Jackie Moore returns to Gainesville to take over one of the biggest roles in college sports.
The annual Southeastern Conference spring meetings in Destin, Florida, took place May 31-June 3, as the conference’s presidents, athletic directors, football coaches and other representatives met to discuss the future of SEC football.
Tim Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion with the Florida Gators, has made his first appearance on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot.
After a lengthy rain delay, redshirt freshman Ryan Slater allowed four runs in the eighth inning to the Sooners, a back-breaking frame that the Gators failed to recover from, losing 5-4 in a game that came down to the final at-bat.
The only problem was Florida had exhausted its bullpen hours earlier in an effort to topple Central Michigan. Now, the Gators needed an unlikely hero.
For the second time in under 24 hours, UF’s offense went cold in a win-or-go-home matchup against the UCLA Bruins Sunday, losing 8-0.
Florida got the necessary win, defeating the Chippewas 6-5 Sunday afternoon.
Florida played its second game in the Women’s College World Series against the Oklahoma State Cowgirls Saturday. After its 7-1 win against the Oregon State Beavers Thursday, the journey only got harder as the Cowgirls pitched a shutout against the Gators, putting Florida’s chances of advancing in jeopardy.
In a classic can’t-get-out-of-its-own-way performance from UF, the regional’s 1-seed fell to Sunday’s loser’s bracket following spotty pitching and lackluster hitting.
One thing for certain, though, is that the crowd brought the most energy of the year Friday night, and it came at the right time.
A longtime Florida Gators gymnastics assistant coach who led the team to nine Southeastern Conference titles and three NCAA vault and floor championships will become associate head coach.
The veteran pitcher’s steady performance proved to be the true turning point for UF on defense, as the No. 14-seed Gators escaped Oklahoma City with a 7-1 victory over the Beavers.
A 4-2 record in the Southeastern Conference Tournament last week secured a top-16 seed in the NCAA Tournament, granting Florida the ability to host a regional in Gainesville. Now, UF welcomes Oklahoma, Liberty and Central Michigan to Condron Ballpark for the event.
Former Gators football head coach Dan Mullen's Gainesville home was listed for sale April 18 and has a pending offer of $2.75 million, pointing to the next step in his career.
UF finished its NCAA National Championship run in 11th place, completing 1160 total shots and going 40-above par for the tournament.
Even after receiving a beat-down at the hands of the No. 1-ranked Tennessee Volunteers in the tournament finale, the team did more than enough in Hoover to bring postseason play back to Condron Ballpark.
Despite ending the day tied in 25th place after the first wave of teams, the orange and blue elevated 10 spots as the second wave finished round two.
The Florida Gators head to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to compete in the Women’s College World Series for the 11th time in program history after defeating the No.3 Virginia Tech Hokies 12-0 in five innings.
Still, a fifth-inning explosion followed by a three-run sixth sufficiently iced a game in which the UF offense was nowhere to be found until it was too late. The seven-seeded Florida Gators fell in the Sunday finale to the top-seeded Vols’, 8-5.
Former United States Tennis Association player development national coach Mat Cloer is headed to Gainesville after being named the Florida Gators men’s tennis associate head coach Sunday.
Solutions by The State News
