The 2018-19 collegiate athletic season saw both success and failure for the University of Florida, from the woes of the women’s basketball team to the electricity of the track and field programs. Throughout the ups and downs, however, came specific games, matches and meets that showcased UF athletics at its best.
The nominees for the Alligator Game/Match/Meet of the year are the NCAA Indoor Championships, men’s football vs. LSU, lacrosse vs. Stoney Brook, and men’s basketball vs. LSU.
NCAA Indoor Championships
My pick for Meet of the Year goes to the men’s track and field team for their performance at the NCAA Indoor Championships. This was Florida’s sole national championship this year, and coupled with a legendary performance from SEC Male Athlete of the Year Grant Holloway, the choice is clear.
The junior left his mark on the event. He won the 60-meter hurdles title with a time of 7.35 seconds -- which broke the American record of 7.36 -- and won the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.50 seconds, breaking his own school record of 6.51.
Sophomore Hakim Sani Brown and senior Ryan Clark finished third and sixth in the 60-meter dash, respectively.
Over at the weight throw, redshirt senior AJ McFarland finished fourth with 73 feet, 10.25 inches, tied for the highest finish in program history. The Gators also finished third in the 4x400 relay with Holloway, Clark and sophomores Chantz Sawyers and Benjamin Lobo Vedel adding points to contribute to the school’s fifth men’s national title under coach Mike Holloway.
SEC tournament buzzer beaters are incredible and defensive slug outs in football will leave you glued to the TV, but championship performances are the end goal.
Follow Joseph Salvador on Twitter @JSalvador_14 and contact him at jsalvador@alligator.org.
Football vs. LSU
The Dan Mullen era at Florida was a mere five games in when the coach led his No. 22 Gators out of the tunnel that scorching Saturday last October.
His team had been tested early, faltering in a disappointing bout to Kentucky before rebounding with consecutive road victories over Tennessee and Mississippi State. Yet, taking on LSU was a challenge far more daunting.
The No. 5 Tigers arrived in Gainesville with two top 10 wins to their pedigree, led by quarterback and then-Heisman hopeful Joe Burrow, who had yet to throw a pick all season.
SEC Nation was in town. Tim Tebow was in attendance to be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor. The storied rivalry among these two foes was about to add another chapter in front of a sold-out Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Brad Stewart’s pick six to all but seal the win with 1:45 remaining is now etched into memories of Gator fans forever, a sort of “Where were you when it happened?” moment that will be re-lived for decades.
For all the brilliance and brute displayed among the two conference rivals, for the atmosphere created in the Swamp and for its importance in revitalizing Florida’s season, this game is my pick for Game of the Year.
Follow Jack Braverman on Twitter @jack_braverman and contact him at jbraverman@alligator.org.
Women’s lacrosse vs. Stony Brook
The Florida women’s lacrosse team began the 2018-19 campaign in unusual form, losing six out of its first 10 games.
It was the worst start to a season in program history, so the Gators needed a performance to prove they could still compete with elite teams like Maryland and North Carolina.
That performance came on the road against then-No. 17 Stony Brook when UF defeated the Seawolves 11-10 to avoid a fourth-consecutive loss.
Florida and Stony Brook went back and forth in the first half, which led to a 4-4 tie heading into the break.
The Gators began the second half on a 4-1 run, but the Seawolves answered back with a 3-0 run to tie the game at 8.
With 1:22 remaining in the contest, Stony Brook found the back of the net to cut Florida’s lead to 11-10. They would have forced overtime if not for senior goalkeeper Haley Hicklen.
Hicklen came up with her 15th -- and arguably most important -- save of the game with 22 seconds left to take down the Seawolves.
The victory sparked an 11-game winning streak that resulted in UF’s ninth-straight regular season conference championship and sixth-straight conference tournament championship.
Because of the position that the Gators were in before this game, and how they responded after it, this deserves to be the Game of the Year.
Follow Bryan Matamoros on Twitter @bryan_2712 and contact him at bmatamoros@alligator.org.
Men’s basketball vs. LSU
Florida and LSU faced off three times during the men’s college basketball season and each game had a bit of everything: overtimes, comebacks, last-possession finishes, etc.
The game that jumped out to me the most, though, occurred in the SEC Tournament when the two teams met in the quarterfinals.
The Gators entered the game clinging to hopes of making the NCAA Tournament, needing a win against the Tigers to secure a tournament berth for the third-consecutive year.
Florida trailed by double digits for most of the game, but toward the middle of the second half UF made a run, cutting LSU’s 13-point lead to one.
The game was a back-and-forth affair from then on.
With 13 seconds to play and the game knotted at 73, Florida had the ball and one last possession to avoid overtime and catapult themselves into the NCAAs.
Keyontae Johnson drove to the basket, collapsing LSU’s defense and allowing Andrew Nembhard open space at the top of the key. Johnson’s pass set up his teammate for the open three.
Swish.
Nembhard’s three gave the Gators the 76-73 victory, advancing them to the SEC Semifinals and securing a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
That moment on that stage was massive for the UF men’s basketball team and because of that, I believe it’s the Alligator Awards Game of the Year.
Follow Evan Lepak on Twitter @evanmplepak and contact him at elepak@alligator.org
UF football's win over then-No. 5 LSU in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium was its highest-ranked victory en route to a 10-2 season and New Year's Six bowl win.
