1 » No. 1 Florida Gators gymnastics did not conclude its incredible weekend on Saturday after it won the 2013 NCAA Championship, the first NCAA title in program history. Instead, Florida was right back at it on Sunday as its gymnasts competed in individual events with the hopes of bringing additional championships back to Gainesville, FL. Freshman Bridget Sloan, who captured the 2013 NCAA Championship in the all-around on Friday, doubled up with a title in the balance beam (9.900) on Sunday. She actually would have won three individual championships had it not been for junior teammate Alaina Johnson, who edged Sloan 9.9125 to 9.900 in the uneven parallel bars to win a title of her own.

2 » Florida’s national championship-winning gymnastics team will be honored at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center during a special celebration on Monday at 7 p.m. Gates open at 6 p.m. and access to the event is free. The celebration will be the first held inside the O’Dome for a Gators championship-winning program since basketball won its second of back-to-back titles in 2007. GatorVision.tv will have a live stream of the event for fans outside of Gainesville. OGGOA will tweet a link at 7 p.m.

The Florida school website on Monday posted a terrific feature on head coach Rhonda Faehn, who has been nothing short of spectacular since joining the program in 2002. Though the national title had been elusive for Faehn, she knew that the Gators could be one of the top programs in the country when she took the job. “It was a gold mine just waiting for success,” she told senior writer Scott Carter about Florida. “I felt there was so much potential. Who wouldn’t want to go there? It was undiscovered almost and people needed to see how amazing it was. That’s what I felt for years when I was coaching at other places, that Florida was just incredible.” Added athletic director Jeremy Foley about Fahen: “She built our program. When we hired her, the goal was we wanted to be like Alabama, we wanted to be like Georgia, we wanted to be like Utah, we didn’t understand why we couldn’t be like them. We wanted to be a factor. Look at what she has done. I feel great for her, her staff, and obviously these kids.”

Check out four more Florida Gators news BITS…after the break!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: gymnastics, Floyd, Kansas, Parsons

Tags: Big 12, Chandler Parsons, Draft, Eli Carter, gymnastics, Houston Rockets, Jeremy Foley, Kansas Jayhawks, NBA, NCAA, NCAA Championship, NFL, Playoffs, Rhonda Faehn, Sharrif Floyd

By Corey Mitleider, Scott Barr (OGGOA Contributors) and Adam Silverstein

No. 1 Florida Gators gymnastics lived up to its national ranking on Saturday, taking home the 2013 Southeastern Conference Championship in Little Rock, AR. Florida edged No. 3 Alabama 198.000-197.800 to capture the ninth league title in program history (third in the last four years) and become the first team to win back-to-back SEC Championships since Georgia won three-straight from 2004-06.

No. 6 LSU (197.700) and No. 5 Georgia (197.325), two other evening session participants, rounded out the top four as no team from the afternoon session was in the running after Auburn led the Session I field with a 195.550. UF had to beat three of the other top six teams in the nation just to win the league title.

The Gators were led on Saturday by 2013 SEC Freshman of the Year Bridget Sloan, who paced Florida with an SEC title-winning score of 39.750 in the all-around. Sloan registered at least 9.925 in each event and split the title with LSU’s Rheagan Courville, the 2013 SEC Gymnast of the Year. She also tied with Georgia’s Brittany Rogers for the SEC title in the uneven bars (9.950) and was part of a five-way tie along with sophomore Kytra Hunter for the SEC title in the floor exercise (9.950).

Scoring a 49.375 on their first rotation (vault), the Gators started the event in last place. However, two 49.500s on bars and balance beam followed by an event-ending 49.625 on floor (each gymnast scored 9.900 or better) pushed Florida into first.

Head coach Rhonda Faehn, who was announced as 2013 SEC Coach of the Year earlier in the week, saw three members of her team be honored individually by the conference. Sloan was announced as a First Team All-SEC member on all-around, bars and floor and was also honored with a nod on the SEC All-Freshman Team. Hunter was also placed on the First Team All-SEC, and senior Ashanée Dickerson received Second Team All-SEC honors.

Faehn’s SEC Coach of the Year honor is her fourth in as many years and sixth since taking over the program in 2003 (2006-07, 2010-13). She is the seventh Gators coach to win the award during the 2012-13 athletic season joining Will Muschamp (football), Billy Donovan (men’s basketball), Mary Wise (volleyball), Becky Burleigh (soccer), Paul Spangler (women’s cross country) and Gregg Troy (men’s swimming).

