Redshirt junior outside linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. was dismissed from the Florida football team Monday. UF head coach Billy Napier confirmed the news first reported by Zach Abolverdi of Gators Online.
Georgia, the No. 1 team in the country and reigning national champion, proved to be too much for Florida Saturday en route to a 42-20 win. Georgia’s best players like Bowers and junior defensive lineman Jalen Carter dominated as head coach Kirby Smart’s team looked the part of the country’s top team.
After a sluggish start where Arkansas owned the opening frame, No.14 Florida outlasted the Razorbacks in five sets. The Gators had three players record double-digit kills, with senior outside hitter Marina Markova leading the group with 17. Junior outside hitter Sofia Victoria tied her season-high with 16 and sophomore outside hitter Merritt Beason tallied 12.
An antisemitic message was projected onto the exterior of TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida, after the Georgia-Florida game Saturday. UF, UGA and other organizations condemned the actions.
No. 14 Florida’s three set sweep (25-20, 25-20, 25-21) over Arkansas at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Saturday afternoon kept UF atop the Southeastern Conference standings. The Gators are now 23-0 all-time against the Razorbacks at the O'Dome.
Florida was defeated by No. 1 Georgia 42-20 Saturday evening in the 100th meeting between the bitter rivals. The Bulldogs 25-point halftime lead proved insurmountable and 555 yards of offense was the second most given up by the Gators this season.
Just a year ago, Florida fell to the No. 1 Bulldogs in a lopsided affair. Three turnovers in the second quarter alone senta struggling Gators team back to Gainesville with very little to show. Now, Billy Napier and veteran members of the team must lead Florida against the 2022 Bulldogs, once again ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25.
Talia Bates, a 21-year-old UF sustainability senior and her younger sister, 19-year-old UF journalism sophomore Georgia Bates, are both on the university’s swim team — continuing their family’s legacy as UF athletes. Their parents, former UF linebacker James Bates and former UF swimmer Tina Bates, both competed for the Gators from 1992-1996.
The Texas A&M Aggies defeated the Florida Gators 4-1 Thursday night. The Aggies outshot the Gators 15 shots to nine. Florida head coach Samantha Bohon finished her first season with the Gators with a loss. Bohon finished her first season at Florida with the worst in Florida program history.
No.14 Florida defeated the Auburn Tigers through three sets (25-23, 25-18, 25-15) to get back into the win column Wednesday and to keep the top spot in the Southeastern Conference. The Gators defense held the Tigers to a .112 hitting percentage on the way to earning the team’s 10th straight win against Auburn.
The Florida men’s golf team was in Windermere, Florida, Sunday through Tuesday for the Isleworth Collegiate. The Gators ended the tournament 15-under par. UF also boasted four individuals — Yuxin Lin, Quentin Debove, Fred Biondi and John DuBois — finishing inside the top 25.
The circumstances of this game were special. The annual neutral site meeting between the Southeastern Conference rivals had to shift away from its normal setting in Jacksonville for two seasons. The Gators handily one won both matchups, but the players involved knew the weight of getting the unique opportunity to go play “between the hedges.”
The 2021 Georgia defense was one of the best squads of all time. The 2020 Florida offense could’ve been in the history books if a few things go differently on the other side of the ball. If these two units went at each other head-to-head, who would come out on top?
Although Florida-Georgia is set to remain in Jacksonville for the near future, controversy has emerged surrounding the location of the historic rivalry game. If relocated, the city of Jacksonville could face irreparable damages.
White left the Gators to fill the void of former Georgia head coach Tom Crean. UF hired White in 2015 as the successor to Billy Donovan, who coached in Gainesville for 19 seasons and led the Gators to back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. White never lived up to the expectations set by his predecessor. As the years went on, he faced pressure from fans and it all culminated in his final season.
Gators gymnastics brought in graduate student Rachel Baumann and junior Victoria Nguyen from rivals Georgia this summer. The moves add to the elite arsenal of weapons for the Florida team, which was just 0.1125 points away from a national title last season.
Senior Lukas Greif won five straight games to take home a victory in the consolation bracket final, and freshman Jonah Braswell made it to the semifinals of the main draw. The two also competed alongside each other in the doubles draw and outlasted the Gators’ other pairs.
The Florida women's golf team competed in its final tournament of the fall season this past weekend. The Gators won't see action until February of next year.
No. 1 Georgia is the current measuring stick for Florida football. Year one under Billy Napier has been up-and-down, but the program is building to eventually compete with the top-ranked Bulldogs.
UF President Kent Fuchs was faced with the tough task of replacing one of the most decorated athletic directors in SEC history within his first two years at UF. Sen. Ben Sasse is currently in line to take over for Fuchs as he’s the sole candidate to be named president of the university. Sasse, or whoever becomes the next president, likely won’t have this same hurdle as Stricklin is set to be in charge for the foreseeable future. Stricklin’s set to work with the next university president as he’s under contract until 2027.
Solutions by The State News
