The weekend of April 15-17, 2011 was a good one for the Florida Gators as University of Florida student-athletes brought home five separate titles for the school.

No. 3/5 Gators men’s golf won the 2011 Southeastern Conference Championship, leading after every single round of the event. Florida finished with a combined 848 (+8), five strokes ahead of second-place Alabama to win the school’s 200th all-time SEC title.

Competing for the Gators in the event, redshirt senior golfer Andres Echavarria also won the 2011 SEC Men’s Individual Championship with a three-round total of 209 (-1).

With No. 7 Florida gymnastics failing to advance to the 2011 NCAA Super Six, the team had three student-athletes competing individually. One came through as sophomore Marissa King claimed the 2011 NCAA Championship in the vault on Sunday. King scored a 9.8750 in the vault and became UF’s first NCAA event winner since 1998.

Two other Gators teams clinched outright conference titles over the weekend.

No. 5/6 Florida lacrosse (14-1, 5-0 ALC) defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores (7-7, 1-4 ALC) 8-7 Sunday to continue a 14-game winning streak and take sole possession of the regular season 2011 ALC Championship. No. 1 Gators women’s tennis (22-1, 11-0 SEC) followed suit, shutting out the South Carolina Gamecocks (12-9, 4-7 SEC) 7-0 on Saturday to go undefeated in conference play and capture the 2011 SEC title.

Photo Credit: Matt Stamey/The Gainesville Sun

Tags: ALC, ALC Championship, Andres Echavarria, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, Marissa King, NCAA, NCAA Super Six, SEC, SEC Championship, South Carolina Gamecocks, tennis, University of Florida, Vanderbilt Commodores

1 » No. 1 Florida Gators women’s tennis (22-1, 11-0 SEC) shutout the South Carolina Gamecocks (12-9, 4-7 SEC) 7-0 on Saturday to capture the outright 2011 Southeastern Conference Championship for the regular season at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, FL. The victory not only won Florida the SEC title and a No. 1 seed (including a bye) in the upcoming 2011 SEC Tournament, it was also the team’s 102nd consecutive regular season victory and 93rd-straight at home. The No. 8 doubles team of sophomore Allie Will and freshman Alex Cercone took down their No. 32-ranked opponents 8-4. No. 7 Will and No. 51 Cercone each won their singles matches, as did No. 20 sophomore Lauren Embree, No. 37 junior Joanna Mather, No. 49 freshman Olivia Janowicz and No. 104 freshman Sofie Oyen. The No. 43 duo of Embree and Oyen also won their doubles match earlier in the day.

2 » No. 5 Gators gymnastics was not as successful over the weekend, failing to advance to the 2011 NCAA Super Six team final by finishing fourth in Session II of the 2011 NCAA Championships semifinals. Florida finished with 196.125 points behind Alabama (197.05), Nebraska (196.85) and Utah (196.20). Fortunately for the Gators, three of the ladies advanced to the NCAA individual event finals on Sunday. Freshman Alaina Johnson will compete in vault, uneven bars and floor exercise; sophomore Marissa King will try her hand at vault and floor exercise; and senior Maranda Smith will participate in the floor exercise. All three were named to the All-American First Team.

3 » Florida 2012 running back commitment Mike Davis (Stone Mountain, GA) won a Most Valuable Player award for his group at the Nike Football Training Camp in Athens, GA on Friday. “Mike did some incredible things,” Jake Campbell, running backs coach at the camp, told ESPN. “He has great lateral movement and change of direction. He’s terrific in the open field. He’s a true running back where things come so natural to him. He’s versatile and has soft hands. He’s also a strong ball carrier who really seems to understand the position.”

4 » Gators safety Will Hill, waiting to find out who will take a chance on him in the 2011 NFL Draft, participated in a local prospect day for the New York Giants on Thursday. The Newark Star-Ledger’s Mike Garafolo says Hill “has the Giants intrigued” to the point that they have “look[ed] into the personal side of things” regarding his character.

Tags: Alaina Johnson, Alex Cercone, Allie Will, Draft, gymnastics, Joanna Mather, Lauren Embree, Linder Stadium, Maranda Smith, Marissa King, Mike Davis, MVP, NCAA, NCAA Championship, NCAA Super Six, New York Giants, NFL, Olivia Janowicz, Ring Tennis Complex, SEC, SEC Championship, Sofie Oyen, tennis, Will Hill

1 » No. 5 Florida Gators gymnastics will begin semifinal action in the 2011 NCAA Championships on Friday evening at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, OH. Competing in Semifinal II along with Alabama, Kent State, Nebraska, Oregon and Utah, Florida hopes to finish in the top three in order to advance to the NCAA Super Six – the final stage of competition for a national title.

