Wednesday, March 30, 2011

No. 7 Florida State Downs No. 3 Florida, 5-2

No. 7 Florida State (19-6) broke a 2-2 tie by scoring the game-winning run on a misplayed infield fly in the sixth inning and added a two-run homer in the eighth by senior Stuart Tapley to upend No. 3 Florida (21-5), 5-2, in front of 10,078 fans at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville on Tuesday night.

The Seminoles plated five unanswered runs after falling behind, 2-0, and five relievers combined for six shutout innings of one-hit ball to secure the win. Sophomore Scott Sitz (3-1) notched his third career decision over the Gators, while senior Mike McGee collected his fourth save. With FSU now holding a 2-1 edge in the series, the teams will wrap up their four-game set on April 12 in Tallahassee.

Florida opened the scoring with a two-out RBI double by sophomore Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) in the first inning that scored junior Daniel Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) all the way from first base. FSU junior Hunter Scantling had retired the first two hitters of the game before Pigott singled into left field. Zunino then raised his hitting streak to 14 games with his fifth double of the year into the left-field corner.

UF used a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Zunino in the third to take a 2-0 lead. With one down, sophomore Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.) drew a walk and sophomore Kamm Washington (Boynton Beach, Fla.) attempted to sacrifice his teammate over but instead reached on a fielding error by sophomore first baseman Jayce Boyd. Scantling plunked Pigott to load the bases with one down and Zunino lofted his first sac fly of the season into left field to drive in Fontana. Scantling had junior Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) ground out to end the frame.

Junior Anthony DeSclafani (Freehold, N.J.) set down the first eight Seminole hitters before hitting sophomore Justin Gonzalez with two down in the third. The right-hander had a grounder by sophomore Devon Travis force Gonzalez at second base. Scantling worked the first three innings, giving up two hits and two runs (one earned), before sophomore Robert Benincasa came out for the fourth inning.

The Seminoles tied the game in the fourth on a two-run double by junior James Ramsey (2-for-4, two RBI). Junior Sherman Johnson had led off with a single and McGee followed with a ground-rule double over the right-field fence for a pair of runners in scoring position. Sophomore Steven Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) (1-1) was summoned from the bullpen for DeSclafani (3.0 IP, 2 H), 2 R and surrendered a two-bagger into right center by Ramsey for a 2-2 count. After Rodriguez struck out redshirt senior Rafael Lopez for the second out, Tapley reached on an error by Fontana for runners on the corners. The reliever had senior Parker Brunelle force Tapley at second to keep the contest tied.

Freshman Zack Powers (Seffner, Fla.) started the fifth with a walk and was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Fontana. Benincasa worked out of trouble by having Washington line out to right field after a nine-pitch at bat and had Pigott pop out in foul territory near third base.

Rodriguez plunked Gonzalez to begin the home part of the inning and had Travis ground into a 1-4-3 double play. The southpaw walked Johnson but fanned McGee to close the stanza.

Sitz replaced Benincasa (2.0 IP, 2 K) at the outset of the sixth and permitted a one-out single to Tucker that was the Gators’ first hit since the first inning. A fielder’s choice by sophomore Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) erased Tucker but sophomore Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) earned a free pass for two runners aboard. Sitz caught senior Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.) looking on strikes to close the inning.

Helped by a Gator error, Florida State seized a 3-2 advantage in the bottom of the inning. Ramsey led off with a ground-rule double to right field and went to third on a passed ball by Zunino. Rodriguez had Boyd pop up on the infield but Adams misplayed it for an error, enabling Ramsey to come across with the go-ahead run. After striking out Lopez, Rodriguez (2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 K) was replaced by junior Greg Larson (Longwood, Fla.). The righty induced back-to-back fly-outs by Tapley and Brunelle to hold UF’s deficit at 3-2.

Junior Brian Busch came in for Sitz in the seventh and Washington reached on a two-out fielding error by Boyd. FSU brought senior Daniel Bennett into the game and his first pitch was a grounder by Pigott that forced Washington at second base to end the inning.

In FSU’s seventh, Gonzalez raised his hitting streak to a team-leading seven games with a lead-off single and moved into scoring position on a grounder by Johnson. Junior Nick Maronde (Lexington, Ky.) took over for Larson (1.0 IP, 1 H) and stranded the runner with a strikeout of Johnson and a pop-out by McGee.

