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Major Signings!

Gator Sports

Florida Gators

WBK Signees
Florida Women’s Basketball Announces Signing of Three Athletes for 2022-23
Andrew Hile
Women’s Basketball
Posted: Thursday, April 28, 2022
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida women’s basketball head coach Kelly Rae Finley has announced the signing of three athletes to join the Gators for the 2022-23 campaign. Leilani Correa, KK Deans and Ra Shaya Kyle will each make their way to Gainesville to take the court for the Orange & Blue next season.
 
“We are excited to welcome Leilani, KK and Shay to Gator Nation! We believe that they bring added depth to our roster and are high character people that exemplify the Gator standard on and off the court,” Finley said.
 
As a collective group, the three signees, while not an incoming freshman class, would mark one of the highest-rated signing classes in Florida history. Kyle, in the class of 2020, was a five-star recruit and the No. 36 overall recruit in the nation. In the 2019 class, Dean was also a five-star out of high school, sitting at the No. 51 overall recruit in the country while Correa earned four-star status and was the No. 83-ranked recruit.
 
The last time that Florida signed three prospects in the ESPN Top-100 coming out of high school came in 2014 with Haley Lorenzen (36), Isis Young (59) and Brooke Copeland (70).
 
The trio joins Zippy Broughton and Jordyn Merritt, both of whom were five-star recruits with Broughton entering college the No. 24 prospect and Merritt the No. 27-rated recruit.
 
Leilani Correa | Senior | G | 6-0 | Manchester, N.J. | St. Johns
 
Correa joins the Orange & Blue following a three-year stay at St. Johns where she was twice named an All-Big East First Team honoree. During the 2021-22 campaign, Correa led the Red Storm in points per game at 17.3, while also averaging 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. A unanimous Preseason All-BIG EAST selection, Correa posted 20 or more points in 11 games, eight of which came against conference opponents. The junior tallied 35 points against DePaul on Dec. 19 to tie her career best, eclipsing the 30-point mark for the ninth time as a Johnnie. On Jan. 14 against Providence, Correa became just the 27th St. John’s player to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career.
 
As a sophomore, Correa also earned All-Big East First Team honors and All-Met First Team honors after leading the Red Storm 17.6 points per game to rank fifth overall in the Big East. With 387 points through 22 games, she recorded the 11th-highest single-season scoring average in school history while being named the Big East Player of the Week once and was a six-time Big East Weekly Honor Roll selection. During her freshman campaign, Correa received the Big East Sixth-Woman award in addition to being a unanimous selection to the All-Freshman Team. She was a four-time Big East Freshman of the Week recipient and selected by ESPN as one of the top-10 impact freshmen in women’s college basketball.
 
Coach Finley on Correa: “Leilani is a great addition to our Gator family! She has a high IQ and is an elite three level scorer. Her ability to create for others as well as for herself will allow us to have versatility in how we play. She is excellent at reading defenses and has a great feel for the game. Off the court, Leilani is charismatic and fun loving – Gator fans will love getting to know her!”
 
Correa on Joining the Gators: “As soon as I stepped on campus and spoke to the staff and girls, I knew it’d be a perfect fit. It’s nothing like I’ve ever felt before – the family environment, the toughness and the way Kelly pushes everyone to be their best. I can’t wait to play for her and the coaching staff because they are going to have me playing my best game.”
 
KK Deans | Senior | G | 5-8 | Greensboro, N.C. | West Virginia
 
Deans heads to Gainesville as graduate transfer after spending the previous three seasons at West Virginia where she twice earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors. Deans earned the honor during the 2021-22 season despite suffering a season-ending knee injury on Jan. 29. Prior to her injury, she was averaging a team-high 14.5 points per game while also recording 3.7 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. She led the team in scoring 10 times throughout the first 18 games. Ahead of the season, Deans was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention team.
 
During her sophomore campaign, Deans was also an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selectee in addition to earning Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors. Starting in all 27 games, she averaged 13.7 points per game and was second on the team in assists with 104. She led the Mountaineers from deep, shooting 41.5% from three. She posted 22 double-figure scoring games, including five 20-point games and one 30-point contest, and led WVU in scoring in seven games. As a freshman, she was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team, while also playing in all 29 games.
 
Coach Finley on Deans: “KK brings passion and additional leadership to Gainesville! She is a strong two-way player that takes pride in her defense. She has proven that she makes tough plays down the stretch on both ends of the floor, from big time shots to taking the necessary charge. She is an exciting player in the open floor, one that Gator fans will love to watch. Off the court, KK has a warm inviting personality that will be infectious to both our team and community. We are thrilled to welcome KK to The Swamp!”
 
Deans on Joining the Gators: “I am super excited to enter this next chapter of my life with the Gators. The atmosphere and support Gator Nation brings is mind blowing and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
 
Ra Shaya Kyle | Junior | C | 6-6 | Marion, Ind. | Purdue
 
Kyle joins the Gators following two years at Purdue in the Big Ten. During the 2021-22 season, she appeared in nine games for the Boilermakers before suffering a season-ending injury against Ohio State, averaging 11.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. She put together a top-outing of 20 points against Dayton on Nov. 20 while also recording double-doubles against Marshall on Nov. 22 (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Florida State on Nov. 27 (13 points, 10 rebounds).
 