Sloan is Florida’s fourth-straight SEC Freshman of the Year joining Hunter (2012), junior Alaina Johnson (2011) and Dickerson (2010) as recent winners of the award.

The Gators have a week off before they host one of six NCAA Regional meets at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Saturday, April 6. The teams joining No. 1 Florida in the Gainesville Regional will include the No. 12 and No. 13 ranked squads along with three other programs ranked between No. 19-36, regionally selected based on proximity to Gainesville, FL. The top two teams at each of the six regional events will compete in the NCAA Championships from April 19-21 in Los Angeles, CA.

The SEC title brought home by the gymnastics team is the Gators’ seventh as an athletic program during the 2012-13 season. Florida has also won SEC Championships in men’s basketball (regular season), volleyball, soccer (regular season, tournament), women’s cross country and men’s swimming.

Photo Credit: Southeastern Conference

Tags: Alaina Johnson, Ashanée Dickerson, Bridget Sloan, gymnastics, Kytra Hunter, Rhonda Faehn, SEC, SEC Championship

By Corey Mitleider and Scott Barr – OGGOA Contributors

Coming off narrowly missing out on the program’s first national championship since 1982 (AIAW) at the 2012 NCAA Super Six last season, No. 3 Florida Gators gymnastics opens the 2013 season seeking to become just the fifth team in NCAA history to win the national title (Georgia, Alabama, UCLA, Utah). Florida came within 0.075 points of Alabama at the Super Six last April and has added significant talent while not being forced to replace many routines from their second-place finish. Head coach Rhonda Faehn, coming off the Gators’ eighth conference title, hopes to have her team peak at the right time when the postseason begins.

Florida opened the 2013 schedule last week with a home victory against Ball State and travels to LSU on Friday for its first Southeastern Conference meet of the season.

The Gators schedule is always supremely challenging and 2013 is no different with a home meet against reigning national champion Alabama and road meets against four teams that went to nationals last year: LSU, Arkansas, Georgia and Utah. UF will have an excellent opportunity to scope out the competition it will face leading up to the national championship throughout the regular season, at the SEC Championships and at the NCAA Southeast Regionals, which will be hosted in Gainesville, FL in March.

Continue Reading » 2013 Florida Gators gymnastics primer: Title time?

Tags: Alaina Johnson, Ashanée Dickerson, Bridget Sloan, Bridgette Caquatto, Dali Lemezan, gymnastics, Kytra Hunter, MacKenzie Caquatto, Marissa King, NCAA Super Six, Rachel Spicer, Randy Stageberg, Rhonda Faehn, SEC

1 » Florida Gators baseball saw six of its 2012 signees drafted in the first two days of the 2012 MLB Draft and there is a legitimate shot that all sign their contracts and never wind up stepping foot on campus. Below is a list of all six players selected and any current information available on their decision-making process.

OF Lewis Brinson (Tamarac, FL) – No. 29 (first round) to Texas
Brinson has told the official MLB blog that he is already close to signing.
RHP Lance McCullers (Tampa, FL) – No. 41 (comp. round A) to Houston
A top-15 talent, McCullers fell due to concerns over signability. The new collective bargaining agreement gives teams limited funds in which to pay draftees, but the Astros will be able to save money in other areas and offer McCullers a significantly higher contract than his draft slot would typically provide him. Houston’s official website, which spoke to McCullers on Tuesday, said he is prepared to “go through the negotiating process with an open mind and accept any offer he and his family find to be fair.” His father, a former MLB player, said he has “a good feeling that it’s going to go pretty smoothly.” Despite high hopes from Florida fans that McCullers falling in the draft meant he might wind up playing for the Gators, it does not appear that will be the case.
OF Jesse Winker (Windermere, FL) – No. 49 (comp. round A) to Cincinnati
Expected to sign with the Reds.
OF Max White (Williston, FL) – No. 73 (second round) to Colorado
Has told local area reporters that he plans to sign with the Rockies.
RHP Jonathan Sandfort (Winter Springs, FL) – No. 103 (third round) to Pittsburgh
SS Avery Romero (St. Augustine, FL) – No. 104 (third round) to Miami

2 » Florida women’s gymnastics coach Rhonda Faehn received a contract extension that will keep her in orange and blue through the 2017 season, the school announced on Monday. Faehn, who has yet to win a national title with the Gators but came excruciatingly close in 2012 (falling 0.075 points short), will have at least five more years to accomplish that goal. “It’s extremely exciting,” she said in a statement. “I absolutely love the University of Florida. The institution, the athletics, the academics … It’s just a tremendous, all-around everything place for our family.” The gymnastics program has been a juggernaut under her stewardship with Florida capturing three Southeastern Conference titles and finishing in the top five in the NCAA Championship seven times. UF also announced that the gymnastics studio, which has been undergoing renovations and will not be completed for six more months, will run the school a cool $4.5 million.