After Bennett retired Florida in order in the eighth, Tapley clubbed a two-out, two-run homer off Maronde to finalize the 5-2 margin. Maronde had collected the first two outs before Lopez reached on a bunt up the first-base line. Tapley sent a 1-1 pitch to right field for his third homer of the season. After Brunelle singled, junior Tommy Toledo (Tampa, Fla.) replaced Maronde and had a fielder’s choice by Gonzalez force Brunelle at second to close the inning.

Johnson opened the ninth with a walk off McGee but the right-hander answered with strikeouts of junior pinch hitter Jeff Moyer (Winter Springs, Fla.) and sophomore Cody Dent (Boynton Beach, Fla.) before having Fontana ground out to end the game. Florida State held an 8-3 advantage in hits and each club committed two errors.

Florida State baseball defeats Florida Gators

The host Seminoles (19-6) got the better of the Gators (21-5) in their third meeting of the season.

Playing in front of a crowd of 10,078, Florida took an early 2-0 lead on an RBI double in the first and a sacrifice fly in the third from Mike Zunino off of FSU starter Hunter Scantling.

FSU answered back in the bottom of the fourth as James Ramsey tied the score with a two-run double to right field that scored Mike McGee and Sherman Johnson.

Jayce Boy gave FSU a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning on a pop fly that UF second baseman Josh Adams missed. Ramsey scored on the play.

Stuart Tapley provided FSU with two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run home run to right field.

Scott Sitz (3-1) earned his third victory of the year after a scoreless sixth inning of relief.

McGee earned his fourth save of the season

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

No. 3 Florida Meets No. 7 Florida State In Jacksonville On Tuesday

Sunshine State rivals No. 3 Florida (21-4/4-2 SEC) and No. 7t Florida State (18-6/6-3 ACC) will break from the conference grind for the third of four regular-season meetings on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. The game will be televised live on FOX Sports Florida. The squads have split the first two encounters and will later meet in Tallahassee on April 12.

Junior right-hander Anthony DeSclafani (Freehold, N.J.) (3-0, 1.12, three saves) is set for his second start of the season and will face FSU junior righty Hunter Scantling (1-0, 1.04). Over 16 innings this season, DeSclafani has totaled 17 strikeouts and permitted two walks, while holding opponents to a .172 average. He fired four shutout innings against Florida Atlantic on Feb. 22, with three hits and three K.

Florida saw an end to its season-high 10-game winning streak with a 9-2 loss to No. 4 South Carolina last Friday before rebounding on Saturday with a 2-1 triumph. The Gamecocks overcame a 3-0 deficit with four unanswered runs to take Sunday’s finale, 4-3. Florida State dominated Wake Forest in its series opener, 12-4, before falling by an 8-0 score in game two. The Seminoles cruised to an 11-2 win in the rubber game with the Demon Deacons and is in first place in the Atlantic Division of the ACC standings with a 6-3 league mark.

This will be the fifth annual clash between the squads in Jacksonville during the regular season. Since UF claimed the initial contest with a 16-7 victory on April 3, 2007, FSU has taken the last three games: 10-2 on April 1, 2008, 3-2 in five innings due to weather conditions on March 31, 2009, and 7-2 on March 30 last season.

In the teams’ last meeting, junior Daniel Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) delivered a walk-off single in the 10th inning that scored sophomore Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.) with the winning run as UF edged No. 4 FSU, 5-4, on March 15 in front of a record crowd of 5,930 fans at McKethan Stadium. The Seminoles used a four-run third to grab the lead but were held scoreless for the final seven innings of the contest.
       
After DeSclafani retired the Seminoles in order to begin each club’s first extra-inning affair of the season, Fontana ripped a one-out triple into the right-field corner off FSU senior Mike McGee. Pigott (3-for-4) battled to a 3-2 count before slicing a single into center field that snapped a four-game slide for the Gators against their rivals. The game-winning hit represented Pigott’s career-best fourth RBI of the night and the junior also set a personal best with two walks.

In the initial meeting of the season, Florida State used a five-run third inning to post a 5-3 win in front of 7,869 fans at the Florida Four held at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa on March 1. After Florida pulled to within 5-3 in the sixth, FSU’s relievers retired the final 10 Gator hitters to secure the victory. Sophomore right-hander Scott Sitz worked five innings for the win, while McGee struck out the side in the ninth to pick up his first save.

