanes (6-2) 7-1 in the series’ first game. Sophomore starter Alex Pantelidois (3-0) held Miami hitless into the fifth inning and registered a career-high eight strikeouts. Fellow sophomore Nick Mardone earned his first career save by striking out seven over 3.1 innings without giving up a hit or run. Three Gators acquired two RBI in the contest.

Five more BITS including a softball doubleheader, gymnastics triangular meet and SEC openers for men’s and women’s tennis…after the break!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS Baseball, softball, gymnastics, tennis win

Tags: Alex Pantelidois, Alexandre Lacroix, Allie Will, Antoine Benneteau, Arkansas Razorbacks, Ashanée Dickerson, Ball State Cardinal, baseball, DeMarini Invitational, Ensley Gammel, Francesca Enea, gymnastics, Lauren Embree, Marissa King, Marrit Boonstra, Miami Hurricanes, Nick Mardone, North Carolina Tar Heels, O'Connell Center, Pacific Tigers, SEC, softball, Stanford Cardinal, Stephanie Brombacher, Tegan Gerhart, tennis

1 » After a huge upset win over the No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers last Tuesday, the Florida Gators looked to be squarely in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. A few days later, the Gators found themselves back on the bubble falling to the Georgia Bulldogs on the road. ESPN’s Mark Schlabach looks at what happened and what the team needs to do from this point forward.

2 » Four former Florida golfers were at the top of the leaderboard going into the final round of the PGA‘s Waste Management Phoenix Open on Sunday. Mark Calcavecchia, Matt Every, Camilo Villegas and Chris Couch were all in the hunt for the tournament title, but each wound up falling short in the end. Couch finished T4 (-13), Villegas was T8 (-11) with Every and Calcavecchia shot a final-day 74 to fall to T43 (-7).

Four more BITS on Brantley, Brown, tennis and baseball…after the break!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: NCAA bubble, PGA, Brantley, Brown

Tags: Allie Will, baseball, Camilo Villegas, Central Florida Knights, Chris Couch, Duke Blue Devils, Freshman of the Week, Georgia Bulldogs, golf, Hudson Randal, John Brantley, Lauren Embree, Linder Stadium, Mack Brown, Mark Calcavecchia, Marrit Boonstra, Matt Every, Mike Pouncey, NCAA Tournament, PGA, Ring Tennis Complex, SEC, Tennessee Volunteers, tennis, Trey Burton

From time to time, OGGOA will come across a plethora of news and notes that we wish to share with our readers. In those instances, we present a special post: Gator Bites. Enjoy.

» Arguably the greatest player in the history of Florida Gators baseball, free agent Brad Wilkerson has signed a minor-league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. He was a member of the 2010 UF Hall of Fame class, a part of the 1996 and 1998 College World Series teams, a two-time All-American, three-time All-SEC selection and the 1998 Collegiate Player of the Year. Wilkerson holds career records at Florida for batting average, RBIs, slugging percentage and walks. He played for four MLB teams from 2001-08 and won a gold medal with Team USA baseball at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

There are seven more Gator Bites for you to check out…after the jump!
Continue Reading » Gator Bites for Wednesday, February 24

Tags: Allie Will, Ashanée Dickerson, baseball, Billy Donovan, Brad Wilkerson, Brittany Dashiell, Central District Invitational, Deanna Allen, Florida State Seminoles, Freshman Gymnast of the Week, golf, Gymnast of the Week, gymnastics, Isabelle Lendl, La Salle Explorers, lacrosse, Marika Lendl, Marissa King, Marrit Boonstra, MLB, Pensacola Junior College, Philadelphia Phillies, Ray Shipman, Sam Wyche, SEC, tennis, Tyler Murphy

1 » Having to sit out the 2009 season due to a hamstring injury, Florida Gators redshirt freshman wide receiver Andre Debose is on the road to recovery. Debose, who underwent surgery months ago, was last reported to be able to run in a pool on Jan. 3. Now, Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel reports that Debose can now run on a treadmill at full speed and is not expected to need a second surgery as rumored. OGGOA reached out to Debose for an update on his injury, but he did not wish to speak about it. Though he will not be a full participant in spring practices next month, he will likely be able to workout in non-contact drills.

2 » Former Florida forward/center David Lee, in the middle of a career season with the New York Knicks, has been named as one of 27 players on the U.S. National Team. Lee will have an opportunity to compete for a roster spot in the 2010 World Championships and 2012 Olympic Games.

3 » The Southeastern Conference released its 2010 Preseason All-SEC softball team Wednesday, and four Gators have been honored on the squad. Florida led all programs with four of 12 total selections, including junior pitcher Stephanie Brombachter, senior outfielder Francesca Enea, junior utility player Kelsey Bruder and junior second baseman Aja Paculba. For Enea and Pachulba, this is the second consecutive year they have been named to the team.

4 » Women’s tennis players senior Marrit Boonstra and freshman Caroline Hitimana were named Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively, by the SEC on Wednesday. Both Boonstra and Hitimana went 4-0 in their respective matches last week.

Tags: Aja Paculba, All-SEC, Andre Debose, Caroline Hitimana, David Lee, Francesca Enea, Kelsey Bruder, Marrit Boonstra, New York Knicks, Olympics, Player of the Week, SEC, softball, Stephanie Brombacher, tennis, U.S. National Team, World Championships

1 » On Sunday, New Orleans Saints defensive end Bobby McCray became the 13th former Florida Gators football player to win a Super Bowl as his team defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Miami, FL. The Saints’ starting defensive end, McCray totaled two tackles and a quarterback hurry during Super Bowl XLIV. He is the first former Gators defensive player to win a ring since DE Kevin Carter did it with the St. Louis Rams in 2000 (Super Bowl XXXIV).

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.

Tags: Allie Will, Bobby McCray, cycling, Indianapolis Colts, Jordon Jones, Linder Stadium, Lonnika Thompson, Marrit Boonstra, Mississippi State Bulldogs, New Orleans Saints, NFL, O'Connell Center, Ring Tennis Complex, Sharielle Smith, Steffi Sorensen, Super Bowl XLIV, Swamp Classic, tennis, Troy Trojans, women's basketball