A season of record-setting performances, close wins, near losses and hundreds of hours spent swimming tens of thousands of yards culminates in Milwaukee, Minn., at the three-day NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships that gets started today for the No. 8 Gators (5-3, 3-2 Southeastern Conference).
Shannon Gilroy has become the star of a team in a sport where toughness beats perfection.
There was not anyone coach Mike Holloway wanted to blame for the sub-par National Indoor Championships performance other than himself.
It seems that as the Gators have moved through the season, they haven’t gotten better — they’ve gotten worse.
The Gators battled wind and a first-round, 25-over-par deficit to finish eighth out of 14 teams in their only home tournament of the season.
After a tough fight in singles, No. 17 Florida (7-6,2-2 Southeastern Conference) dropped its match and its home winning streak after falling to the Georgia (10-5, 5-0 SEC) 4-3.
Down 3-2, Florida’s seniors could only watch as their younger teammates tried to complete a comeback bid in front of a deafening Georgia crowd.
It’s not about how you start but how you finish, and in Buddy Alexander’s eyes, Florida did not finish well.
If it weren’t for solid goalkeepers, No. 4 Florida (8-2, 1-0 American Lacrosse Conference) might not have held it’s 17-12 loss within reach of a win.
Altitude was a factor in Albuquerque, N.M., for the NCAA Indoor Championships as the No.1 Gators track and field team had their ups and downs through Day 1.
Florida has some ground to make up in the next two days in order to have a shot at a good tournament finish.
It was a dismal day for the Gators at the Mark Bostick Golf Course on Friday.
Florent Diep sealed the deal for Florida in a clean sweep to extend its winning streak to six Friday with they 4-0 win against Tennessee.
The Gators have been dominant when playing Southeastern Conference opponents this season, and Friday was no exception.
Only two teams — Arizona State in 2008 and LSU in 2004 — have entered the NCAA Indoor Championships with both the men’s and women’s teams ranked No. 1 and won both titles.
In the coming weeks, Florida will go up against No. 12 Georgia, No. 8 Alabama and No. 11 Vanderbilt.
The No. 17 Gators (6-5, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) look to extend their 5-0 home record as they take on two top SEC East opponents this weekend.
In a way, Buddy Alexander is returning home again.
The Gators’ only home tournament of the season begins Friday morning with No. 16 UF hosting 14 teams at the 42nd annual SunTrust Gator Women’s Golf Invitational.
Beating a team 17-3 in the first half is not winning — it’s complete dominance.
Solutions by The State News