As a freshman at Purdue, Kyle saw action in all 23 games, averaging 5.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game while shooting an impressive 57.3% from the field. She was one of just three freshmen in the Big Ten to pull down at least 30 offensive rebounds and was also ranked fifth in the nation among freshman with a defensive rebounding percentage of 25.3% and 10th with a 18.9% total rebounding percentage.
 
Coach Finley on Kyle: “We are excited to welcome Ra Shaya to Gator Nation! On the court, she is a competitor who brings additional inside presence on both ends of the floor. She is an elite finisher who works hard to get position allowing us added versatility in our lineups. Off the court, Shay is a joy to be around and we are looking forward to having her on campus!”
 
Kyle on joining the Gators: “I am extremely excited to be joining the Florida Gators family and am looking forward to being an instrumental part of the program moving forward. Let’s go Gators!”

Florida Parting Ways with Tony Amato

Gator Sports
 
Posted: Wednesday, April 27, 2022
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida has parted ways with soccer head coach Tony Amato, Athletics Director Scott Stricklin announced Wednesday.
Amato was hired May 24, 2021 and coached the Gators for the 2021 season. UF turned in a 4-12-4 record and tied for 10th in the Southeastern Conference with a 3-6-1 record. The 2021 campaign was Amato’s 19th season as a head coach – Rollins (2003-04 – 2009-10), Stephen F. Austin (2010-11 – 2012-13) and Arizona (2013-14 – 2020-21).
“This decision was extremely difficult. My thorough evaluation of the soccer program is that there is a disconnect between Tony and his athletes. We have worked diligently with Tony since last fall when I first became aware of challenges with relationship building and communication. As the issues continued to be brought to my attention, it became apparent that sufficient progress was not being made and Tony was not a fit for the University of Florida. Therefore, it is my assessment that in order to have the program we all expect, this change is necessary. I appreciate Tony’s hard work during his time here and wish he and his family the best.
“I fully recognize the disruption this causes our athletes and our program. We all wanted this to work, but ultimately it is my responsibility to do what is in the best long-term interest of this program, and thus this decision. We are totally committed to having an outstanding soccer program. I assure everyone this is extremely important to all of us as we begin the search for our new coach.”
   –       Scott Stricklin – University of Florida Athletic Director

Gator Lacrosse AAC Conference Champs!

Gator Sports
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – 11-straight. That’s how many regular season conference championships the No. 10 Florida lacrosse team has taken home in the 13-year history of the program.

The Gators defeated the Temple Owls 18-7 on Senior Day at Donald R. Dizney Stadium to clinch at least a share of the American Athletic Conference title. With a win against ECU on April 30, Florida can secure the outright championship. In the three complete seasons in the AAC, the Gators have won the regular season title in each of them.

UF has now won 56-straight conference games and 44-straight regular season conference contests en route to its 11th regular season title.

With the victory, Florida has now won nine-consecutive games and moves to 11-4 on the year and 4-0 in league play, while Temple drops to 10-5 overall and 3-1 in the conference.

Danielle Pavinelli led the way offensively with five goals on the afternoon, while Emerson Cabrera notched her second hat trick of the season, finishing the day with three.

Emma LoPinto, Emily Heller, Josie Hahn and Shelton Sawers each found the back of the cage twice for Florida, while Ashley Gonzalez and Paisley Eagannetted one goal apiece.

LoPinto also dished out a team-high three assists in the game, followed by two apiece from Gonzalez, Maggi Hall, Heller and Pavinelli.

Florida won the battle in the draw circle, coming up with 15-of-29 in the game. Heller posted a career-high seven to lead the way, while Hahn tallied a personal-best three.

The Gator defense held the Owls to 7-of-28 shooting in the game, just a .280 shooting percentage. Emma Wightman posted a team-high two caused turnovers on her Senior Day.

Hall picked up three groundballs in the victory to lead the Gators, while Leigh Lingo and Sarah Reznick each registered two.

Reznick recorded six saves on a .426 save percentage during her 52:31 in cage on Saturday afternoon. Julia Hammerschlag registered two saves of her own, while allowing no goals for a 1.000 save percentage between the pipes.

The Gators close out the home portion of their schedule on Wednesday when the 22nd-ranked Jacksonville Dolphins come to town. Opening draw is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.

Records
No. 10 Florida (11-4, 4-0 AAC)
Temple (10-5, 3-1 AAC)

How it Happened

  • Florida struck first, with Emma LoPinto finding a cutting Danielle Pavinelli for her 49th goal of the season with 2:40 gone in the first.
  • Emerson Cabrera followed with a score of her own just over five minutes later, this time finding the back of the cage on a pass from Pavinelli.
  • The Gators pulled ahead three when the duo of Pavinelli-LoPinto combined for another score, with Pavinelli tallying her second goal of the day.
  • Temple cut the deficit to two goals with 2:50 left in the frame, but Florida answered with two-straight goals in the last 15 seconds of the quarter from the sticks of Josie Hahn and Pavinelli to take the 5-1 lead into the break.
  • The Gators continued the scoring momentum into the second quarter, with Shelton Sawers recording her first goal of the season to put Florida up 6-1.
  • The Owls got one back less than a minute later, but Florida strung together a 3-0 run behind scores from Hahn, Pavinelli and Sawers to pull ahead 9-2 with 11 minutes left in the half. Temple tallied back-to-back goals to pull back within five at 9-4, but once again, the Gators answered – this time with a 4-0 run.
  • The run started on an Emerson Cabrera goal – her eighth of the season – then LoPinto followed with her first score of the day to put the Gators up 11-4.
  • Ashley Gonzalez and Emily Heller kept the scoring going, putting the Florida up 13-4 going into the halftime break.
  • Out of the locker room, the Owls found the back of the cage first, pulling to within eight goals at just over two minutes gone in the frame.
  • Florida scored the next three goals of the game, with Paisley Eagan, Cabrera and Pavinelli each finding the back of the cage to put the Gators up 16-5 and secure the running clock.
  • Temple responded with back-to-back goals to cut Florida’s lead to nine at 16-7, but the Gators found the back of the cage twice more before the final horn sounded. The first of the two goals came from the stick of Heller on a free-position conversion.
  • LoPinto scored her second goal of the day and final goal for either team with 8:13 left in the game, securing the 18-7 victory for Florida.

