Tag: men’s track and field

Welcome back from a weekend jam-packed with Florida Gators athletics, and a very successful one for the Orange and Blue at that, as UF was victorious in seven of its eight total competitions these past three days.

On Friday, the No. 9 men’s tennis team kicked things off in the afternoon with a 4-2 win over the Arizona Wildcats in the first match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend. Unfortunately, the only Gators loss came on Saturday against the No. 6 Texas Longhorns, 4-3, in a repeat of last year’s disappointing loss to the ‘Horns which knocked them out of the top ranking.

The top-ranked gymnastics team continued their winning ways on Friday night, eking a narrow road victory over the No. 8 Arkansas Razorbacks, 197.425 -197.25. Florida now has the nation’s top (197.50) and No. 3 (197.425) team totals of 2021.

Both the No. 5 men’s and No. 8 women’s swimming and diving teams also defeated their foes on Saturday — both on the road against the equally No. 23-ranked Auburn Tigers — with the girls pounding their opponent, 215–84, while the guys nudged their competition, 158–142.

Also on Saturday, the men’s basketball team beat the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, 92-84, behind by Tre Mann‘s 24 points, six rebounds and four assists. Tyree Appleby finished with 14 points and led Florida’s tough defensive effort, which totaled 10 steals.

The final action to report on Saturday was the men’s and women’s track and field teams, who opened their 2021 indoor season in Columbia, S.C., with eight NCAA top-10 performances while the freshmen on the team also impressed. The Gators are back in action Feb. 5 when they return to Columbia for this year’s South Carolina Invitational.

Last, but absolutely not least, the women’s basketball team scored its second straight win on Sunday, downing the Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford, 78-68. Kiki Smith scored more than 20 points for the third-straight game dropping 25 against the Rebs to lead the Lady Gators; her 13 points in the third quarter helped swing the momentum back in Florida’s favor en route to the win.

Today, the No. 15 men’s golf team will face the North Florida Ospreys at the Timuquana Collegiate held in Jacksonville, Florida. This is the first time that Florida will compete at the Timuquana Collegiate. Meanwhile, the No. 21 women’s tennis team kicks off its fall season at home against the Georgia State Panthers, with first serve scheduled for 3 p.m. EST.

Around the Swamp

• Sea of change coming as Power 5 conferences take new tack in hiring commissioners: The vast expectation is that the entire enterprise could look different at the end of 2021 than it did at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
• Former Florida head coach Urban Meyer eulogizes Hank Aaron: Believe it or not, former Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer was once a member of the Atlanta Braves organization as a minor league player.
• The Athletic still has Florida in its NCAA Tournament field: They could see a conference foe early in the tournament if this bracket is right.
• Florida’s Trey Dean is one of the top returning players in college football: Heading into 2021, Dean is a strong candidate to be either one of the safety starters or the starter at nickel.
• Florida completes secondary staff by hiring this defensive coach: Florida has hired USF cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator Jules Montinar to fill one of its staff vacancies in the secondary.
• Guess where Yahoo Sports’ preliminary 2021 rankings have the Gators?: Here’s what they said about coach Dan Mullen’s squad heading into next season.

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

I knew the @GatorsWBK players could shoot but SHEESH 🏀🔥 pic.twitter.com/RdMpgUuG7F

— Clifford Taylor IV (@clifftayloriv) January 25, 2021

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