Gainesville, it’s cold outside.
While you were relaxing at home during winter break, a blast of polar air traveled south from the Arctic, bringing subzero temperatures to the North and Midwest and pushing thermometers south of freezing at UF.
What else has the winter wind swept into town? Spring sports, of course (Cue cheesy cheer)!
Fall sports left Gators fans cold and upset. Football was abjectly terrible, but with spring comes new life. Some freshmen recruits will be enrolling today, and they will get their chance to prove themselves during spring practices — capped by the Orange and Blue game in April.
Meanwhile, Will Muschamp and his shaken-up coaching staff will look to salvage a bad season with a solid recruiting class — National Signing Day is only a month away!
Men’s and women’s basketball continue their treks toward different goals.
The men’s side looks to break the Elite Eight barrier that has stopped them for the past three seasons; the women’s team looks to make it back to the dance after a bid in the WNIT title game last year.
Baseball and softball both open their seasons in about a month, but the two bat-and-ball sports are coming off wildly different campaigns.
The Gators baseball team struggled mightily after making three consecutive trips to the College World Series. UF scraped its way into the NCAA Tournament but did not win a game.
Kevin O’Sullivan and the Gators, armed with a top-ranked recruiting class, are eyeing a return to Omaha. They have the talent to make this year exciting, even if they don’t make a title run.
Meanwhile, across campus at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, the softball team is looking to return to Oklahoma City after a heartbreaking loss to Texas in the Women’s College World Series last season.
That loss came only about 12 hours after Florida pulled out a 15-inning win against Nebraska in thrilling fashion. If that didn’t glue you to your TV, then maybe you should take a long, hard look in the mirror.
UF was not expected to compete for even a conference title last year, but instead, it swept the regular season and tournament titles and was one of the final six teams left in the WCWS.
Back on the more-traveled side of campus, the gymnastics squad looks to defend its first national title, and the women’s tennis team will look return to the promised land after being eliminated in last year’s NCAA semifinals.
Other teams are in more questionable shape. The lacrosse team, so dominant the past few seasons, lost its inaugural class that led them to within a goal of the national title game in 2012.
Almost as disappointing is the track and field squad, which won ONLY a share of the men’s outdoor title.
Come on, track team. Step it up. One title is not enough.
So while it may be chilly outside, the spring season is just about to heat up. Spend it with your favorite sweater and favorite student-run sports section.
Follow Adam Lichtenstein on Twitter @alichtenstein24
