|
Florida lacrosse opens 2012 season this weekend at No. 3 North Carolina
The No. 4 Florida lacrosse team will kick off its 2012 season on the road against No. 3 North Carolina Saturday afternoon.
The Tar Heels return eight of their 12 starters from last season's 15-6 team, which advanced to the Final Four. Additionally, North Carolina has the No. 4 recruiting class in the nation. In 2011, the Tar Heels finished sixth in the nation in scoring defense (8.43) led by junior goalkeeper Lauren Maksym, who ranked sixth in the nation in goals-against average (8.30), 15th in save percentage (.472) and 19th in total saves (150).
This is the second-straight season in which the Gators open at UNC. In the 2011, then-No. 17 Florida took on then-No. 3 North Carolina in a back-and-forth battle that the Tar Heels eventually won 10-9 in overtime.
The Gators have yet to defeat a team from the ACC, going 0-3 over the past two seasons against ACC teams.
Prior to the regular season, Florida defeated the England National Team 17-2 on Jan. 26 in its first-ever international exhibition game. ... Read more
Gators' Billy Donovan recaps Kentucky loss
As Florida prepares to host Tennessee Saturday afternoon, Florida coach Billy Donovan today recapped the Gators' Tuesday night loss at Kentucky.
Donovan talks about what went wrong for the Gators, the major problems he saw in the game, and how he hopes the Gators will rebound on Saturday.
Florida women host Auburn tonight looking to keep winning streak alive
The Florida women's basketball team hopes to continue its winning ways when they host Auburn at 7 p.m. today. The first 250 fans at the O'Connell Center will receive Gator beanies courtesy of Pepsi!
The Gators(15-8, 5-5 SEC) are on a two-game winning streak and in need of a win to stay among the middle of the pack in the SEC. Tonight's game is the only regular-season meeting between the Gators and Tigers (11-13, 3-8) this year.
Florida earned two significant wins last week, helping the team get to a .500 record in league standings. The Gator’s 73-64 win at LSU was their first against LSU in Baton Rouge since January of 1996. The 84-55 victory against Ole Miss was the team’s largest margin of victory in an SEC game since a 38-point win versus South Carolina on Jan. 28, 2001. ... Read more
One meet, one SEC honor for Florida's Jeff Demps
It took just one competition for Florida's Jeff Demps to prove he's still among the best sprinters in the nation.
Competing in his first indoor meet this season during the past weekend after easing back in following his final football season for the Gators, Demps on Tuesday was named SEC Men's Runner of the Week. It is the fifth SEC career weekly honor, and third Men's Runner of the Week award for Demps.
In this past weekend's Virginia Tech Elite Meet, Demps won the men’s 60 meters title with a time of 6.59. He defeated current NCAA leader Harry Adams of Auburn, becoming just the second SEC athlete and fifth athlete nationally to turn in an NCAA automatic-qualifying mark in the men’s 60m.
Demps ran the second-fastest 60 meter time in the SEC this year and the third-fastest in the NCAA. The two-time defending national champion in the men’s 60 meters is one of only three athletes nationally (Adams of Auburn and Kemar Hyman of Florida State) to run a sub-6.60 in the 60m this season. ... Read more
Former Gator Corey Brewer's father has died
Ellis "PeeWee" Brewer, the father of former Gator Corey Brewer and the man Corey drew much of his inspiration from during his tenure with the Gators, has died.
Ellis Brewer was 68 and suffered from multiple illnesses, including diabetes.
Corey Brewer now hosts an annual camp in Gainesville dedicated to health and diabetes awareness for children.
Brewer, a starter on the Gators' back-to-back national championship teams in 2006 and 2007, has played four seasons in the NBA, and is currently playing with the Denver Nuggets.
Here is more of Ellis Brewer's death.
Three former Gators invited to NFL combine
It wasn't the greatest season for the Florida football team, but some former Gators have still managed to earn an invitation to the NFL Combine.
DT Jaye Howard, RB Chris Rainey and RB Jeff Demps all received invites to the Combine, which will be held Feb. 22-28 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Howard and Rainey recently participated in the Senior Bowl last month.
It is interesting that Demps received an invite because last month Florida officials announced that he had decided to end his football career to focus on a potential career in track and field - with plans to try and make it to the 2012 Olympics. ... Read more
Florida and Kentucky play tonight in battle of Top 10 teams
Florida will carry a seven-game winning streak into Rupp Arena for a nationally televised game against No. 1 Kentucky tonight. The game can be seen on ESPN.
