Sports - The Independent Florida Alligator

Right-hander Tucker Simpson gets ready to throw a pitch during Florida's 8-3 loss to Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 23 at McKethan Stadium. After one season with the Gators, Simpson will transfer from UF.

SPORTS | BASEBALL

Pitcher to leave Florida

By CHUCK KINGSBURY< | June 10, 2013

Right-hander Tucker Simpson will transfer from Florida, a UF spokesman confirmed Monday.

Point guard Scottie Wilbekin dribbles to the lane during Florida’s 77-44 win against Georgia on Jan. 9 in the O’Connell Center. UF suspended Wilbekin indefinitely on Monday for violating team rules.

SPORTS | MEN'S BASKETBALL

Point guard suspended

By LANDON WATNICK< | June 10, 2013

Scottie Wilbekin’s career at Florida has taken another misstep.

Hugh Graham Jr. (left) hugs Arman Hall after winning the 4x400m relay during the NCAA outdoor championships in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday.

SPORTS | OTHER SPORTS TRACK

Gators notch second consecutive outdoor national title

By GORDON STREISAND< | June 8, 2013

Against all odds, the Gators are outdoor champions for the second consecutive season.

Junior Karsten Whitson reacts after recording a strikeout during Florida’s 9-8 win against NC State on June 10, 2012, at McKethan Stadium. Whitson was drafted in the 37th round of the 2013 MLB Draft.

SPORTS | BASEBALL

Karsten Whitson rounds out MLB Draft for Florida

By ADAM LICHTENSTEIN< | June 8, 2013

Karsten Whitson was the ninth overall selection in the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft. The right-hander out of Chipley turned down a $2.1 million offer from the San Diego Padres and instead went to Florida.

SPORTS | OTHER SPORTS TRACK

Florida finishes strong on third day of NCAA Outdoors Championships

By GORDON STREISAND< | June 7, 2013

With the end of the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships on the horizon, the Gators needed points to stay in contention.

Guard Chandler Cooper (5) dribbles past Georgia State guard Ashley Watson during the Gators’ 84-65 win on Nov. 11 in the O’Connell Center. After seeing time in only three games for the Gators in 2012-13 because of a left foot injury, Cooper has decided to transfer to Lipscomb University.

SPORTS | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Chandler Cooper to transfer from Florida to Lipscomb

By PHIL HEILMAN< | June 7, 2013

After playing in only three games for the Gators during her freshman season due to a foot injury suffered in November, Chandler Cooper decided she needed a fresh start elsewhere.

Gators track and field coach Mike Holloway said after Thursday’s competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships that he was impressed with senior Jeremy Postin’s performance in the men’s hammer throw. Postin finished third with a final distance of 68.29m.

SPORTS | OTHER SPORTS TRACK

Postin earns bronze on second day of NCAA Outdoors

By GORDON STREISAND< | June 7, 2013

The Gators are slowly climbing their way up the leaderboard.

Right-hander Jonathon Crawford throws a pitch during Florida’s 8-2 loss to Florida Gulf Coast on Feb 22 at McKethan Stadium. Selected 20th by the Detroit Tigers in the first round of the MLB Draft on Thursday, Crawford is the highest Florida pitcher taken since John Burke went sixth to the Houston Astros in 1991.

SPORTS | BASEBALL

Detroit Tigers select Crawford with 20th overall pick

By ADAM LICHTENSTEIN< | June 6, 2013

Jonathon Crawford might have thrown his last pitch as a Gator.

Erika Tymrak goes for the ball against a FIU defender during a match on Sept. 2, 2012. Tymrak led Florida in goals, assists and game-winning goals in her final season as a Gator.

SPORTS | COLUMNS

The Rally: Who is Florida’s equivalent of LeBron James?