Notables

  • Florida has won a regular season conference championship in 11 of the 13 years the program has existed
  • This puts the Gators at 265 conference team titles (254 SEC Championships; 11 lacrosse championships)
  • The Gators have not dropped a conference game since April 18, 2015 and have not lost a regular season conference game since that same day
    • That’s 56 games overall and 44 regular season games that Florida has won in conference
  • Florida is 10-0 this season against teams not ranked in the IWLCA/ILWomen Top-25 poll
  • When scoring at least 14 goals, the Gators are 161-2 (.988) in program history
  • In the confines of Donald R. Dizney Stadium, Florida is 113-21 (.843) in program history
  • Streaking: Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 44-straight games, the second-longest streak in program history
  • Streaking: Danielle Pavinelli has registered a point in 17-straight games
  • Streaking: Emma LoPinto has tallied a point in 11-straight games
  • Streaking: Emily Heller has recorded a draw control in 14-straight games
  • Streaking: Liz Harrison has recorded a draw control in 11-straight games   

Career-Highs

  • Emily Heller recorded a career-high seven draw controls and career-best two assists
  • Josie Hahn registered a new career-high in draw controls (3) and tied her career-best with two goals
  • Catherine Flaherty tied her career-best with one caused turnover
  • Maggi Hall tied her career-high with three groundballs
  • Shelton Sawers tallied a career-best two goals and tied her career-high in points (2)
  • Emerson Cabrera tied her career-high in goals (3), points (3) and draw controls (1)  
  • Julia Hammerschlag tied her career-best with a 1.000 save percentage

Insight from O’Leary

  • “This was a total team effort today. We were making things work on the offensive end, our defense came out and played really solid. Sarah did a great job in the goal and when Julia came off the bench, she was lights out in the goal. We were able to honor our seniors exactly how we wanted to today.”

Up Next

  • The Gators close out the home portion of their schedule on Wednesday when the 22nd-ranked Jacksonville Dolphins come to town
  • Opening draw is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.

Gators Tennis Wins the SEC

Gator Sports
Gators Claim SEC Tournament Title With Sweep of No. 10 Kentucky
Casey Montalvo
Posted: Sunday, April 24, 2022
 
ATHENS, Ga. – After making their 11th SEC Championship finals appearance, the No. 3 Florida Gators sweep the SEC after winning both the regular season and tournament titles with a 4-0 victory against the No. 10 Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. This win marks the sixth tournament title for Florida, while sophomore Ben Shelton became the fifth Gator in program history to be named the Tournament MVP.

Florida (23-2) came out strong again in doubles play against the Wildcats (21-7), earning their 18th-consecutive doubles point. After providing the clinching doubles match yesterday against No. 5 Tennessee, the tandem of Nate Bonetto and Duarte Vale continued their winning ways with a 6-3 victory over No. 55 Liam Draxl and Alexandre Leblanc at court three, making it their first ranked doubles win of the season.

Clinching the team’s 20th doubles point of the season was the No. 10-ranked duo of Sam Riffice and Ben Shelton at court one. Taking on No. 75 Francois Musitelli and Millen Hurrion, the Gators duo only allowed their opponents to win two games for a 6-2 victory. They now have 15 total doubles wins on the season with nine coming against ranked teams.

Needing three singles wins to claim the SEC Tournament title, the Gators put their foot on the gas and never let up, claiming five of the six first sets.

First off the court was No. 116 player Josh Goodger, who pulled off an impressive straight-set win at court six against JJ Mercer, 6-4, 6-1. With this victory, Goodger reached the 100 career singles wins milestone and totals 17 singles wins on the year.

No. 27 Riffice had one of his best matches of the year as he took on No. 16 Gabriel Diallo at court two, winning in two sets by 6-3 scores. Riffice moves to 18-5 on the dual season and 15-1 at the two position, while adding his seventh ranked victory.

It was No. 1-ranked Shelton, who for the sixth time this year, would clinch the match for the Gators. Taking on No. 8 Draxl at the one spot, Shelton had a tall task ahead of him, but stepped up big time. The Gainesville native defeated the Wildcat by a score of 6-4, 7-5 for his 30th singles win and 20th ranked victory of the season.

Florida moves to 23-2 overall and extends their win streak to 18 matches. The Gators are also 19-2 against ranked teams and have an impressive nine wins over teams in the top-10. In addition, for the third time in Florida tennis history, the Gators won both the regular season and SEC Tournament in the same year (2000, 2005, 2022).

