2 » The Gators’ No. 5 doubles pair of senior Marrit Boonstra and freshman Allie Will was eliminated from competition for the 2010 NCAA National Championship Saturday, falling 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 to Tennessee’s No. 1 duo of Natalie Pluskota and Caitlin Whoriskey at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, GA. Florida tennis – both men’s and women’s – has now been completely removed from NCAA competition for this season.

Find out which Gators qualified for the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships and what sport Georgia is going after Florida in…after the break!

3 » Finishing up a third day of competition Saturday in the 2010 NCAA East Preliminary Round at Irwin Bell Track, Gators track & field athletes qualified 21 slots in the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships. The list of those athletes who have qualified, along with their respective events, can be found below in alphabetical order.

- Charlotte Browning – Women’s 1,500m Run (3rd)
- Omar Craddock – Men’s Triple Jump (3rd)
- Evelien Dekkers – Women’s Javelin (1st)
- Jeff Demps – Men’s 100m Dash (4th)
- Gray Horn – Men’s Decathlon (N/A)
- Josh Izewski – Men’s 10,000m Run (12th)
- Fidela James – Women’s Shot Put (10th)
- Mariam Kevkhishvili – Women’s Shot Put (1st)
- Tony McQuay – Men’s 400m Dash (10th)
- Keely Medeiros – Women’s Shot Put (5th)
- Kemal Mesic – Men’s Shot Put (1st)
- Julie Northrup – Women’s Steeplechase (7th)
- Shara Proctor [2] – Women’s Long Jump (3rd), Women’s Triple Jump (4th)
- Calvin Smith – Men’s 400m Dash (2nd)
- Christian Taylor [2] – Men’s Long Jump (1st), Men’s Triple Jump (1st)
- Terrell Wilks [2] – Men’s 100m Dash (9th), Men’s 200m Dash (4th)
- Men’s 4x100m Relay (1st)
- Men’s 4x400m Relay (2nd)

4 » Think football is the only sport that the Georgia Bulldogs are worried about Florida in? Think again. Georgia’s new head soccer coach, Steve Holeman, realizes that his school’s main rival has been just as dominant in soccer recently. Just take this exchange printed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution between Holeman and athletic director Damon Evans as an example. “In our short time that we have had soccer in this league, who has won the majority of the championships,” Evans asked. “Florida,” Holeman replied. “I knew the answer, but we need to start changing that. That’s all,” Evans quipped. “It used to be Florida,” Holeman surmised.

2 » Still making touchdowns – but now for the Jacksonville Sharks of the AFL – former Gators wide receiver Dallas Baker was faced with an injury scare Saturday night in a 46-44 win over the Cleveland Gladiators. “I thought I tore something,” Baker told The Florida Times-Union. Instead Baker, who scored twice during the game before falling to the turf, suffered a sprain according to an MRI exam after the game. He is second on the team this season with 416 yards and nine touchdowns in five games played.

Four more BITS on track & field qualifiers, tennis’ NCAA wins and losses and a Gator winning Rookie of the Year…after the break!

3 » Competing in the first day of the 2010 NCAA East Preliminary Round at Irwin Belk Track on Thursday, seven members of Florida’s highly ranked track and field teams qualified for the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships. They include throwers senior Mariam Kevkhishvili (first – women’s shot put), Keely Medeiros (fifth – shot put), Fidela James (10th – shot put) and Evelien Dekkers (first – women’s javelin), sophomore jumper Christian Taylor (first – men’s long jump), senior jumper Shara Proctor (third – women’s long jump) and freshman runner Josh Izewski (12th – men’s 10,000m run). Nine other Gators, including sophomore sprinter Jeff Demps (first – men’s 100m dash), qualified for 2010 NCAA Quarterfinals action.

4 » Florida’s No. 8-ranked freshman Allie Will advanced to the third round of the 2010 NCAA National Championship tournament with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 win over UCLA’s Andrea Remynse at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, GA. Later in the day, the No. 5 pair of Will and senior Marrit Boonstra moved into the second round of doubles competition with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Michigan’s No. 19 pair of Whitney Taney and Rika Tatsuno. Unfortunately, the No. 26 duo of freshman Lauren Embree and senior Anastasia Revzina fell to California’s No. 9 pair of Mari Anderson and Jana Juricova 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-1, knocking them out of the tournament. Will is set to take on a chief rival, Georgia’s No. 12 Chelsey Gullickson, in the round of 16 Friday; she and Boonstra will compete later in the day in a doubles match against a team from Stetson.

