Tennis teams open SEC play with Kentucky
By JOSEPH R. HOLZER | Mar. 5, 2009Following its first road win of the spring, the No. 9 UF men's tennis team returns to Gainesville as the best in the state.
Following its first road win of the spring, the No. 9 UF men's tennis team returns to Gainesville as the best in the state.
In a way, UF was victorious in the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships. The team didn't win the championship trophy in Lexington, Ky., but it got the next best thing - experience.
Although the UF women's golf team will be a couple of hours away from Gainesville, it will feel very much at home in this weekend's tournament.
The UF men's tennis team will attempt to avenge two losses when it hits the Scott Speicher courts against FSU today.
UF's women's tennis team managed to win its last two matches with only five scholarship players, but was unable to pull out a third, as the Gators lost to Florida State, 5-2, on a windy Saturday at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center.
After two first-place finishes to start the season, the Gators could not continue their dominance against some of the best teams in the country.
This weekend, many Gators took advantage of their final opportunities to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
UF came up short again.
The last time UF's men and women won Southeastern Conference Indoor titles was 2004 in Lexington, Ky. This weekend, UF track and field returns to this familiar site, hoping for the same result.
The Gators are focused.
They've had a week to rest, catch up on school and lick their wounds. Now, the Gators women are hitting the road again.
For a girl who never really knew if swimming was for her, senior Laurabeth Guenthner has left her mark on the UF swimming and diving team.
Senior Kelsy Smith has this weekend left to qualify for the NCAA Championships, and the pressure is on.
Despite not winning the tournament, the UF women's golf team will return to Gainesville a better squad.
The second round of the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate in South Carolina on Monday gave the UF women's golf team a chance at instant redemption after a difficult first round Sunday.
Golf may be an individual sport, but the Gators are going to need a better team effort if they are going to succeed this season.
In a four-day 2009 SEC Championship meet that came down to the very last relay, the No. 5 UF women won their 17th SEC crown, the first since 2002, after edging out second-place finisher Auburn and third-place Georgia. The win for the Gators was the third-closest competition in SEC history, UF with 744 points, Auburn with 730.5 and Georgia with 725. On the men's side, the No. 8 Gators claimed second place (626) at the 2009 league meet for the eighth-consecutive year to the men's team from Auburn (880.5).
The No. 11 UF men's tennis team continued its dominance over in-state rivals with a 5-2 win against Miami on Sunday.
There's no place like home.
Much like a baby learning how to walk, the inexperienced UF women's golf team stumbled to the ground in its first event of the season.