NOTABLES

  • Florida made its 11th SEC Tournament final appearance, winning its sixth tournament title in program history and first since 2016.
    • Florida won the SEC Tournament championship in 1994, 2000, 2005, 2011, 2016 and 2022.
  • Ben Shelton joins Jeff Morrison (2000), Ryan Sherry (2005), Alexandre Lacroix (2011) and Gordon Watson (2016) to win the SEC Tournament MVP award.
    • Senior Duarte Vale was also named to the All-Tournament team.
  • The Gators move to 2-0 against the Wildcats in the championships finals as Florida faced Kentucky one other time in 2011, pulling out a 4-0 win in that match.
  • Since 2000 when the SEC began awarding a regular season title, Florida was the conference champions in both the regular season and in the SEC Tournament three different times: 2000, 2005 and 2022.

QUOTEABLES
Florida Head Coach Bryan Shelton
On being SEC Champions… 
“This is the best conference in America, it really is. When you look at this league, when you look at it top to bottom, top-10 teams, top-20 teams. I mean we’ll have more teams in the NCAA tournament than any other conference for sure. On top of that, it’s humbling. We represent the best conference in the country, so to kind of lead the way in our conference is pretty special. It’s something that we think is a responsibility that we have to go out there every single time and give our very best and have our best character, be the best sports and compete as hard as we possibly can. This is fun for all of us to be a part of this.” 
 
On the tournament…
“It was gritty; three days of competition, but so much fun. We had perfect weather, we a lot of fans that came out to support, Georgia did a great job hosting this event. So, it was just a lot of fun for us to be here throughout this weekend and to have such perfect weather. It is just a blessing to be able to compete on a stage like this.”
 
Florida sophomore Ben Shelton
On his last point to clinch the match… 
“It was definitely electric having all my teammates next to me on the sidelines. They definitely pushed me over the finish line. It was a high-pressure situation, and I was glad to get out of it with a win and an SEC title for us.”
 
On what it means to be an SEC Champion particularly with his father as the coach…
“It means a lot. Obviously, this group hasn’t won an SEC tournament. The last time the Florida Gators did it was 2016, so it’s special to be able to send our five seniors off with one last title.”
 
On how he feels going into the NCAA tournament…
“I feel great. I think our team is really ready to make a deep run and be a contender. I think that everyone is really mentally tough, and hopefully we’re going to come out on top.”

UP NEXT: The Gators look to the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, which will take place on Monday, May 2 at 6 p.m.

SINGLES RESULTS
1. #1 Ben Shelton (UF) def. #8 Liam Draxl (UK), 6-4, 7-5
2. #27 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #16 Gabriel Diallo (UK), 6-3, 6-3
3. #87 Duarte Vale (UF) vs. #102 Millen Hurrion (UK), 6-2, 4-6, unfinished
4. #122 Andy Andrade (UF) vs. Francois Musitelli (UK), 6-7 (7-9), 4-2, unfinished
5. Mattias Siimar (UF) vs. #108 Joshua Lapadat (UK), 6-4, 4-3, unfinished
6. #116 Josh Goodger (UF) def. JJ Mercer (UK), 6-4, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 1

DOUBLES RESULTS
1. #10 Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton (UF) def. #75 Francois Musitelli/Millen Hurrion (UK), 6-2
2. #37 Andy Andrade/Mattias Siimar (UF) vs. Gabriel Diallo/Joshua Lapadat (UK), 4-5, unfinished
3. Duarte Vale/Nate Bonetto (UF) def. Liam Draxl/Alexandre LeBlanc (UK), 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1

SI projects top 25 teams

Gator Sports

To read the entire article, click here.

18. Florida Gators

emory jones florida gators

 

Where Florida was: 6-7 (2-6 SEC)

Where Florida is: Looking for answers with first-year coach Billy Napier, who led Louisiana to a Top 25 finish and now comes into Florida with recruiting connections in the state and a mandate to unseat Georgia in the SEC East. Napier needs to decide on a quarterback and get this defensive unit much tighter than it has been.

Gator Culture Change

Gator Sports

“Culture change,” said CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd, “is a mystery phrase to me. But it can be anything from running off players to just teaching kids the way the coaches want to approach it.”

And that’s the thing about culture change.

There’s no right way to do it.

There’s only YOUR WAY or the highway.

We’ve seen it in Gainesville over time and certainly currently with new coaches on football and basketball.

The biggest culture change happened when Steve Spurrier took over on New Year’s Eve 1989 as the head football at Florida. He switched to the blue jerseys because the orange ones “looked like Clemson,” ripped up the artificial turf and set the new policy of no excuses.

“It was about attitude as much as anything,” he said. “We had to get the players to believe that they could beat Georgia, that playing Auburn and Georgia back-to-back wasn’t a problem. We had good players, really good players, when I got here and we just had to get the attitudes straightened out.”

“For him to do that so quickly was incredible,” said Chris Doering of the SEC Network and Sirius radio. “We inherited his personality.”

One thing that tends to happen when an athletic director is making a coaching change is that he wants something different. In the case of Billy Napier, Florida wanted a coach that was passionate about recruiting after the previous coach was not.

“Being around Billy, everything is so well thought out, nothing is left to chance,” Doering said. “It’s not just the recruiting part of it. It’s everything.

“The biggest thing is the ability to connect with players. And you have to be clear in what they want to create.”