5 » News was not as positive for Gators men’s tennis and junior Alexandre Lacroix, who lost twice Thursday. Lacroix first dropped his singles match 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 to Pepperdine’s Bassam Beidas before teaming with redshirt senior Antoine Benneteau to fall in straight sets – 6-4, 6-3 to Oklahoma’s pair of Andrei Daescu and Costin Paval. Men’s tennis is now eliminated from National Championship competition.

6 » Easily the most dominant force on Florida lacrosse during its inaugural season, freshman attacker Ashley Bruns was named the 2010 Rookie of the Year by WomensLax.com on Friday. Leading the Gators in three categories – points (79), goals (48) and assists (30), this is the second such honor won by Bruns, who was also named the 2010 ALC Rookie of the Year a few weeks ago.

No. 3 Florida Gators men’s track & field won the 2010 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championship on Sunday, the team’s first since 1987, by scoring 124 total team points at Tom Black Track in Knoxville, TN. The victory marks men’s track & field’s second major title this year – the team won the 2010 NCAA Indoor National Championship (the first in program history) back on March 14.

Florida’s four individual event titles propelled them to the SEC Championship victory. Sophomore sprinter Jeff Demps captured the 100-meter dash, sophomore Gray Horn defended his 2009 SEC Championship in the decathalon, sophomore Christian Taylor took home the triple jump and the four-man team of Taylor, senior R.J. Anderson, senior Calvin Smith and freshman Tony McQuay won the 4×400-meter relay.

Demps became the Gators’ first SEC Champion in the men’s 100-meter dash since 2000, while Taylor carried the same honor in men’s triple jump for the first time since 1976. Horn’s decathalon score of 7,652 was a career-high and second-best in school history. He is the ninth person in conference history to win the title back-to-back and first since 1974. Horn is also the only Florida track & field athlete to win an SEC decathalon title.

Florida’s No. 10 women’s team, which finished second in their respective event to the No. 2 LSU Tigers (which won their third SEC Championship in the last four years), posted a total team score of 107.5 points. Like the men, the women raked in the individual titles and captured five all-together.

Senior distance runner Charlotte Browning defended her 2009 SEC Championship in the 1,500-meter run, senior Mariam Kevkhishvili won the shot put, senior Evelin Dekkers took home the javelin event and senior Shara Proctor was victorious in both the long jump and triple jump.

Browning’s 1,500-meter run time of 4:13.96 was her career-best and the second-fastest time in school history. Even more impressive were the victories by Kevkhishvili in the shot put and Proctor in the triple jump – each woman won the SEC title for her third time in her respective event.

The Gators will now close the season beginning May 27-29 with the NCAA East Preliminary Round, which can earn them a berth in the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Photo Credit: University of Florida

2 » Looking to capitalize Saturday, Florida won in similar fashion. Sophomore catcher Ben McMahan led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo homer to break the 3-3 tie and help his team edge Georgia. Sophomore first baseman Preston Tucker (2-4, one run) and senior outfielder Matt den Dekker (1-4, two runs, RBI) led the way for the Gators offensively, with junior Kevin Chapman (3-0) picking up the relief win in 1.2 innings of work. Freshman Hudson Randall started the game, tossing 5.2 solid innings with five strikeouts and two earned runs.

Florida is tied with South Carolina atop the Southeastern Conference standings but has two more games to play (Sun. vs. Georgia, Tues. vs. North Florida) before traveling to Columbia, SC, for a three-game SEC-deciding series to close the regular season.

3 » Like it’s women’s counterpart, No. 6 men’s tennis (20-4) – which also holds the sixth seed in the event – swept the South Carolina State Huskies (11-11) 4-0 in first-round action in the 2010 NCAA Tournament at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, FL, on Saturday. The No. 8 doubles pair of junior Alexandre Lacroix and redshirt senior Antoine Benneteau took their doubles match; No. 7 Lacroix also won his singles contest, as did Benneteau and the rest of UF’s squad. Second-round action continues Sunday.

4 » Gators sophomore decathlete Gray Horn and senior jumper Shara Proctor each defended their titles, taking home the 2010 SEC Outdoor Championships in the decathalon and long jump, respectively. Competing at Tom Black Track in Knoxville, TN, Horn turned in a career-high 7,652 – the second-best decathalon score in UF history. He is the ninth person in conference history to win the title back-to-back and first since 1974. Horn is also the only Florida track & field athlete to win an SEC decathalon title. Similarly, Proctor won her second-straight title on the same track and became just the sixth multiple winner of the event with a victorious jump of 6.69m/21-11.50 (+1.4) – the best of her college career.

