The Alligator Awards continue this week, with the second award being for "Best comeback Moment." Editor-in-chief Jordan McPherson and staff writer Ian Cohen join alligatorSports editors Graham Hall, Luis Torres and Graham Hack in a roundtable discussion to debate the five nominees. Debates will go in alphabetical order by the writer’s last name.
Cohen: Baseball wins four straight to clinch SEC tourney championship
There were several memorable moments over the course of Florida baseball’s 2015 season, but maybe the most impressive one came during the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
After losing 7-6 to Arkansas in the tournament’s first round, the Gators’ next loss would mean elimination. UF responded by defeating its next four opponents to claim the SEC Tournament Championship.
After recording a .242 batting average against Arkansas, UF rattled off averages of .365, .407, .290 and .378 en route to the SEC title. UF outscored the rest of the field, including No. 1 LSU and No. 9 Vanderbilt, by a combined score of 30-6.
The comeback also marked the first time since 2011 and just the seventh time in school history that Florida had secured the SEC Tournament Championship.
And the Gators didn’t stop there.
The wins kept coming for Florida, who swept the competition in both the Regional and Super Regional Rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
The comeback wasn’t just impressive, but it also kickstarted a season-defining run.
Hack: Treon Harris sparks fourth-quarter comeback against Tennessee
There weren’t many bright spots in the Florida football team’s 2014 campaign, but the fourth quarter of the Oct. 4 matchup with Tennessee was one of them.
Down 9-0 in Knoxville, Tennessee, without any semblance of offensive productivity, freshman Treon Harris replaced starting quarterback Jeff Driskel with eight seconds remaining in the third quarter and proceeded to give the Gators the spark they needed.
Although Harris didn’t do anything particularly impressive, the team’s lifeless offense was suddenly able to stay on the field and move the ball, resulting in two scoring drives and a shocking 10-9 win for the Gators — their 10th in a row over the Volunteers dating back to 2005.
While that statistic would have obviously meant more when the streak started, beating Tennessee every year for a decade is still a significant accomplishment at Florida.
Also, with the way the season played out, the Gators ultimately needed the comeback to avoid missing a bowl game for the second year in a row, which hasn’t happened in Gainesville since 1986.
Hall: UF women's basketball battles back for road upset over UGA
While it isn’t the most notable of the group, the Florida women’s basketball team pulled off the best comeback of the year.
Trailing by 14 in the second half of a road battle with No. 24 Georgia, the Gators could have folded like they repeatedly had throughout the season.
But UF kept hitting shots and forcing Georgia into turnovers before eventually taking a 46-45 lead with 1:15 to play — Florida’s first lead since Ronni Williams scored the opening bucket.
The Gators held on to win 51-48 in arguably the biggest comeback under coach Amanda Butler, and the first win at Georgia in her UF coaching career.
Most impressive about the win, however, was how Florida pulled it off. The Gators closed the game on a 27-10 run, using a combination of three-pointers and solid free throw shooting to complete the road upset.
It was a tough season for the Gators, but they managed to pull off a comeback upset through tough defense and strong shooting.
McPherson: Women’s tennis rallies to top Texas A&M
The Florida women’s tennis team knows how to gut out the tough victories.
Case-in-point: UF’s 4-3 road win over Texas A&M on March 24.
Florida, sitting pretty at 15-1 on the season and undefeated through its first seven SEC games, found themselves in an early 2-0 hole after getting swept in doubles and seeing junior Brianna Morgan — the team’s leader on the court — drop a 6-2, 6-2 decision on the No. 3 court.
But when the veteran fell, the youngsters picked the team right back up.
The Gators fought back to tie it 3-3 with singles wins by sophomore Kourtney Keegan and freshmen Brooke Austin and Josie Kuhlman, putting all the pressure on the No. 6 court, a tooth-and-nails matchup between UF’s Peggy Porter and Texas A&M’s Stefania Hristov.
After Porter dropped the first set 6-2, the Dallas native rallied to win the second set 6-4 and clinched the victory with a 7-6 showdown in the deciding third set, marking the first three-set clincher of the freshman’s young career.
The Gators went on to win four of their final five regular-season dual matches to claim the SEC title for the 10th time under head coach Roland Thornqvist.
Torres: Redemption for A.J. Crouch
If you’re ever going to talk about a comeback, there isn’t one better than golfer A.J. Crouch.
When Buddy Alexander resigned and new head coach J.C. Deacon came in, Crouch decided to get away. Crouch was in limbo during the Summer and he wasn’t around the team.
But he decided to give it another go and head back to the team. There was one caveat though — he was no longer on scholarship and had to prove himself to Deacon. And after not being chosen to be a part in the team’s first Fall tournament of the year, Crouch stepped up.
He competed in the second tournament of the year as an individual and would work his way back into the five player lineup.
It all culminated for Crouch in the last Fall tournament of the year — the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational in Estero, Florida.
The junior was in a three-way tie for first place after the opening day of the tournament at 2-under-par.
However, on the second and final day of the event, Crouch shot an even-par, 72 to win the individual title at the event by two strokes.
Crouch would become a regular in Deacon’s lineup in the Spring and would be one of the best golfers on the team.
Not bad for a guy who wasn’t on scholarship during the season.
Which comeback did you think was best? Vote online at alligator.org/sports. All results will be revealed in our New Student Edition on Aug. 17.
Freshman quarterback Treon Harris directs players during the fourth quarter of Florida's 10-9 victory against Tennessee on Oct. 4 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.
