STONY BROOK, N.Y.- The Gators thought they were seconds away from advancing to the NCAA Championship game.
The Gators looked like they were off to a good start. Entering the NCAA Championships, they had already claimed two more top-five finishes than last year, as well as having a team average of 296.70, which ranked them as the third-best average in school history.
Coach Mike Holloway has only one goal for the NCAA Preliminary Round: finish in the top 12. On Thursday, that’s exactly what Stipe Zunic, Marquis Dendy and Florence Ngetich did.
For the Gators, reaching the pinnacle of women’s lacrosse has been a quick ride, but the trip is not over yet.
In the last three NCAA Outdoor Championships, the men have placed in the top three falling just short of the title. However, coming of their third straight NCAA Indoor Championship win, they will be looking to finally grab the prize.
For a minute, the Gators hopes at continuing on to the NCAA Championships looked like they were going to be crushed. The men’s golf team finished day one of the NCAA East Regional on Thursday at +11, putting them 16 strokes behind the leader in 10th place.
For sprinter Leonardo Seymore, change is nothing new. The junior’s first taste came when he transferred to Florida from Rend Lake College last year.
Although the Gators didn’t win the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships, they didn’t leave Baton Rouge, La., empty handed. Between the men and women, Florida claimed a dozen individual titles throughout the weekend.
The Gators’ first-round game in the NCAA Tournament did not go as planned, but they achieved the desired result.
For Evan Jensen and Andrea Watts, this year’s postseason couldn’t be more significant to them. The seniors have a chance to wrap up their collegiate career with an appearance in the NCAA Championships.
After having three personal bests on Thursday, sophomore Brittany Harrell continued her strong performance en route to her first Southeastern Conference win.
After injuring himself during the final day of the NCAA Indoor Championships, senior Gray Horn was finally about to make his comeback at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships this weekend. However, his road to the postseason is once again derailed.
A torch was passed on Saturday. But it wasn’t given over willingly.
The Gators are playing their best lacrosse of the season. They are coming off their biggest win in the program’s three-year history.
Coach Mike Holloway had a goal for Saturday’s Tom Jones Memorial Classic: honor Coach Jones by competing at a high level. And after a record-breaking win in the 4x100 meter relay, it would seem that Jeff Demps, Tony McQuay, Leonardo Seymore and Dedric Dukes accomplished that goal.
It was an even more daunting task the second time around, but the Gators found a way again.
Four college athletes completed the men’s 110 meter hurdle on Saturday at the Tom Jones Memorial Classic, including sophomore Eddie Lovett. The rest were professionals.
It’s not any easy task to defend a Southeastern Conference title, and that’s what the men’s golf team found out Friday.
Since the start of the season, the Gators have had their focus on the postseason. It has been a point of emphasis, and every adjustment the team has made throughout the year was done with the postseason in mind.
The Gators want revenge. But it won’t come easy.
Solutions by The State News