Florida basketball will look different under Golden than it did under Mike White and in many ways “different” was what a program that had become stagnant needed — a jolt, if you will, built on a modern approach to the game.

It’s always been that way. When Billy Donovan took over the basketball program, the biggest change in culture was to ramp up recruiting to a level we had never seen at Florida. At the same time, Donovan established early that players who did not but in were not going to play.

Urban Meyer came into the Florida football program in 2005 and immediately went about establishing a culture change by banishing the players from the locker room and not allowing them to wear Gator gear until it was earned.

What he left behind was a mess that Will Muschamp had to clean up. That started when he threw Janoris Jenkins off the team.

“You look at how the culture changed under Nick Saban at Alabama,” Dodd said. “Same with Sam Pittman at Arkansas. They got the players to buy in quickly and then it is established what the standard is.”

That goes for every sport that brings in a coach with a different set of expectations for his players.

Not everyone accepts culture change. That’s why the transfer portal in every sport is stacked with players who want a different culture and that’s where it gets tricky.

Any player who wants to come to Florida in any sport has to understand what that culture is and what is expected of them.

There are some new cultures in town. Gator fans are excited about the coaches who are implementing them.

Buckle up. It’s going to be interesting.

 

By Pat Dooley

 

 

Gymnasts Finish Second

Gator Sports

FORT WORTH, Texas – Being normal is the goal for every Florida gymnastics meet. UF Head Coach Jenny Rowland knows that when the Gators are normal, that leads to a lot of success.
 
Today in the NCAA Gymnastics team final at Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena, being pretty close to normal wasn’t quite enough.
 
Florida was second at 198.0875 as top-ranked Oklahoma claimed its fifth title at 198.20. Utah was third (197.75) followed by Auburn (197.35).
 
“That’s what you’re going to get in a national championship. You could see it across the board amongst all teams,” Rowland said. “All teams were just trying, fighting a little harder, looking for more.
 
“Maybe not exactly what the Gators are capable of doing but a stunning performance nonetheless.”
 
Three of the seven slenderest margins of victory in the event’s 40-year history have come in three of the last four team finals, including today’s slight 0.1125 OU advantage.
 
THIS AFTERNOON’S MEET:
Florida missed some tenths with steps on vault landings. Trinity Thomas’ 9.9875 is the second-highest ever for a Gator in NCAA event finals. The highest? A 10.0 by Susan Hines in the 1998 NCAA Super Six. She was in the stands Saturday to cheer the Gators.
 
The Gators powered past a miss in the early part of the lineup to hit the remaining four uneven bars routines. Thomas matched her winning bars mark (9.975) from Thursday to lead the Gators.
 
The Gators used four marks of 9.9 or better toward its balance beam total of 49.50. Senior Leah Clapper anchored the lineup with the team’s top mark of 9.925.
 
Florida headed into the final rotation trailing OU by two-tenths. The Gators turned in some great floor routines – including a 10.0 by Thomas. But UF couldn’t close the gap on the Sooners as they used beam marks of 9.9 or better toward their closing event total.
 
Today’s result was Florida’s lone loss of 2022, as the Gators finished 2022 action at 31-1-1.
 

EVENT WINNERS:

Vault Trinity Thomas Florida 9.9875
Uneven Bars Trinity Thomas Florida 9.975
  Danielle Sievers Oklahoma 9.975
Balance Beam Ragan Smith Oklahoma 9.9625
Floor Exercise Trinity Thomas Florida 10.0
All-Around Trinity Thomas Florida 39.8625

 
It was another spectacular performance for Florida’s Thomas.

  • Her winning all-around total shares No. 2 all-time in NCAA finals.
  • Posted the eighth floor 10.0 in NCAA team final – and first since 2005
  • Perfect 10.0 in every 2022 NCAA floor performance – NCAA Regional Second Round, NCAA Regional Final, NCAA Semifinal & NCAA Final
  • Finished season with 12 perfect marks (7 floor, 3 vault, 1 each bars, beam). That is second only to UCLA Kyla Ross’ 14 in 2019.
  • The nation’s six highest all-around totals of the 2022 season all were turned in by Thomas
    • 39.90 (April 2 – NCAA Regional final)
    • 39.875 (March 31 – NCAA Regional second round)
    • 39.8625 (April 16 – NCAA Team Final)
    • 39.85 (Feb. 25 vs Oklahoma)
    • 39.825 (March 19 – SEC Championships)
    • 39.8125 (April 14 – NCAA Semifinal)

 
NEXT UP:
The NCAA Championships closes collegiate gymnastics competition for 2022. Two will join the Gators next season – Lori Brubach and Kayla DeCello.
 
“The future is really bright for this team. We’re returning a great solid core for next season. They’ve all experienced it so they’ve all got a good taste and know what it takes to get to this point,” Rowland said. “So looking forward to making the most of this moment, celebrating and then taking our next step to move on to next season.”

Spring Game Awards

Gator Sports

Courtesy Florida Sports Information

Spring Team Awards

Channing Chowder Headhunter Award
o Diwun Black
o Jordan Young
o Ethan White
o Ja’Quavion Fraziars

Chris Doering I Like to Practice Award
o Justin Shorter
o Donovan McMillon
o Tyreak Sapp
o Daejon Reynolds

Jack Youngblood Defensive Lineman Award
o Gervon Dexter

Lomas Brown Offensive Lineman Award
o Kingsley Eguakun

Joe Haden Defensive Back Award
o Tre’Vez Johnson
o Jason Marshall Jr.

