It came down to the final competition.
Like he’d done all day, junior Alfredo Perez sent a powerful forehand over the net that his opponent could not handle. One last stretch, but it was out of reach.
It had been 1,101 days since UF last won an NCAA Tournament game, and early in its second-round game against Colorado at Donald R. Dizney Stadium, it appeared that drought would continue for another 360-some-odd days. But behind an eight-goal run and seven combined goals from the Pirreca sisters, Florida stymied the Buffaloes for a 13-9 victory.
When freshman Katie Kubicz’s final shot went just a little too wide, the Florida Gators NCAA Tournament run sailed away with it.
Execute.
The Florida Gators stepped onto a blazing court that registered up to 100 degrees and into their 28th consecutive NCAA Tournament.
It was throw number five of the men’s hammer throw final.
Only when senior Peggy Porter swung her racket a final time in her clinching victory did the Gators let up their relentless assault against their first opponent at the NCAA Tournament.
The young and the old showed up today for the Florida women’s golf team, as the Gators finished in a tie for third out of the 18-team field to advance to the NCAA Championship.
In round one of the NCAA Austin Regional, senior Taylor Tomlinson shot the second-worst score on her team. On Tuesday, in round two, she shot Florida’s highest score.
After a top five finish at the SEC Championship, sophomore Marta Perez was slipped into the number one spot for the Florida Gators women’s golf team. Having a lot of momentum going into the NCAA Regional, expectations were high for her.
A bachelor’s degree in history and a conference title?
When the Gators lacrosse team played Marquette on April 14, Lindsey Ronbeck was held to only one goal in UF’s 18-6 victory. However, the junior made the most of her second matchup against the Eagles, notching a Big East Tournament record eight goals as Florida defeated MU 19-8 in the Big East Semifinals on Thursday.
Yanis David had been working for this moment all season.
The Florida men’s tennis team fought until the end but lost to the Mississippi State Bulldogs 4-2 in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Coach J.C. Deacon and the rest of the No. 11 Florida men’s golf team will have to wait at least another year before they can win their first SEC championship.
Kyren Hollis curled his fingers around his black baton as his arms pumped faster and faster. Kentucky’s sprinter was on his heels threatening to snatch the lead from the junior as the two approached the finish line almost simultaneously.
On the third playoff hole of the SEC Championship, UF sophomore Andy Zhang had a chance at individual victory over Ole Miss’ Cecil Wegener with a putt just a couple feet away from the hole. He calmly sank the putt, pumped his fist, shook Wegener’s hand and embraced his coach, J.C. Deacon. “You got it, you won,” Deacon said in between Zhang’s “Oh my God.”
With the sky clear and the sun beating down in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the Florida men’s tennis team bested Vanderbilt 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament.
The No. 11 Florida men’s golf team needed to have a big day on Thursday to have any hope of advancing to match play following a tough first day of the SEC Championship at the Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia.
Solutions by The State News