2 » Back wearing orange and blue for the first time since 1994, new Gators wide receivers coach Aubrey Hill is happy to be back home. Calling his return to Gainesville, FL a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Hill told University of Florida senior writer Scott Carter that he is the one who reached out to head coach Will Muschamp about joining his first staff. “When he got the job, I sought him out,’’ Hill said. “I’m just very thankful for the opportunity to be able to come back home to your alma mater and to be able to give back to the players, give back to the community, and give back to this wonderful Gator Nation.” Muschamp explained why having Hill on board can help the team be successful. “I think having someone on the coaching staff who attended the University of Florida is really important when dealing with the players,’’ he said. “Aubrey has walked in their footsteps. He has been on their practice field, was in their classrooms and knows the culture of the Gator Nation. He’s accomplished what a lot of these players want to accomplish – he has been part of championship teams.”

You can check out the rest of the feature story by clicking here, though a choice quote has been republished below:

Q: You are the recruiting coordinator. How do you approach recruiting?
A: I really, really enjoy recruiting. Why do I enjoy recruiting? I look back when I was recruited and how important it was in picking a school. As an assistant coach, we have to give them all the information that can help them make a decision. They can pick it for several reasons: football, academics, proximity to home. What we try to do as coaches is try to tie them all in. There is no way I can do my job without the head coach. Sometimes I can’t do my job without the area coach. We all collectively work on getting a kid here. Recruiting is just selling what you believe in, and it’s an easy sell when you are talking about the University of Florida.

Tags: Aubrey Hill, Gator Nation, gymnastics, NCAA, NCAA Championships, NCAA Super Six, University of Florida, Will Muschamp

1a » No. 3 Women’s Tennis won 2010 SEC Championship Tournament
Over the weekend, the Florida Gators women’s tennis team (24-2) captured its 16th conference title in the last 23 years and first since 2006. It defeated the LSU Tigers (10-15) 4-0 on Friday before advancing to the finals to take on the No. 13 Tennessee Volunteers (16-8). Florida took down Tennessee 4-1 in the championship finale Sunday afternoon at the Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, GA. Senior Marrit Boonstra and freshman Allie Will were named to the All-Tournament Team.

1b » No. 6 Men’s Tennis fell in 2010 SEC Championship Tournament finale
Also fighting for a conference crown over the weekend was the men’s tennis team (19-4), which defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 4-1 Friday in semifinal action at Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington, KY. The men moved on to the championship game Sunday but were swept 4-0 by the No. 2 Volunteers, who took home the title.

2 » No. 7/11 Baseball took three of four games last week
Beginning the week with a solid 18-8 defeat of the South Florida Bulls (17-20), Gators baseball (28-11, 12-6 SEC) finished out the week by winning two-of-three games at home against the No. 9/7 Arkansas Razorbacks (33-8, 13-5 SEC). UF dropped the opener 8-3 before evening the series with an 8-2 win Saturday and taking it home Sunday with a 2-1 victory.

3 » No. 4/4 Softball dropped two of three games last week
Florida softball (35-7, 15-4 SEC) was hoping for a chance to even out its week after dropping two of its previous three games; unfortunately, inclement weather on Saturday forced the team to cancel its series finale against No. 17/18 Tennessee (39-9, 15-5 SEC). The Gators began the week with a tough 8-3 home loss to the Florida International Golden Panthers (30-15, 11-5 Sun Belt) at Pressly Stadium on Tuesday. The ladies then split a weekend series with the Volunteers, winning game one 6-0 before falling 4-3 in game two at Lee Softball Stadium in Knoxville, TN.

4 » No. 4 Gymnastics fell at home in 2010 NCAA Championship
Gators gymnastics, a consistently great program that has been hoping for a NCAA Championship since it came in second in 1998, once again fell short of a title over the weekend, failing to come out on top during the NCAA Super Six team final in Gainesville, FL. The Florida women came in fifth place with a total of 197.00, behind the new NCAA Champion UCLA Bruins (197.725), second-place Oklahoma (197.25), third-place Alabama (197.225) and fourth-place Stanford (197.10). Utah (196.225) was the only team to finish behind UF). The match was the Gators’ ninth NCAA Super Six all-time and sixth in the last seven years.

Photo Credit: GatorZone.com

Tags: Allie Will, Arkansas Razorbacks, baseball, Boone Tennis Complex, Florida International Golden Panthers, gymnastics, Lee Softball Stadium, LSU Tigers, Magill Tennis Complex, Marrit Boonstra, McKethan Stadium, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NCAA Championship, NCAA Super Six, Pressly Stadium, SEC, SEC Championship, softball, South Florida Bulls, Tennessee Volunteers, tennis, UCLA Bruins