Emmitt Smith Running Back Award
o Montrell Johnson

Danny Wuerffel Most Improved Player
o Dante Zanders
o Michael Tarquin
o Derek Wingo
o Jaydon Hill
o Princely Umanmielen

Tim Tebow Leadership Award
o Rashad Torrence II
o Marco Ortiz
o Trent Whittemore
o Nay’Quan Wright

Vernell Brown Culture Award
o Amari Burney
o Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr.
o Jeremy Crawshaw
o Richard Gouraige
o Desmond Watson

Steve Spurrier Commitment to Excellence Award
o Trey Dean III
o O’Cryus Torrence
o Brenton Cox Jr.
o Lorenzo Lingard

Reidel Anthony Receiver Award
o Xzavier Henderson

Wilber Marshall Linebacker Award
o Ventrell Miller

Community Service Award
o Chief Borders
o Josh Braun

Louis Oliver Outstanding Non-Scholarship Player Award
o Adam Mihalek
o Noah Keeter
o Kahleil Jackson
o Taylor Spierto
o Justin Curtis
o Mark Pitts
o Justin Pelic

Fred Taylor Most Improved Freshman Award
o Jack Miller III
o Kamryn Waites
o Justus Boone
o Austin Barber
o Devin Moore
o Scooby Williams

Game Review from GatorCountry!

Gator Sports
This is an example of the quality reporting found on Gator Country (www.Gatorcountry.com).
 
https://www.gatorcountry.com/feature/notebook-richardson-shines-black-splashes-more-tidbits/
 

Notebook: Richardson shines, Black splashes, more tidbits

By

 Ethan Hughes

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As usual, the quarterback position was in the spotlight during the Orange and Blue Game on Thursday night.

Anthony Richardson showed some major promise as a redshirt freshman last year, and the estimated crowd of 45,000 wanted to see him show signs of progress as a passer.

Richardson didn’t disappoint. He executed what was likely a watered-down version of the offense to near perfection, as he took care of the ball and delivered accurate throws to his receivers.

He completed 18 of 24 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns, and he also scored via a 12-yard rushing touchdown. He led the Blue team to touchdowns on all three of its first-half possessions and four of its first five drives overall.

Richardson’s efficient night through the air propelled the Blue team to a 34-0 blowout of the Orange team.

“I think Anthony is a production of a lot of hard work,” coach Billy Napier said. “I can’t say enough. His approach has been first class. When I think about a quarterback, we think about a person who represents everything of what the organization is about. Certainly, at the highest level of football, the quarterback is the face of the organization. They set the greatest example with their work ethic, their attention to detail, their self-discipline, their approach.

“He’s a product of his work. He’s learning a new system. Standing behind him back there, it wasn’t too big for him. He communicated well, and the ball went where it was supposed to go. The players around him played well. The pocket was clean. Guys [caught] the ball. It was a good day.”

Richardson said that one of the biggest things he worked on this spring was consistency. Fans were ready to start building him a statue after some of the jaw-dropping plays that he made early in the 2021 season, but he struggled enough down the stretch to give you a little bit of doubt as to whether or not this is going to work out.He felt like he turned in a much more even performance on Thursday.

“I feel like it’s my decision-making, just being confident and deliberate with what I want to do,” he said. “I feel like I’ve always had a decent arm, but it’s just my thought process sometimes is terrible. I just tried to keep it dialed in and just understand where the ball was supposed to go in certain coverages. I feel like I did a decent job with that today.”

One of the defining characteristics of the offense on Thursday was the tempo that they played with. They didn’t get plays off as quickly as some of those Oklahoma teams have over the years, but they didn’t give anyone much time to fully process what had just happened on the play before or send out a tweet before they snapped the ball again.

Richardson admits that he still has room to grow in the new scheme, but he feels comfortable with the tempo.

“I love the tempo,” Richardson said. “I talk to the O-Line before every drive, every series. I let them know that we’ve got to play smart, we’ve got to play fast, we’ve got to be concise. In this offense, if you do one thing wrong, you mess up the whole play. I just tell them we’ve got to play fast and play concise. If we do that, I don’t think anybody can stick with us because our tempo is pretty fast. We should know the plays like that. Honestly, I love the tempo.

“I feel some of the plays I’m not that familiar with, that comfortable with. It’s kind of hard to say it was easy. It’s just a matter of my extra work on your own, getting in with the coaches and doing some things like that. I feel like if you put in the work and the time and the effort, then you’ll catch onto it pretty fast.”

Johnson leads the way

With Nay’Quan Wright sitting out as he continues to work his way back from a significant leg injury and Lorenzo Lingard leaving the game in the first quarter with a hamstring injury, Louisiana transfer Montrell Johnson carried even more of the load than was initially expected.

He played for both teams and toted the ball a combined 15 times for 62 yards and a touchdown.

He showed off his downhill, physical running style that allowed him to lead the Ragin’ Cajuns in touchdowns and earn Sun Belt Freshman of the Year honors in 2021. He ran through a defender to convert a third-and-7 late in the second quarter, and he also pushed the pile for extra yards on a couple of other occasions. He never got knocked backward.