Junior Tommy Toledo (Tampa, Fla.) gave up two hits and three runs, with three walks and one strikeout over 2.1 innings and was followed to the mound by junior Alex Panteliodis (Tampa, Fla.) (2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R). Junior Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) went 2-for-4 with an RBI single in the third, while Pigott and sophomore Kamm Washington (Boynton Beach, Fla.) had back-to-back two-out singles in the sixth. UF’s pitchers yielded a season-high five walks and its defense committed a then-season-high two errors.

Gators Jump to Program-Best No. 6 in IWLCA Rankings

The Florida Gators lacrosse team, riding a 10-game win streak, has been ranked No. 6, the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) announced today. This is the highest ranking for the Gators in program history.
The Orange and Blue have outscored opponents, 159-78, since the Gators’ overtime loss to No. 3 North Carolina, its only defeat of the season. Tewaaraton watch list honoree Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.) has already set a new program record for goals in a single season with 49.
Florida is ranked fifth in the nation in overall points scored and win percentage, sixth in scoring margin, seventh in scoring offense and draw controls and ninth in scoring defense. Individually, sophomore midfielder Cullen leads the nation in goals scored overall and goals per game, while coming in fifth in points overall. Sophomore goalkeeper Mikey Meagher (Liverpool, N.Y.) is sixth in the country in goals-against average with 7.38.
The Gators own a 9-0 home record and will be hitting the road to take on No. 16 Penn State on Saturday, April 2nd. This is Florida's first venture outside the Sunshine State since the Orange and Blue's lone loss of the 2011 season.
The top three schools, Maryland, Northwestern, and Duke all sit 1-2-3 in each voter’s ranking this week, keeping these three institutions as a solid block on top of the rankings. Penn State returns to the top-20, coming in at No. 16, as the rest of the poll shuffles after games from last week. Florida continues to climb, moving to a program-high No. 6 as the Gators are in their second year of competition.
The ACC again claims a record five schools, with four residing in the top seven. Maryland leads things off at No. 1, and Duke holds steady at No. 3 while North Carolina (No. 4) and Virginia (No. 7) both rise one spot; Boston College remains at No. 19.
The American Lacrosse Conference now has four schools in the rankings. Two of the ALC schools sit in the top six as Northwestern holds at No. 2 and Florida climbs to No. 6. Vanderbilt moves up two to sit at No. 13 while Penn State rejoins the rankings at No. 16.
The Big East and the Ivy Group both claim three schools each. Loyola leads the Big East at No. 5, up one spot from last week, while Syracuse (No. 14) and Georgetown (No. 17) both drop a couple notches. Penn is the highest-ranked Ivy at No. 8 while Princeton (No. 12) and Dartmouth (No. 18) both remain the same from the previous poll.
The CAA has two schools, with James Madison holding steady at No. 10 and William & Mary moving up one spot to No. 15.
Stanford from the MPSF drops to No. 9, while Albany from the America East continued to rise, moving up again, this time landing at No. 11. Massachusetts from the Atlantic 10 held at No. 20.
On Wednesday March 30, No. 11 Albany travels to No. 19 Boston College. On Friday, the No. 1 Terps host the No. 8 Quakers. Saturday sees a trio of games, starting with the No. 2 Wildcats hosting the No. 3 Blue Devils in Evanston. No. 6 Florida travels to ALC-rival and poll newcomer, No. 16 Penn State and No. 7 Virginia goes to No. 19 Boston College in an ACC matchup.
The next weekly poll will be released on April 3.
IWLCA Division I Week 5 Poll (28 Mar 2011)

Record
Votes
Previous
1. Maryland
10-0
400
1
2. Northwestern
9-0
380
2
3. Duke
9-1
360
3
4. North Carolina
8-2
326
5
5. Loyola
8-0
323
6
6. FLORIDA
10-1
279
9
7. Virginia
5-4
273
8
8. Pennsylvania
7-1
262
4
9. Stanford
8-1
226
7
10. James Madison
6-1
219
10
11. Albany
7-0
175
14
12. Princeton
4-3
174
12
13. Vanderbilt
6-4
166
15
14. Syracuse
3-5
134
11
15. William & Mary
4-4
82
16
16. Penn State
6-4
75
RV
17. Georgetown
2-5
71
13
18. Dartmouth
5-2
70
18
19. Boston College
7-3
59
19
20. Massachusetts
7-2
48
20
Also receiving votes: Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, Ohio State

UF baseball drops in polls

Florida's first home SEC series setback since 2009 also knocked the Gators from atop the college baseball polls Monday.