1 » Former Florida Gators wide receiver Dallas Baker, most recently waived/injured by the NFL‘s Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 6, 2009, has signed on with the Jacksonville Sharks of the newly revamped AFL. The Sharks are one of two new franchises being introduced to the league this year, and Baker joins fellow Gators cornerback Dee Webb on the team. The Sharks are 1-0 already this season with a 54-38 victory over the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz last week.

2 » Each year, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association hands out The Bowerman award which recognizes the most outstanding collegiate men’s and women’s track & field athlete. Three current Florida student-athletes are on The Bowerman’s watch list as of April 7: women’s senior thrower Mariam Kevkhishvili, men’s freshman sprinter Jeff Demps (new addition) and men’s sophomore jumper Christian Taylor. The Gators also boast women’s senior jumper Shara Proctor and women’s junior/senior distance runner Charlotte Browning as honorable mentions at this time. The award will not be handed out until December.

3 » Sourcing NFL.com draft analyst Gil Brandt, Jerry McDoanld of InsideBayArea.com says the Oakland Raiders have a high level of interest in former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. According to Brandt’s story, Tebow was asked by the Raiders’ coaching staff to break down a play. He replied, “This is how it’s called with Florida, this is how it’s called with your organization and this is how it’s called with West coast teams.” Brandt went on to say, “I think that when you get a quarterback and he reacts that quickly, you know that the guy is not only pretty smart, but he does have that mental quickness to adjust very fast.”

4 » Apparel and shoe company Nike has officially announced its partnership with Tebow. Click the link below to read the full press release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NIKE BUILDS ON ITS OUTSTANDING FOOTBALL HERITAGE, SIGNS PRO FOOTBALL PROSPECT TEBOW

Former Heisman Trophy-Winning Quarterback Tim Tebow Is Newest Nike Athlete

BEAVERTON, Ore. (April 8, 2010) – Nike today announced a partnership with 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and two-time NCAA BCS Champion-quarterback Tim Tebow. One of the most prolific collegiate quarterbacks in the game, Tebow’s success between the hashmarks and unmatched leadership places him among an elite group of athletes entering the 2010 NFL draft this spring.

Nike plans to utilize Tebow to assist in elevating the training products and tools the company has developed to build championship athletes.

“Tebow’s passion for football along with his determination for excellence on the field make him a valuable addition to the Nike family,” said Bill Kellar, Nike’s Football Category Director. “We look forward to working with Tim as he carries his success to the next level.”

The 6-3, 240-pound Tebow is one of the most successful collegiate quarterbacks of all time. His resume features two national championships (06-07, 08-09) during his four-year tenure at the University of Florida. In his first year as a starter, Tebow broke single-season conference records for both rushing and total touchdowns on his way to becoming the first-ever sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. He’s also the first college football player to rush and pass for twenty or more touchdowns in a season and is only the second player to win back-to-back Maxwell Awards, bestowed on the nation’s top football player.

Boasting a career record of 35-6 as a starter, Tebow’s ability to win on the gridiron coupled with his high character make him a natural addition to Nike’s crop of top football talent.

About Nike
NIKE, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories; Cole Haan, which designs, markets and distributes luxury shoes, handbags, accessories and coats; Umbro Ltd., a leading United Kingdom-based global football (soccer) brand; and Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories. For more information, visit www.nikebiz.com .

Though more than 15 players – including quarterback Tim Tebow, linebacker Brandon Spikes, cornerback Joe Haden, defensive end Carlos Dunlap, center Maurkice Pouncey and tight end Aaron Hernandez – participated in the first Pro Day on March 17, only a handful will be present to work out for NFL team representatives this time.

Among those who will make themselves available for evaluation, according to CBS Sports, are defensive end Jermaine Cunningham, cornerback Wondy Pierre-Louis, kick returner Brandon James and linebacker Ryan Stamper.

Cunningham was unable to participate the first time around due to an injured shoulder, but teams are interested in taking a look at him in order to determine whether he would fit best as a 4-3 DE or perhaps even an outside linebacker in the 3-4.

The Swamp will once again be open and fans can enter through Gate 2. However, unless the University of Florida states otherwise, do not expect concession stands (or perhaps even restrooms) to be open or any other special things to be done on-site.

2 » Also from ESPN, bracketology expert Joe Lunardi has released his latest edition, and Florida remains a part of the projection. Lunardi has the Gators even after a close home loss to the No. 13/19 Vanderbilt Commodores Tuesday. He lists Florida as a No. 11 seed squaring off against the No. 6-seed Baylor Bears in first-round action in Buffalo, NY.

3 » Competing in 2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament first-round action Thursday, the No. 7-seed Gators women’s basketball team (14-16) fell 74-61 to the No. 10-seed Auburn Tigers (15-15). Senior guard Steffi Sorensen led the team with 14 points (12 in the first half), while senior forward Sharielle Smith contributed 11 points.