“Montrell’s extremely bright, picks things up quickly,” Napier said. “He certainly was a very productive back for us last year. I think he rushed for 800 or 900 yards and was the conference player of the year. He belongs out there. I think he’s 5-11½ and weighs 217 pounds. He hit 21.5 miles per hour last year in a game on his GPS. He’s got a big lower half. He’s got contact balance. He can protect. He can catch.

“Montrell is what the doctor ordered. He’s certainly going to provide depth and production for our team.”

Johnson said that he arrived at UF in January with a chip on his shoulder. He feels like he should’ve gotten SEC offers when he was in high school, and he wants to prove that to the world now.

“I was a very under-recruited guy,” he said. “I feel like I can play with those guys. I’m going to say it felt the same as the Sun Belt. It’s a difference, but I felt very comfortable out there, very confident. I’m going to keep grinding and getting better.

“I think one of my strengths is I’m a very patient runner. I wait to see when the hole is going to open up. One of the things I can work on is my speed. That’s really about it.”

His Gators career is off to an encouraging start.

Black splashes

Linebacker Diwun Black was a breakout player on the defense this spring, and he put an exclamation mark on the spring with a solid showing on Thursday. He made three tackles and broke up a pair of passes, including one where he exploded out of nowhere and nearly intercepted Jack Miller in the first quarter.

“The guy’s got some height and length, very instinctive,” Napier said. “Even when he’s wrong a little bit, he can make it right and oftentimes makes plays. He is productive on a consistent basis. One thing I would say about Diwun Black, during identity program, I wrote his name down multiple days where he’s probably been the gold standard when it came to effort in the program.

“The guy’s really bought in, and I will say this: he’s completely changed his reputation in the building relative to his attitude, his work ethic, how he goes about his business. He’s really academically had a decent semester. He needs to continue to work hard, but I’m very pleased. What you saw out there today is what we observe every day in practice.”

Black is still very new to the position. He primarily played safety in high school and junior college, and he cross-trained at a couple of spots last year. Now, he’s a full-time inside linebacker.

Starting middle linebacker Ventrell Miller said that he’s been impressed with how Black has handled the position change.

“I feel like that’s a difficult thing to do,” Miller said. “Just coming from a DB, coming to linebacker, you’ve got to be a lot more vocal. You’ve got to communicate. You’re just the quarterback of the defense. So, I feel like he’s embracing that role a little bit, learning what he’s doing, and he’s getting better every day.

“I’ve just seen the progress. He always gets his hands on the ball. He’s just a playmaker. You just see him flying around.”

Tight ends surprise

Due to injuries, Keon Zipperer was the only scholarship tight end who played in the Orange and Blue Game who began the spring as a tight end.

So, surprisingly, two of the top-3 pass-catchers in the game were tight ends – and Zipperer wasn’t one of them.

Dante Zanders, who began his career as a tight end before switching to defensive end prior to the 2020 season, moved back to the position about a week into the spring. He played on the Blue team, which featured the presumptive first-string offense. He led both teams with five receptions for 56 yards.

“You can immediately see where he’s got a future,” Napier said. “I can’t compliment him enough. He’s been the story of the spring. Heck, we had three scholarship tight ends injured, out for the spring three, four, five practices in. We moved him over from defense, and the guy picked it up quickly. I saw him around the facility more than some of the coaches. He was in there grinding away, and he has ability.

“He’s loose. He can transition. He’s got good ball skills. Most importantly, he’s smart, and he’s consistent. The guy is heavy-handed at the point of attack. He’s a godsend. Not only did he make the move, that guy running out there is going to make a lot of plays for us. Extremely pleased with Dante.”

Richardson said that he’s been impressed with how quickly Zanders has picked things up and how selfless he has been for the team.

“First of all, just embracing new coaches, that’s hard,” he said. “Then trying to learn one playbook, then two to come play offense, that’s just a hard thing to try to grasp and take in. He’s been excellent to me. I remember the first day they told me that he was going to be out there, I was like, ‘Man, that’s different.’ Then I saw him walking. We were going to our cars. He was like, ‘Bro, I’ve got you.’ Since then, he’s had my back, and I’m thankful for that.”

Noah Keeter, a walk-on who transferred to UF as an outside linebacker in 2020, caught three passes for 53 yards and a score while also working with the first-string offense.

“Honestly, I thought [the transition] would be a lot harder, but I was lucky,” Keeter said. “I transitioned before spring break, so, over spring break, I was able to study the whole break and kind of figure out the offense on my own. I’ve been meeting with Coach [Ty] Darlington and Coach [William] Peagler pretty much every day trying to figure it out.”

Orange and Blue Review

Gator Sports

The first taste of the Florida Gators under new head coach Billy Napier came on a rare Thursday night as the 2022 Orange & Blue Debut was held in primetime inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. With the roster and coaching staff split among uniform color lines, the Gators showed that the offense remains far ahead of the defense in a 31-0 shutout win for the Blue squad.

Led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Anthony Richardson, the Blue team scored on every first-half possession to open up a 21-0 halftime lead. Richardson remained in the game through the third quarter, completing 18 of 24 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns with a rushing score on the evening. His passes were crisp, his surgically-repaired knee looked 100% healthy, and he managed the first-team offense exceptionally well against a first-team Orange defense that proved it still has miles to go.

“I can’t say enough [about him],” head coach Billy Napier said of Richardson. “His approach has been first class.”