The Gators, who lost two of three to South Carolina, dropped from No. 1 to No. 4 in the Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball polls released Monday.

Florida (21-4) will play Florida State (18-6) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Jacksonville. The Seminoles are No. 7 in Baseball America and No. 12 in Collegiate Baseball.

The Seminoles notched a 5-3 victory in Tampa on March 1 over the Gators, before UF evened the series with a 5-4 victory in 10 innings in Gainesville on March 15.

Vanderbilt (22-3) is the new No. 1 in the Baseball America rankings, while Virginia (24-2) is the new No. 1 in the Collegiate Baseball poll. South Carolina is No. 3 in both polls.

Gruden: Gators will be fun to watch

Some leftovers from Will Muschamp’s high school coaches’ clinic this past weekend, where former NFL coach and current Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden was the guest speaker Saturday:

* Gruden raved about Florida offensive coordinator Charlie Weis several times. He predicted that under Weis, the Gators will have the best play-action passing game and the best perimeter screen passing game in college football next season.

* Weis said Muschamp and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn have been making it tough on him and the offense this spring, firing off all kinds of blitzes from all kinds of angles. Weis said it feels like his offense is getting blitzed a thousand times in practice every day. It’s obvious that Muschamp and Quinn are really going to get after opposing offenses in the fall.

* Gruden said if the NFL lockout does not end and there is no season in the fall, he’ll be spending a lot of time in Gainesville watching the Gators. He said several times that this is going to be a fun team to follow.

* On Friday, Quinn’s presentation to the high school coaches was about the importance of turnovers and how to create them by stripping ball carriers and punching the ball out when the opportunity is there. A day later, Gruden reinforced everything Quinn said during his presentation to the coaches. Gruden said NFL defenses have put an emphasis on doing all the same things Quinn showed the coaches the day before.

* Weis told the offensive play-callers in the audience that criticism comes with the job, and at some point they’re going to face it from all directions, including high school principals, parents and even from fellow offensive coaches. Weis said he’s even been criticized by his wife and son, Charlie, after some games in which his offense sputtered.

* Gruden, the assistant offensive line coach for his son’s high school football team, said he would like to get back in coaching as a head coach one day. He said he misses the game and the relationships with the players.

* Gruden said if the Florida players do a good job picking up new offensive and defensive systems this spring, watch out in the fall, this Gator team could be very, very good. He said the Muschamp-Weis coaching combination is the best in college football.

Sturgis gets kick out of comeback

Looking back on the five-loss season a year ago, the signs of trouble started popping up early for the Florida Gators.

There were the bad shotgun snaps and offensive ineptitude in the opener. Ineffective quarterback play and the struggle to sustain drives and score points in the three games that followed.

But maybe the most foreboding sign of all rocked Gator Nation just a few hours before the showdown with No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa — the late-breaking news that starting place-kicker Caleb Sturgis was out with a serious back injury and might be lost for the season.

night, the Gators were blown out by the Tide, and it started a three-game SEC losing streak that put Florida's season in a tailspin.

One of the first promising signs this spring that things might be better in 2011 occurred Monday — when Sturgis showed up at interviews and announced his back is feeling good and he will be full-go this season.

“I'm getting close (to 100 percent),” he said. “I haven't done kickoffs or anything like that yet. But I'm feeling real good. Field goals. … I'm 100 percent on those.”

Losing a place-kicker may not seem all that devastating, but it was to the Gators. Not only was Sturgis their experienced field goal guy, he handled kickoffs as well. For an offense that was in such dire need of points, the Gators lost one of their best weapons with his departure.

“Not being able to play, that was obviously really rough,” Sturgis said. “I've never in my life had an injury that held me out. It was something new for me, especially being a kicker and not really expecting it would happen to me.

“That was definitely rough.”

Sturgis said he injured his back last summer through a combination of things, including lifting weights. He had an MRI before the season and kicked in pain in the first four games.

But the week of the Alabama game, the painful spasms in his back came so often that he could not sleep and another MRI was done and he was ruled out. Sturgis had a ruptured disk and a stress fracture.

