Growing up in Missoula, Montana, Jim McElwain fantasized about two sporting events he — one day — hoped to attend.
By almost every account, the Florida basketball team exceeded expectations this season — only 9.3 percent of NCAA Tournament brackets filled out on ESPN.com had Florida advancing to the Elite Eight.
Not much has come easy away from McKethan Stadium for the Gators.
With Sunday’s 77-70 loss to South Carolina in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, the careers of four Gators came to a close: seniors Kasey Hill, Justin Leon, Canyon Barry and Schuyler Rimmer.
Cameron Newbauer was named Florida’s new women’s basketball head coach on Monday, UF’s athletic department announced.
In 2014, Kasey Hill was celebrating a trip to the Final Four.
Behind a memorable performance by Caeleb Dressel, the Gators men’s swimming and diving team finished third in the NCAA Championship, combining for 32 All-American honors and breaking seven school records throughout the week.
Two very different teams played each other at Florida’s Ring Tennis Complex on Sunday when UF faced off against SEC rival Vanderbilt.
The Gators women’s tennis team had seen this before. Late in singles play with the match on the line against an SEC opponent, it all came down to one tiebreaker set.
After four innings of no offense for the Auburn Tigers, Kasey Cooper finally made solid contact.
Chris Chiozza:
Nelson Maldonado turned, took two steps and stopped. He’d seen this before, and he knew there was nothing he could do.
Florida’s March magic ran out Sunday.
UF midfielder Allie Pavinelli lined up for the free-position shot after a successful Florida clear attempt.
It started with a hard ground ball to LSU shortstop Kramer Robertson, who tried to throw out UF’s JJ Schwarz at first. It started when the throw beat him but pulled first baseman Jake Slaughter into Schwarz’s running lane, leading to a collision. It started when Slaughter dropped the ball, allowing Schwarz to tap first base safely.
Down two points. Four seconds left. And the full length of the court.
Tyler Dyson stepped back from the mound to regroup.
The Gators didn’t go to work on March 17. Coach Roland Thornqvist said they weren’t prepared. They lacked confidence. And they ultimately paid the price, losing their first match of the season to rival Georgia, 4-1.
Florida junior Alex McMurtry was named both the SEC Gymnast and Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Thursday, becoming the first Gator in school history to earn both titles in the same season.
OK, who saw this coming?
Solutions by The State News