Tags: Avery Romero, baseball, Draft, gymnastics, Jesse Winker, Jonathan Sandfort, Lance McCullers, Lewis Brinson, Max White, MLB, Rhonda Faehn, SEC

1 » During the 2011 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday, the Florida Gators men’s team brought home a pair of National Championships. Competing in Minneapolis, MN, senior Brett Fraser captured the national title in the 200-yard freestyle. He was also part of the four-man team – including senior Conor Dwyer, junior Jeffrey Raymond and sophomore Sebastien Rousseau – that won the championship in the 800-yard freestyle relay.

2 » Former Florida golfer Sandra Gal picked up the first LPGA victory of her career on Sunday, winning the Kia Classic and $255,000. She finished at a 16-under 276 and won on the 18th and final hole on Sunday. “I’m a bit overwhelmed,” she said after the win. “you know, it was close all day long, so I had to kind of dig deep to pull out some shots. I’m just happy to have finally done it. I had a good feeling about today when I woke up.”

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Tags: Alaina Johnson, Alexandre Lacroix, Alicia Goodwin, All-Freshman, All-SEC, Artem Ilyushin, Ashanée Dickerson, Brett Fraser, Coach of the Year, Conor Dwyer, diving, Dizney Stadium, Freshman of the Year, Jeffrey Raymond, Kia Classic, Kitty Cullen, lacrosse, LPGA, Maranda Smith, Marissa King, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NCAA, NCAA Championships, Nicole Ellis, Ohio State Buckeyes, Ole Miss Rebels, Rhonda Faehn, Sandra Gal, Sebastien Rousseau, SEC, swimming, tennis

1 » Florida Gators track and field head coach Mike Holloway was honored with the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s National Men’s Indoor Head Coach of the Year award on Friday for the second-straight year. Holloway, who has led Florida to back-to-back NCAA Indoor Championships over the last two seasons, continues to rack up the national and regional awards. One of his assistants on the men’s team, Dick Booth was awarded National Men’s Indoor Assistant Coach of the Year by the USTFCCCA as well.

2 » The state of Mississippi was no match for No. 2/3 Florida softball (30-1, 6-0 SEC) this week as the Gators took down the Mississippi State Bulldogs (12-14, 2-2 SEC) at home in a pair of contests during the week and swept the Ole Miss Rebels (10-21, 0-6 SEC) in a three-game road series over the weekend. Florida outscored Ole Miss 37-6 over the course of the three games and made the most out of nearly every opportunity.

Senior first baseman Megan Bush set a new school record and now has a 19-game hitting streak after turning in a spectacular performance in which she combined to go 6-9 from the plate with 10 RBI, three runs and four walks. On the hill for the Gators all weekend was freshman right-handed pitcher Hannah Rogers (16-1), who started all three contests and did not allow a single earned run all weekend. In 9.0 innings, Rogers only gave up five hits, three unearned runs and three walks while striking out nine batters. Also turning in stellar performances in the three-game set were senior second baseman Aja Paculba (4-10, 6 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB), freshman shortstop Cheyenne Coyle (3-11, 5 RBI, 4 R, BB) and senior left fielder Kelsey Bruder (4-6, 4 RBI, 5 R, 6 BB).

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Tags: Aja Paculba, Alabama Crimson Tide, Alaina Johnson, Alexandre Lacroix, Ashley Bruns, Brittany Dashiell, Cheyenne Coyle, Coach of the Year, Dick Booth, Dizney Stadium, field, Freshman of the Year, gymnastics, Hannah Rogers, Jordan Jones, Kelsey Bruder, Kitty Cullen, lacrosse, Megan Bush, Mike Holloway, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NCAA, NCAA Indoor Championships, Ole Miss Rebels, Rhonda Faehn, SEC Championship, Sekou Bangoura, softball, Syracuse Orange, tennis, track, UMBC Retrievers, USC Trojans, USTFCCCA, WNIT, women's basketball

Between softball, women’s basketball and gymnastics, the University of Florida was honored to receive nine letters of intent on Thursday from future student-athletes who hope to become big parts of their respective Florida Gators teams.

