Sports - The Independent Florida Alligator

Courtesy of Alan (@loserpoints), Site Manager @RawCharge

SPORTS | VOLLEYBALL

What the numbers say about UF's offense

By Brendan Farrell | Oct. 10, 2019

What is the best way to evaluate offense in volleyball?

SPORTS | SOCCER

Florida falls to Ole Miss in first conference loss

By Graham Marsh | Oct. 10, 2019

Ole Miss midfielder Haleigh Stackpole took a Rebels free kick and placed a perfectly curved cross to the skull of forward Molly Martin. Martin tapped it up and over Susi Espinoza, whose glove was just out of reach, and the ball softly rolled into the net.

Edge rusher Jonathan Greenard leads the Gators — which are tied for third in the FBS with 26 sacks — with four sacks.

SPORTS | FOOTBALL

Florida's D faces most dynamic offense yet

By Kyle Wood | Oct. 10, 2019

You know that paradoxical question: “What happens when an unstoppable force meets meets an immovable object?”

Oliver Crawford ranks No. 3 in the nation.

SPORTS | OTHER SPORTS TENNIS

Florida suits up for ITA championships

By Noah Ram | Oct. 8, 2019

Florida’s men’s tennis team has prepared for what could be its biggest challenge of the fall season.

Quarterback Kyle Trask is 3-0 as a starter since taking over for Feleipe Franks. He has thrown for over 800 yards and is completing more than 70% of his passes.

SPORTS | COLUMNS

Florida defines 'next man up' mentality

By Kyle Wood | Oct. 8, 2019

Kyle Trask perfectly embodied a common coachspeak cliche as he addressed reporters on Monday.

Receiver Tyrie Cleveland caught a game-winning 98-yard touchdown pass the last time Florida played LSU in Death Valley.

SPORTS | FOOTBALL

Areas of focus for UF-LSU matchup

By Tyler Nettuno | Oct. 8, 2019

The Gators haven’t faced LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in nearly three years. The rivals played their last two games in Gainesville thanks to an arrangement stemming from Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

Florida goalie Susi Espinoza has only allowed 14 goals in 12 games this season. She currently averages 1.16 goals against per game and carries an 8-4 record.

SPORTS | SOCCER

Gators move inside the top 20 after being unranked all season

By Graham Marsh | Oct. 8, 2019

Six straight wins.

Junior Sydney Berlin partnered with freshman Amber McGinnis to secure a dominant 6-2 victory in the opening match on Thursday

SPORTS | OTHER SPORTS TENNIS

Berlin falls just short in her Fall tournament debut

By Victor Prieto | Oct. 6, 2019

Two Gators women’s tennis players made their fall debuts this weekend in Fort Myers, Florida, representing the Gators at the Bedford Cup.

Outside hitter Thayer Hall led UF in kills (17) and attack errors (11) against Kentucky.

SPORTS | VOLLEYBALL

3 takeaways from UF's loss

By Brendan Farrell | Oct. 6, 2019

Sunday afternoon’s game against No. 15 Kentucky presented multiple opportunities for Florida’s volleyball team: To finally get a statement win. To take a stranglehold on the SEC early in conference play. And to prove that it could go on the road against a tough opponent and come out on top.

Defender Kit Loferski (6) drew a penalty kick in the seventh minute of Florida’s 3-1 win over Texas A&M Sunday night. Midfielder Madison Alexander buried the shot to get the Gators on the board first.

SPORTS | SOCCER

Florida defeats 12th-ranked Texas A&M in statement win

By Bryan Matamoros | Oct. 6, 2019

Losing four out of six games to begin the season made it seem like Florida’s soccer team would go the entire 2019-20 campaign unranked. But UF has caught fire as of late, and the United Soccer Coaches’ Poll has started to take notice.

UF's secondary, led by cornerback C.J. Henderson, has forced 12 interceptions this season. It grabbed three picks against AU.

SPORTS | FOOTBALL

Florida passes its biggest test of season, so far

By Kyle Wood | Oct. 6, 2019

Kyree Campbell was right: The Gators indeed played “big boy ball” Saturday night.

The Gators' defense shut down true freshman Auburn quarterback Bo Nix, sacking him twice and forcing three interceptions — including one from safety Shawn Davis (31). The Tigers were held scoreless during the second half.

SPORTS | COLUMNS

The Gators are playoff contenders

By Dylan Rudolph | Oct. 6, 2019

Like many others before Saturday, I had serious doubts about the potential of this Florida football team. Yes, it was undefeated. Yes, it had talent on both sides of the ball. But the way it won its games left a lot to be desired.

Florida made a statement with its 24-13 win over Auburn.

SPORTS | COLUMNS

Florida proved itself against Auburn

By Sam Campisano | Oct. 5, 2019

One of my best friends goes to a school a couple hours northwest of Gainesville that has a propensity for a certain tomahawk chant that has been generating some controversy lately.

UF quarterback Kyle Trask lost three fumbles against Auburn.

SPORTS | FOOTBALL

Florida topples Auburn despite four turnovers

By Tyler Nettuno | Oct. 5, 2019

There’s usually a pretty surefire way to lose a game against a good team: Just give the ball away.

Lamical Perine's 88-yard touchdown run put the game out of Auburn's reach.

SPORTS | FOOTBALL

Defense pushes Florida past Auburn

By Dylan Rudolph | Oct. 5, 2019

A morning of festivities led into an afternoon of football in Gainesville, surrounded by a raucous Florida crowd. College GameDay, a top-10 matchup and an SEC rivalry incited more than 90,000 fans into a frenzy, and every tackle produced a near-earthquake cheer.

SPORTS | OTHER SPORTS TENNIS

Gators ready for important weekend of tournaments

By Noah Ram | Oct. 4, 2019

The Gators women’s tennis team will have an opportunity to bounce back this weekend, after a subpar performance at the USTA Fall Ranked Spotlight this past weekend.

SPORTS | FOOTBALL

Picks Column: Week 6

Oct. 4, 2019

Another week of the college football season is in the books, and it still feels like we don’t know anything about any of these teams.

Forward Vanessa Kara (27) has scored six times in her last five appearances.

SPORTS | SOFTBALL

Shorthanded Florida welcomes 12th-ranked Texas A&M

By Bryan Matamoros | Oct. 4, 2019

Florida’s soccer team won’t have two prominent players for its conference bout against No. 12 Texas A&M this weekend.

Sophomore Thayer Hall will go head-to-head against fellow outside hitter Leah Edmond, who leads Kentucky in kills (179).

SPORTS | VOLLEYBALL

Preview: Florida vs. UK

By Mari Faiello | Oct. 4, 2019

Heading into their third SEC matchup of the season, the No. 12 Gators (11-2, 2-0 SEC) will make their conference road debut against the 15th-ranked Wildcats on Sunday afternoon in Lexington, Kentucky.

Defensive end Jabari Zuniga (92) will play Saturday for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in the game against Kentucky.

SPORTS | FOOTBALL

UF and AU set for top-10 matchup in the Swamp

By Sam Campisano | Oct. 3, 2019

It has been a long time since there was this much anticipation for a game in Gainesville.