If the Gators men’s golf team’s performance on Monday at the NCAA Kissimmee Regional was any indication, then Florida plays better on the back nine then it does on the front.
Legal or not, sports gambling is everywhere.
Before donning their gray SEC Champions shirts, members of Florida’s track and field teams wore t-shirts with two large, blue words scribbled across the front.
No tears dropped, but a soft, bittersweet smile found its way onto senior JJ Schwarz’s face. Giving a small wave, it finally hit him that his last season in a Florida baseball jersey would soon come to an end.
When the Florida men’s tennis team stepped onto the court for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, it looked a little younger than its opponents. Where experience trumped all for other teams, talent in the young core prevailed for the Gators.
Faced with over an hour of rain delays at the Watson Course at Reunion Resort, the Florida men’s golf team didn’t allow the weather affect its postseason aspirations.
It came down to the final competition.
Like he’d done all day, junior Alfredo Perez sent a powerful forehand over the net that his opponent could not handle. One last stretch, but it was out of reach.
All Jack Leftwich could do was watch as Georgia left fielder Keegan McGovern’s 3-run homer sailed over the scoreboard in right field.
It had been 1,101 days since UF last won an NCAA Tournament game, and early in its second-round game against Colorado at Donald R. Dizney Stadium, it appeared that drought would continue for another 360-some-odd days. But behind an eight-goal run and seven combined goals from the Pirreca sisters, Florida stymied the Buffaloes for a 13-9 victory.
When freshman Katie Kubicz’s final shot went just a little too wide, the Florida Gators NCAA Tournament run sailed away with it.
Execute.
UF’s Aleshia Ocasio stood in the circle as her teammates rushed to meet her.
As the ball left Blake Reese’s bat in the bottom of the sixth inning, there were only two people moving on the play.
The Florida Gators stepped onto a blazing court that registered up to 100 degrees and into their 28th consecutive NCAA Tournament.
It was throw number five of the men’s hammer throw final.
Wil Dalton knew the ball was deep enough to win the game as soon as it left the bat.
UF third baseman Nicole DeWitt embraced teammates Kayli Kvistad and Amanda Lorenz at home plate. She just launched a two-run home run into the stratosphere above the Mizzou Softball Stadium, sparking a three-run opening inning for the No. 4 Gators.
Only when senior Peggy Porter swung her racket a final time in her clinching victory did the Gators let up their relentless assault against their first opponent at the NCAA Tournament.
Crack!
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