4 » Three members of Florida’s women’s track and field team were awarded end-of-season honors from the SEC Thursday. Head coach Mike Holloway was named Women’s Coach of the Year, senior jumper Shara Proctor won Women’s Field Athlete of the Year and sprinter Lanie Whittaker shared Women’s Freshman Runner of the Year. The ladies won the 2010 SEC Indoor Championship on Feb. 28.

Bubble Watch » Richmond (23-7), which beat the Gators 56-53 on Dec. 19, took down Dayton (19-10) 60-56. Dayton was on bubble and is now considered out of the running.

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.

2 » Former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow and Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew will serve as Grand Marshals for the Gatorade Duel at Daytona on Thursday. Consisting of two 60-lap races, the Gatorade Duel is a qualifying event for the Daytona 500. Tebow will recite the famous, “Gentlemen, start your engines!” line before the first race. So much for focusing solely on football.

Extra Bit » The No. 5/3 Florida softball team was chosen to win the SEC East Division in the annual coaches’ preseason poll. The Gators look to return to the Women’s College World Series after falling to the Washington Huskies in the 2009 championship series.

2 » All of the pre-2010 NFL Draft attention has been focused on former Gators QB Tim Tebow (wide receiver Riley Cooper has received a little, too), but linebacker Brandon Spikes is preparing for the biggest job interview of his career, too. Staying quiet while training and working out after a sub-par (for him) season, Spikes is doing whatever he can to impress scouts at the NFL Scouting Combine from Feb. 24 to March 2. “I’m anxious to get started,” Spikes told Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel. “Hopefully, I can go to the league and grab it by the neck.” Speaking about the future at Florida, Spikes was optimistic. “Those younger players know what we started and the legacy we have here. They just want to keep it going. I say it all the time to my younger group, the linebacker corps, those guys are talented. The sky’s the limit for those guys. If they continue to work and buy into the program, they’ll have the same success.”

Read how Jeff Demps, Chris Rainey and Frankie Hammond fared in track and field action and how gymnastics and tennis performed this weekend after the jump!

3 » After suffering an uncharacteristic loss to start the season, the No. 3 Florida gymnastics team (4-1, 3-0 SEC) has rebounded in a big way, winning four straight and taking a 195.475-194.45 victory over No. 22 N.C. State Wolfpack (3-2) on the road Friday. Originally a triangular meet, the George Washington Colonials had to pull out due to travel issues because of the heavy snow. The Gators hope to keep this momentum as they stay on the road and travel to Tuscaloosa, AL, to face the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide on Feb. 12 at 8:30 p.m. The meet will air tape-delayed on ESPN2 on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 11:30 a.m.

4 » Also continuing its dominance is the No. 11 men’s tennis team (4-1), which took down the Florida Atlantic Owls 7-0 Saturday at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex. The nation’s No. 10-ranked doubles duo of redshirt senior Antoine Benneteau and junior Alexandre Lacroix faced some stiff opposition from Marc Abdelnour and Lawrence Harradine but was still able to pull off an 8-6 win.

5 » Florida track and field had a great weekend of their own with a stellar performance by senior jumper Shara Proctor leading the charge. Proctor turned in the second-best mark in the world this year in the indoor long jump at the Virginia Tech Elite Meet at Rector Field House. She was already the SEC Female Field Athlete of the Week and won the long jump with a nation-leading 6.67m/21-10.75. It was the 12th-best women’s long jump in NCAA history. On Friday alone, the Gators won two events, received one NCAA automatic-qualifying mark and five NCAA provisional-qualifying marks/times. Sophomore sprinter Jeff Demps competed for the first time in 2010 and finished with qualifying times of 6.64 and 6.61 (second-fastest time in school history) in the men’s 60m dash. Redshirt sophomore Chris Rainey competed in the same event and finished fourth with a qualifying time of 6.70.

6 » On Saturday, the final afternoon of the meet, the Gators brought it all together. The team ended up with a total of seven event victories, four NCAA automatic-qualifying marks and 12 NCAA provisional-qualifying marks. Proctor again led the way with the eighth-best women’s triple jump in NCAA history (13.88m/45-6.50) and the best in the nation this season. Senior thrower Mariam Kevkhishvili, who has already made headlines this year, earned the No. 3 mark in NCAA history in the women’s shot put with a toss of 18.56m/60-10.75. Freshman jumper Frankie Hammond also competed and recorded a qualifying leap of 2.14m/7-0.25.

For more on Florida track and field’s weekend, check out GatorZone.com’s story.