sports - The Independent Florida Alligator

The Week 15 AP Poll for college football featured eight SEC teams in the Top 25, three of which were in the top 10 (No. 1 Alabama, No. 6 Georgia, No. 10 Florida).

Sports

SEC bias? Nope, just dominance

By Kyle Wood | Jan. 6, 2019

The Southeastern Conference is the best conference in college football, and it’s not particularly close. Those who disagree with that sentiment, apart from not knowing college football, would likely label it “SEC bias.” This is a term often used by fans of teams from other conferences that feel spurned by ESPN, the College Football Playoff Committee, AP Voters or anyone else that they can point a finger at in defiance instead of realizing that the SEC is simply better than the Big Ten, Big 12, ACC, Pac-12 (I shouldn’t even have to say that at this point) and yes, the American as well.

Sports

Gators gather sneaky-good incoming recruiting class

By Mark Stine | Jan. 6, 2019

Coach Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators ended 2018 on a sweet note with a decisive victory over Michigan at the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, but they welcomed 2019 with an equally chipper attitude toward their incoming recruiting class.

Sports

Introducing the Spring 2019 Alligator sports staff

By Jake Dreilinger | Jan. 6, 2019

The confetti has fallen. The stands are empty.

Trey Burton played in every game of the season, racking up 54 receptions for 569 yards and six touchdowns.

Sports

Gators in the NFL: 2018 Season Review

By Bryan Matamoros | Jan. 6, 2019

A total of 45 former Gators were on 24 NFL teams by the end of the 2018 regular season.

Sophomore Alyssa Baumann earned First-Team All-America and All-SEC honors in her freshman campaign with the Gators.

Sports

National title aspirations no stretch heading into UF’s 2019 campaign

By River Wells | Jan. 6, 2019

Since UF gymnastics took home the NCAA title three years in a row from 2013-2015, it has made repeated trips deep into the postseason, reaching the Super Six twice.

“You have to learn that in the SEC when you get punched you can’t flinch, you can’t falter,” said Gators women's basketball coach Cam Newbauer. “We just kinda flinched a little bit at the wrong time and got away from what our game plan was.”

Sports

Florida falls to Auburn in second-straight conference loss

By Sam Campisano | Jan. 6, 2019

The Florida women’s basketball team needed big performances from its two leading-scorers in Funda Nakkasoglu and Delicia Washington to win on Sunday. They didn’t deliver.

Sophomore Taylor Ault finished third in the 500-yard freestyle during Day 1 of the Georgia Tech Invitational. She posted a time of 4:42.08.

Sports

Gators successful at home, lead Ohio State and Kentucky after Day 1

By Evan Lepak | Jan. 5, 2019

The UF swimming team started 2019 in style on Friday, ending Day 1 of the two-day meet at the O'Connell Center in first place.

Sports

Florida blows lead, drops first SEC matchup

By Dylan Rudolph | Jan. 3, 2019

The Gators had finally gotten back in the game. They had blown their early 20-point lead but now had the game tied again with momentum on their side.

Guard Funda Nakkasoglu led the Gators in scoring with 43 points through the first two games. She's the only UF player shooting over 50.0 percent from the field (57.1).

Sports

Nakkasoglu, Gators topple Charleston Southern in final non-conference game

By Dylan Rudolph Sports Writer and Dylan Rudolph | Dec. 30, 2018

Guard Funda Nakkasoglu found her deep shot at the right time. She rose up without hesitation and made back-to-back threes, the ball slicing through the net and giving the Gators the lead late in the third quarter.

Florida's defense only gave up 77 rushing yards to the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday.

Sports

Gators defense stonewalls Michigan run at Peach Bowl

By Mark Stine | Dec. 29, 2018

ATLANTA -- The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl started with the Michigan Wolverines running rampant on the Florida Gators, but the script quickly flipped.

Gators quarterback Feleipe Franks threw for 173 yards and had two touchdowns in the Gators 41-15 Peach Bowl win over Michigan on Saturday.

Sports

PEACH BOWL CHAMPS: Florida dominates Michigan in Atlanta

By Jake Dreilinger | Dec. 29, 2018

ATLANTA -- The play shouldn’t have worked.

Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks went 19-for-27 with 274 yards and three touchdowns during UF’s win over Idaho.

Sports

Three keys to success for Gators in Peach Bowl

Dec. 29, 2018

The Florida Gators enter today’s matchup with Michigan in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl as 7.5-point underdogs.

UF starting pitcher Brady Singer pitched 5.0 innings and gave up four runs on seven hits in Florida's elimination game loss to Arkansas on Friday.

Sports

Former UF baseball player gets in the holiday spirit with gift to parents

By Kyle Wood | Dec. 27, 2018

Follow Kyle Wood on Twitter @Kkylewood and contact him at kwood@alligator.org.

Guard Funda Nakkasoglu is the SEC's second-leading scorer, and she contributed a team-high 16 points as well as two rebounds and a steal in the Gators 56-53 loss to UNLV.

Sports

Rainey’s three falls short at buzzer, Gators fall to UNLV

By Sam Campisano | Dec. 21, 2018

Florida guard Danielle Rainey’s game-tying three-point attempt at the buzzer came up short as UNLV defeated the Florida women’s basketball team 56-53 for its second loss in as many nights.

Coach Cameron Newbauer completed his first season with an 11-19 record.

Sports

Utes overpower Gators in Las Vegas

By Dylan Rudolph | Dec. 20, 2018

Coach Cam Newbauer stressed that defense would be key before the Florida women’s basketball team’s game against Utah. Going against the 25th-best scoring offense in the nation is no simple task, and his young team had its hands full.

Florida's men's and women's diving teams had three top-five finishes and two top-ten finishes on Day 1 of the Auburn Invitational.

Sports

Gators women win take first at Auburn Diving Invitational

By Evan Lepak | Dec. 20, 2018

The Florida women’s diving team finished the Auburn Invitational strong on Wednesday, as the youth of the team proved most valuable for the Gators en route to a first-place finish.

Gators coach Dan Mullen was pleased with the success of the Early Signing Day but said the program still has work to do.

Sports

Gators land 20 recruits in midst of bowl preparation

By Mark Stine | Dec. 19, 2018

Coach Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators got a break Wednesday. They’re preparing for a Dec. 29 clash with Michigan in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl and will depart for Atlanta on Sunday, but the program stopped for one day to take a peek into its future.

Coach Dan Mullen and the Gators will hold open practices on Friday and Saturday afternoon.

Sports

Florida Gators Football 2019 Early Signing Period Blog

Dec. 19, 2018

Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators football team are looking to kick off its 2019 recruiting class during the first day of the early signing period.

Sports

Whitner, Perez pace Gators on Day 2 of Auburn Invite

By Evan Lepak | Dec. 18, 2018

The first two days of the Auburn Diving Invitational at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center are now in the books, and the Florida Gators’ diving teams added two more top-five finishes to this week's results.

The Florida men's and women's swimming and diving times compete in Austin, Texas, this weekend in an event hosted by the Texas Longhorns. The UF men enter the meet ranked No. 8, while the women have a national rank of No. 19.

Sports

Three UF divers grab top-five finishes on Day 1 of Auburn Invitational

By Evan Lepak | Dec. 17, 2018

The University of Florida diving team joined three other SEC teams (Auburn, LSU and South Carolina) on Monday to begin a three-day event in the Auburn Diving Invitational.