The No. 8 Gators (19-4, 7-1 SEC) and No. 1 Wildcats (23-1, 9-0) will battle for the top spot in the SEC.
The Gators have won just three times at Rupp Arena in Florida coach Billy Donovan's storied 16-year tenure, but the players said they are entering tonight's game filled with confidence.
"We have the swag that we're going to go in there and compete hard and try to get a win,'' UF freshman guard Bradley Beal said. "We're not going in with doubts or anything like that just because they are Kentucky. We'll go in and play hard and play our style of basketball.''
The Gators lead the nation in 3-point shooting, but will face a Kentucky team that is limiting opponents to 31.6 percent from beyond the arc. Kentucky also has the nation's No. 1 shot-blocker in freshman Anthony Davis. ... Read more
- Florida basketball
- Florida basketball Kenny Boynton
- Florida Bradley Beal
- Florida-Kentucky basketball
Florida defeats Vanderbilt 73-65
Freshman guard Bradley Beal scored 16 points - including six of Florida's final 11 in the game, to help lead Florida to a 73-65 win over Vanderbilt Saturday afternoon at the O'Connell Center.
The Gators have now won 19 consecutive games at home and with the victory are two games up in second place in the SEC. Florida will face league-leader Kentucky Tuesday night in Lexington.
The Gators (19-4, 7-1) are on a seven-game winning streak – their ongest SEC winning streak since 2006. Although Florida shot just 38.3 percent from the field, the Gators forced the No. 25 Commodores (16-7, 5-3) into 17 turnovers, which led to 19 UF points.
Florida relied on a strong, pressing defense in the second half that disrupted the Commodores.
“That’s the reason why we won the game, our defensive pressure,’’ Beal said. “Because we were able to force turnovers . . . and we got them to play fast, and when they were playing fast it took them out of their offense a little bit.’’ ... Read more
- Florida basketball
- Florida Kenny Boynton
- Florida-Vanderbilt basketball
- Kenny Boynton Florida basketball
Florida coach Billy Donovan believes in "gentleman's agreement" in basketball recruiting
Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan has watched from afar as his friend and former colleague Urban Meyer has been taken to task for what some coaches in the Big Ten call negative recruiting.
Meyer landed Ohio State a Top 5 recruiting class this week after just six weeks on the job, and some league coaches are crying foul because Meyer went after players who had orally committed to other schools.
Donovan, who is in his 16th season with the Gators, said he believes basketball recruiting operates in a much different manner, and recruiting players that have committed elsewhere isn't commonplace. ... Read more
Florida lacrosse ranked preseason No. 4
The Florida Lacrosse team is ranked No. 4 in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Preseason Poll - its first Top-5 preseason ranking.
The Gators finished 2011 ranked No. 5 in the IWLCA Final Poll. Florida is a consensus top-5 team, ranking No. 3 in the Inside Lacrosse/deBeers Media Preseason Poll and No. 5 in the Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Poll.
Eight of Florida’s 17 opponents are ranked in the IWLCA Preseason poll, with the Gators’ season opener and season finale being road games at top-3 opponents. Florida will open the season at No. 3 North Carolina on Feb. 11, and will close the season at No. 1 Northwestern on Apr. 21.
The Gators will also play No. 12 Syracuse, No. 14 Dartmouth and No. 15 Georgetown in non-conference play in March.
In addition to the team rankings, Inside Lacrosse magazine named three Gators as Preseason All-Americans. Kitty Cullen earned first-team honors, while Ashley Bruns and Sam Farrell were both named to the second team.
About the blogger
Florida Gators fans, welcome to the Gator Report for all your news about Gators football, basketball and all UF sports. It's written by University of Florida beat writer Antonya English and the staff of the Tampa Bay Times. We invite your comments and participation.
E-mail Antonya English:
english@tampabay.com
Advertisement
Most Popular Categories
Follow us on Facebook
Comment Policy
| Please be sure your comments are appropriate before submitting them. Inappropriate comments include content that: |
| Is libelous |
| Is abusive, harassing, or threatening |
| Is obscene, vulgar, or profane |
| Is racially, ethnically or religiously offensive |
| Is illegal or encourages criminal acts |
| Is known to be inaccurate or contains a false attribution |
| Infringes copyrights, trademarks, publicity or any other rights of others |
| Impersonates anyone (actual or fictitious) |
| Solicits funds, goods or services, or advertises |
| The Tampa Bay Times does not edit posts but reserves the right to delete comments that violate our policy. |
Registration FAQ
| Read our Frequently Asked Questions on how to register to comment on the site. |
Archives