By ADAM LICHTENSTEIN< | June 5, 2013

The NBA is nearing the end of its two-month haul through the postseason, and Miami Heat forward LeBron James has continued his dominance through the Eastern Conference Finals. As James leads his team into the Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, alligatorSports editors Adam Lichtenstein and Landon Watnick will decide which Florida player dominates or dominated his or her game in a LeBron-esque fashion.

Eddie Lovett leaps over a hurdle during a NCAA East Preliminary Round in Greensboro, N.C., on May 24. Lovett will compete in the 110m hurdles tonight at 8:20.

SPORTS | OTHER SPORTS TRACK

Overcoming hurdles: Junior excels despite tragedy, injury

By GORDON STREISAND< | June 5, 2013

From baseball in Miami to football in West Palm Beach and track in Gainesville, junior Eddie Lovett has stayed busy his entire life.

SPORTS | OTHER SPORTS GOLF

Florida ends season empty-handed

By RICHARD JOHNSON | June 5, 2013

The 2012-13 campaign yielded positive results for Florida, but it ended with a disappointing final act on May 30. The Gators placed 25th at the NCAA championships in Woodstock, Ga.

SPORTS | OTHER SPORTS TRACK

UF off to slow start

By GORDON STREISAND< | June 5, 2013

The first day of the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., had some ups and downs for the Gators.

Coach Tim Walton studies the field during Florida’s 11-1 win against USF on May 18 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.

SPORTS | COLUMNS

Despite loss, Florida’s future bright

By LANDON WATNICK< | June 5, 2013

Tim Walton is a man of the present, not the future.

Jay Carmichael pitches against Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 24. Carmichael finished the season with the Gators’ third best ERA. The Gators were sent home after two games in the NCAA Bloomington Regional.

SPORTS | BASEBALL

Florida declines after losing experienced players to MLB

By ADAM LICHTENSTEIN< | June 5, 2013

The season started well.

SPORTS | OTHER SPORTS GOLF

Gators finish 25th as Crimson Tide wins national title

By RICHARD JOHNSON | June 3, 2013

The Florida men’s golf team had a week to forget at the NCAA Championships in Woodstock, Ga., and Alabama had one it will remember forever.

SPORTS | OTHER SPORTS TRACK

Florida ready for NCAA Outdoors

By GORDON STREISAND< | June 3, 2013

For the first time since 2010, the Gators are finishing their season at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Sophomore Lauren Haeger swings and misses against FSU at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium on March 27. Haeger went 0 for 2 in Florida’s 3-0 loss to Texas in the Women’s College World Series on Sunday.

SPORTS | SOFTBALL

UF falls to Texas in WCWS

By CHUCK KINGSBURY< | June 2, 2013

After a five-and-a-half-hour, 15-inning win against Nebraska on Saturday night, Florida had little left to give in its next contest.

Junior Briana Little is greeted at home after hitting a home run in the 10th inning during Florida's 9-8 win against Nebraska in the Women's College World Series on Saturday night in Oklahoma City.

SPORTS | SOFTBALL

Florida defeats Nebraska in 15-inning marathon, avoids elimination from WCWS

By LANDON WATNICK< | June 1, 2013

It took nearly five and a half hours, but UF survived Nebraska in 15 innings Saturday night to preserve its season.

Sophomore Johnny Magliozzi warms up between innings during Florida’s 7-4 loss to Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 24 at McKethan Stadium. Magliozzi and the Gators were eliminated from the NCAA Bloomington Regional on Saturday.

SPORTS | BASEBALL

UF falls in Regionals

By ADAM LICHTENSTEIN< | June 1, 2013

Florida had plenty of chances.

Senior T.J. Vogel and the Gators finished 25th at the NCAA Championships in Woodstock, Ga.

SPORTS | OTHER SPORTS GOLF

Florida finishes 25th at NCAA Championships

By RICHARD JOHNSON | May 31, 2013

For Florida, the 2012-2013 season came to a close quite unceremoniously in Woodstock Ga. as the Gators finished with a team total of 857 (+17) to finish 25th at the NCAA Championships on Thursday.