“It was pretty bad,” he said.

It was bad for Sturgis — and bad for the Gators, who were relegated to making punter Chas Henry the field goal kicker.

Henry made chip-shot field goals in the loss to Alabama.

But he missed his only attempt (from 29 yards) in the loss to LSU, then went 0-for-2 against Mississippi State, including a 42-yarder with nine seconds left that would have sent the game into overtime.

“It definitely (changes your perspective when you're injured),” Sturgis said. “You don't know how much you miss it til it's taken away from you.

“Last season was tough to be on the sideline for. Chas did well and that was kind of fun to see. He's probably my best friend.

“Obviously, (the missed FG against MSU) was kind of a low of lows, and the Georgia game (in which Henry's field goal in overtime gave the Gators a win in Jacksonville) was the high of highs.”

Henry is headed to the NFL (as a punter, if the lockout ends), Sturgis' back is back in pretty good shape, and he's ready to step back in as the Gators' kicker.

Sturgis said he's going to do everything he can to keep his back healthy.

“I'm just real careful,” he said. “I don't do too much in the weight room anymore. I always stretch out a lot and really limit how many kicks I do in a day.

“I try to stay flexible and ride the bike a lot. I never liked weightlifting that much anyway.”

Sturgis wasn't the only prominent injured player from last season who showed up for interviews Monday. So did cornerback Moses Jenkins, who said he has recovered from the serious elbow injury that sidelined him for most of 2010.

Jenkins recently received a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA that allows him to have a second senior season.

“I'm good now,” Jenkins said. “I always wanted to be a Florida Gator. When my opportunity finally came (I got hurt in the first game last season). This is like a blessing for me.”

Jenkins is battling for the starting cornerback spot opposite senior Janoris Jenkins.

Elam becoming a leader

With the tenacity Matt Elam uses on the field, it'd be hard to tell he can be kind of a shy guy.

Surrounded by reporters Monday, the hard-hitting former high school All-American looked more like a bashful kid than Florida's starting strong safety. But as Elam, who replaces one of the school's best safeties in Ahmad Black, made it through his time with the media he made it clear that his shy side won't come out on the field.

In fact, he's working to make that more of his act as he tries to be one of the new chiefs on defense.

"As far as my role, I have to be more of a leader this year than I was last year," Elam said. "I'm more involved now."

As a true freshman, Elam showcased his skills as a special teams star and played sparingly behind Black and at nickel corner. He played in all 13 of Florida's games, recording 22 tackles, including a sack, and recovered a fumble.

Now, the strong safety spot is all his, and he knows it. He also knows what the guy before him did in his position, but he's not looking to fill anyone else's mighty shoes.

"I'm not too worried about that," he said. "I'm just going to go out and play football."

When he's talking about football, Elam starts to come alive a bit, flashing a big smile, but he becomes reserved again when he's asked about things not pertaining to his goals of getting better and helping his team.

One sensitive issue with him is the sudden resignation of former coach Urban Meyer. The two were very close during his recruitment and Meyer's first — but brief — resignation caused him to switch his verbal commitment to Florida State before flipping back to Florida in the end.

When asked about Meyer, Elam declined to talk about him, but did have high praise for the new staff.

"I love (Coach) (Will) Muschamp," he said. "He's a cool man. I've learned a lot from him and I'm loving the coaching staff."

But that shyness around delicate issues isn't a problem on the field. On the field, it's all about business and according to fellow freshman cornerback Cody Riggs, Elam isn't afraid to speak his mind and direct the defensive backs. It's a work in progress, but Riggs said Elam has come a long way with his vocalization.

"It all matters about how he handles himself on the field," Riggs said. "When Matt makes a call I listen to him."

Harrison moves to center

Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Jonotthan Harrison is moving from left guard to center.

Harrison said he was surprised by the move, but is comfortable with it because he played some center in high school.

"I was shocked, but I was excited at the same time," he said.

Harrison has yet to play at Florida.

Driskel showing off wheels

Redshirt sophomore right guard Jon Halapio said freshman quarterback Jeff Driskel's transition to the college game this spring has been tough, but the early enrollee has shown signs of improvements lately.

Halapio said Driskel is conducting himself well in the huddle and his best attribute these days is his speed.

