At its best, the Florida men’s basketball team’s offense is an explosive, high-scoring machine capable of hitting shots from anywhere on the court.
It’s just over a week until the start of the Florida softball team’s season, but if you walk up to the pool at the O’Connell Center, you just might find UF pitcher Kelly Barnhill doing laps.
Florida men’s basketball coach Mike White has said all season that one of his team’s shortcomings is its ability to play with consistency. Facing Georgia in Athens on Tuesday, the Gators continued that trend, suffering a loss several days after a big win for the third time this month.
If you see eye-to-eye with me on this year’s Super Bowl matchup, you’re most likely feeling dejected and dispirited.
With just under five minutes left in the game, Georgia forward Yante Maten received a pass at the top of the key.
Two hundred eighty-one days.
Georgia forward Yante Maten posted up and overpowered then-Florida forward Justin Leon, rising up for a point-blank, uncontested layup.
Andy Andrade wrapped his arm around his coach and smiled. He looked comfortable and confident. Volunteer assistant coach Scott Perelman had just joined Andrade on the sideline after the freshman concluded a speedy 6-0 first set win on the No. 5 singles court against South Alabama on Saturday. The two sat close on Andrade’s bench. They laughed.
Before Paulina Hersler came to UF, the graduate transfer started only two games at UCLA and averaged under 11 minutes per game. Now, at a new program under a new head coach, the forward from Sweden has shined throughout the season, playing well in the paint and stretching the floor with her ability to shoot the ball from long range.
Going into the 18th hole of the second and final round of the Florida Challenge in Lecanto, Florida, on Monday, UF women’s golfer Sierra Brooks knew she needed to give her team a boost. In a tie for first with Miami’s Dewi Weber, Brooks slammed a shot all the way to the green to set up an eagle attempt.
The dual-meet season for Florida’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams concluded in Knoxville, Tennessee, this past weekend.
Florida’s No. 1 men’s and No. 5 women’s track and field teams concluded a competitive weekend at the Razorback Invitational on Friday and Saturday with some of the best times and marks in the nation.
Chris Chiozza dribbled to the top of the key and made a deep jump shot over Baylor's Manu Lecomte, opening Florida' scoring against the Bears on Saturday. On the ensuing possession, Chiozza stole the ball from forward Tristan Clark, sprinted down the court and found teammate Egor Koulechov for a three-pointer in transition.
Walk by McKethan Stadium this week and listen. Really listen.
In a sold-out O’Connell Center on Friday night, the Florida gymnastics team put on a show for its home crowd. Its efforts didn’t go to waste as the No. 5 Gators (3-1, 1-1 SEC) overcame No. 1 Oklahoma 198.150-198.125. In addition to two perfect 10.0s in one night, Florida also took first in three of its four events.
Junior Alfredo Perez’s roar echoed inside the Perry Indoor Facility at the Ring Tennis Complex on Sunday. He had just turned the bad fortune of a serve’s awkward bounce off the net into an aggressive backhand winner. The shot kept Perez alive in the first set tiebreaker of a highly competitive match he’d eventually win, 7-6(6), 6-2, over South Florida senior Grayson Goldin.
Every competing senior on the Florida women’s tennis team won their singles match in a 4-0 rout of Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, leaving UF’s freshmen unable to finish their matches. During Sunday’s matchup with Louisiana-Monroe at the Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, it was their turn to close the dual-match out.
As the final seconds ticked away in the third quarter, Florida clung to a five-point lead. With Georgia dribbling out the clock for the final shot of the period, UF guard Funda Nakkasoglu and forward Haley Lorenzen double-teamed Georgia’s Que Morrison and forced a turnover. Nakkasoglu grabbed the loose ball, raced down the court and banked in a buzzer-beating layup.
As senior Anna Danilina crouched down awaiting a serve, the home crowd at the Ring Tennis Complex began to clap in unison, a signal to Cal State Fullerton freshman Genevieve Zeidan that the match was about to come to an end.
Chris Chiozza pulled up to the right side of three-point line seven minutes into the second half and released a shot. As the ball fell through the basket to extend Florida’s lead to 15, a packed O’Connell Center erupted with cheers.
Solutions by The State News