The same could not be said for redshirt freshman QB Jack Miller III, who was incredibly inconsistent with the ball and made numerous errors in the red zone. Miller completed 13 of 23 passes for 121 yards with an end zone interception thrown into triple coverage. As if the starting job was not already decided entering the game, Richardson made it quite clear why he is QB1 entering the season as Miller got off his spot too easily and telegraphed passes too frequently.

Let’s dive into some other first-blush takeaways from the spring game.

Thumbs up

» Tight ends: For a position that has been ravaged by injuries and using replacement players, these guys showed out all night. Junior Keon Zipperer (Orange), redshirt junior Dante Zanders (Blue, moved from defensive line) and redshirt sophomore walk-on Noah Keeter (Blue, moved from linebacker) combined for 10 receptions, 142 yards and a touchdown (Keeter). Each had receptions of 20+ yards while averaging 15 yards per catch or better. That’s not to say this will be replicated in the regular season, but it did provide some hope at the position and some highlights for recruits that this position will be targeted frequently in the offense. Napier called Zanders the “story of the spring” for his commitment to the position change and believes he has a real future at tight end.» Montrell Johnson Jr. (Blue) transferred from Louisiana looking for opportunity under Napier, and he’s certainly found it. Though Johnson played for both teams, he got the start for Blue and received 16 total touches, the second-most in the game. Johnson finished with 64 total yards and a rushing touchdown, showing good burst and shiftiness. Given he may be more trustworthy with the ball (see below), he certainly seems to have a leg up for the starting job.

» Diwun Black (Blue) did not show out as many hoped in his first season, but he looks to have completely turned things around. Napier called out his “gold standard of effort” during the spring, noting he “completely changed his reputation in the building”, and it showed on the field. Black had three tackles and two pass defenses. The senior linebacker was frequently around the ball and looked like the playmaker everyone expected he could be both out of high school and junior college.

» Jalen Kimber and Jordan Young (Blue) showed out for the second-team defense, combining for 12 tackles (seven for loss). While Young was impressive in the open field, Kimber showed talent in coverage with an interception and two pass defenses. The redshirt sophomore and redshirt freshman were just two out of a handful of second-teamers who impressed, including sophomore defensive linemen Tyreak Sapp (forced fumble, QB hurry, tackle for loss).

» Ja’Quavion Fraziars (Orange) got the most run out of any wide receivers. The sophomore caught five passes for 53 yards, though he was missed frequently by Miller and likely could have put up a more significant stat line.

» Adam Mihalek (Blue), a redshirt freshman walk-on kicker, did something others at his position could not last year: make long field goals. Mihalek stunningly connected on 52- and 47-yard field goals in the second half, clearly making a case for a scholarship if that play is indicative of what he’s accomplished in practice to this point, though he did boot a kickoff out of bounds as well. (2022 signee Trey Smack will not enroll until the summer.)

» Atmosphere: Florida announced an attendance of over 45,000. While that was likely juiced with The Swamp acting as the Pontiac Silverdome in this scenario, there was nevertheless a huge showing of fans, proving Napier’s decision to move the game to Thursday night before Easter an inspired one. Furthermore, there were reportedly more than 300 recruits in attendance to see that fan engagement and experience a taste of a primetime atmosphere. Napier even handed out some awards to players during halftime at midfield. “It was electric out there,” Napier said after the game. “Even better than I expected.”

Thumbs in the middle

» Demarkus Bowman (Orange) showed great quickness and agility but made costly mistakes with the ball in his hands. The redshirt sophomore running back fumbled the opening kickoff and fumbled a carry on the first possession of the second half, giving Blue the ball in the red zone for an immediate Richardson rushing touchdown. Bowman took 21 touches for a game-high 79 total yards, but those miscues are going to give the coaches second thoughts about giving him the starting job. If he can take care of those ball protection issues, he is clearly the most electric playmaker on the field.

Thumbs down

» First-team defense: Spring games are not defensive showcases, so no one was expecting the Orange first team to consistently stop Richardson or turn the ball over. Still, AR15 sliced through it like butter with the Blue offense getting whatever it wanted in the first half. Blue scored on all of its possessions before halftime and likely would have in the second half as well if it didn’t take its foot off the gas. (Orange did have a nice defensive stop on the first drive of the latter period.) There was no push from the defensive front seven, and Blue was never even forced into an occasional negative play. Defensive coordinator Patrick Toney has a lot of work to do with this group over the summer.

» Discipline: This is mostly referring to pre-snap penalties, of which there were plenty in the game — particularly the first half. Florida was one of the five most penalized teams in the nation last season, and that lack of care is simply not sustainable if this team wants to move forward. Napier has made this a key point of offseason program, so it was a bit surprising to see it be such an issue. Then again, the Gators have surely been concentrating on larger issues during their limited 15 practices, and hopefully this is a problem addressed more thoroughly during summer camp.

» Celebration chain(s): Sure, this may be silly to write about, but Florida had a touchdown chain on the sideline. It was a simple thick link necklace with a steel padlock on the bottom. Forget for a moment that the fad was made popular by one of UF’s rivals, it is massively played out, and the Gators’ chain did not even impress. Asked about a “turnover chain” after the game, Napier demured: “Nobody ran that by me. That won’t be happening.” Hopefully, he was talking about any semblance of a celebration chain and not just specifically a “turnover” version. Either way, it does not need to be part of the program.