Softball picked up six commitments for its 2011 signing class including pitcher Alyssa Bache (Clearwater, FL), third baseman Bailey Castro (Pembroke Pines, FL), infielder Jessica Damico (Gray Summit, MO), shortstop Sami Fagan (Dunnellon, FL), utility player Lauren Haeger (Peoria, AZ) and SS Katie Medina (Downey, CA).

“To say we are excited about this year’s signing class is an understatement,” head coach Tim Walton said. “Each one of these student-athletes brings a tremendous amount of talent individually. Collectively, they’re one of the best classes in the entire country. We look forward to great things out of this group. We’ll be losing an extremely talented senior class this upcoming season – arguably one of the best Florida softball classes ever. We are excited about coaching this talented incoming class, which we expect to step in right away and replace some Gator greats.”

The basketball team added point guard Carlie Needles (Highlands Ranch, CO) and center Viktorija Dimaite (Gainesville, FL by way of Lithuania), both of whom could have a big impact on the program. “I’m excited about the type of people that they are and what they bring to our team,” head coach Amanda Butler said. “They are all-around winners and are definitely championship-caliber people.” Dimaite is 6’4” and helped lead The Rock School to the 2010 Class 1A girl’s basketball state championship, while Needles comes from a high school program that has produced WNBA-caliber players.

Gymnastics head coach Rhonda Faehn scored another major signing for her program by bringing in Kiersten Wang (Colorado Springs, CO). Wang was runner-up on vault at the 2009 Level 10 Junior Olympic Championships and has excelled at every level of competition she has attempted. “Kiersten contains the perfect all-around package. She has a tremendous amount of quickness, power and talent. She is an exceptional talent who is extremely determined and loves to perform. Kiersten will contribute immediately to this team,” Faehn said.

Tags: Alyssa Bache, Amanda Butler, Bailey Castro, Carlie Needles, gymnastics, Jessica Damico, Katie Medina, Kiersten Wang, Lauren Haeger, Rhonda Faehn, Sami Fagan, softball, Tim Walton, University of Florida, Viktorija Dimaite, WNBA, women's basketball

1 » No. 4 Florida Gators gymnastics (15-2, 5-1 SEC) took home the 2010 Southeastern Conference Championship Saturday at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL. The program’s seventh conference title and first since 2007, it came on a slight 197.05-196.875 victory over the No. 1-ranked and defending SEC champion Alabama Crimson Tide. “There was never a moment in mind I doubted us,” head coach Rhonda Faehn said. “It is a huge sense of accomplishment. Look at what makes up our routines. The majority of our routines were done by freshman who have never taken part in an SEC Championship. They don’t even know what it’s like. For them to come up here and compete the way they did, with the guidance of our upper classmen, gives them a huge sense of accomplishment. Look what we can do and what our future holds. It’s really exciting for them.” Next up? The 2010 NCAA Championship.

2 » While gymnastics was busy winning a title, No. 2/5 Gators baseball (17-5, 3-2 SEC) dropped two straight games to the No. 17/19 Ole Miss Rebels (19-5, 4-1 SEC). Ole Miss squeaked by Florida in the first game, taking a 3-2 win after freshman catcher Austin Maddox struck out looking with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth. Rebels’ starter Drew Pomeranz (4-0) only gave up a run over 7.1 innings with nine strikeouts, out-dueling Gators’ sophomore pitcher Alex Panteliodis (5-1), who also pitched 7.1 innings but gave up three earned runs combined in the first two innings. In the second game, Florida jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but gave up nine unanswered runs to fall behind by seven through three innings. They would eventually fall 15-3 with freshman starter Hudson Randal (2-1) giving up five earned runs on six hits in an inning’s work. The Gators hope to salvage the weekend road series with a win in the finale Saturday before facing Florida State in Jacksonville on Tuesday.

3 » Former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow’s “The Promise” speech, and Gators football itself, has inspired 7th grade students at a Harlem public school to dub their classroom “Gator Nation” and work to achieve their dreams. (h/t “mudlizard”)

4 » Trying to match their female counterparts with an NCAA Championship, the men’s swimming and diving team is currently in fourth entering the final day of the 2010 NCAA Championship meet. Junior Conor Dwyer, who became the first NCAA men’s swimmer since 2001 to win both the 200 and 500 freestyle races in the same meet, is leading the team in its efforts. OGGOA will update you on the team’s finish after action concludes.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Alex Panteliodis, Austin Maddox, baseball, Conor Dwyer, diving, Drew Pomeranz, gymnastics, Hudson Randal, NCAA, NCAA Championship, Ole Miss Rebels, Rhonda Faehn, SEC, SEC Championship, swimming, The Promise, Tim Tebow, Veterans Memorial Arena