"When he's in the pocket and someone's flying at him, he can run real fast," Halapio said.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Shot selection under question after Gators’ Elite Eight loss to Butler

If you believe Twitter is representative of the Gators’ fan base overall, then it would seem that most Florida fans were unhappy with the 3-point shots Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton missed late vs. Butler.

To recap, Walker was 0-for-8 from the floor and had missed his five previous shots from 3-point range before taking one as time expired that would have won the game for Florida. He did ultimately make one in overtime, but finished 1-for-10 shooting.

“I thought in regulation we got Erving Walker a great look,” said coach Billy Donovan. “I was blocked off. I think Chandler kind of ran in front of me so I couldn’t see how clean it was, and he told me he had a great look, he was really wide open, and he was disappointed he missed that one.”


Near the end of overtime, Kenny Boynton attempted a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left and Florida fouled, sending Shelvin Mack to the line to ice the game.

“I would have probably have liked to have seen Kenny drive the ball when we were down one,” Donovan said. “I would have preferred that. But you know, he is another guy that’s made some big shots for us.”

Florida Men's Swimming and Diving Finish Fifth at 2011 NCAA Championships


Minneapolis, Minn. - The No. 5 University of Florida men’s swimming and diving team concluded the three-day 2011 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships in fifth place with x points Saturday night at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn. The top-five finish was the highest of any Southeastern Conference school at the meet, Florida’s fifth in the last six years and UF’s eighth under head coach Gregg Troy. For the 12th consecutive season, the Orange and Blue finished in the top 10 nationally. Individually, 15 UF swimmers combined to bring back 19 All-America honors and two national championships (200-yard freestyle, 800-yard freestyle relay) to Gainesville.

“I’m really proud of how everyone raced all weekend,” Troy said. “We raced tough all season long and went through some adversity this week, but we still hung in there tight. We still feel like we could have been a little bit better, but overall, it was a really great season. I can’t say enough about how well the guys did.”

The Gators concluded their season in the 400-yard freestyle relay, where the Orange and Blue crew of seniors Brett Fraser (George Town, Cayman Islands) and Conor Dwyer (Winnetka, Ill.), along junior James Turner (Ft. Pierce, Fla.) and freshman Brad deBorde (Longwood, Fla.), earned honorable mention All-America honors with a time of 2:52.02 to finish 10th overall. The race was Dwyer’s last as a Gator, as the 2010 NCAA Male Swimmer of the Year and two-time SEC Male Swimmer of the Year finished off his UF career with 12 All-America honors. Fraser, who earlier in the evening took 15th overall in the 100-yard freestyle (43.09) to pick up honorable mention All-America honors in the event, registered a team-best six All-America honors at the event, leaving Gainesville with 19 total All-America honors (tied for ninth-most in school history).

The majority of Florida’s points on the final day came in the 200-yard butterfly, where the Gators took home four All-America honors. Freshman Marcin Cieslak (Warsaw, Poland) took fourth and touched the wall in a personal-best 1:42.13, passing Ryan Lochte’s 2006 time of 1:42.39 for second-fastest in school history. Cieslak ended his first NCAA meet with five All-America honors. Also earning All-America honors in seventh place overall was sophomore Sebastien Rousseau (Cape Town, South Africa), who clocked in at 1:43.15 to pick up his fourth All-America honor of the meet (six career). Also competing in the event was sophomore Cameron Martin (Clearwater, Fla.), who earned his first-ever honorable mention All-America honor with an 11th place finish of 1:44.00. Senior Balazs Gercsak (Budapest, Hungary) garnered his only All-America honor of the meet with a 16th-place finish in the event with a time of 1:45.07. Gercsak ends his UF career with four career All-America honors.

Redshirt sophomore Marco Loughran (London, England) concluded his UF career with his eighth career All-America honor by finishing third in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:40.95. Loughran’s highest career finish gave him five All-America honors for the meet, and was Florida’s highest finish in the event since Omar Pinzon took third in the race in 2009.

Despite the final session starting at 8 p.m. ET, three of the four heats for the 1,650 free took place before the scheduled start time due to the length of the event. One of those heats was heat two, which was won by long-distance specialist Joey Pedraza (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.). The senior finished ninth overall in the event, picking up his first career individual event All-America honor (second total), as well as his first All-America honor since earning honorable mention honors as a freshman in 2008 as part of Florida’s 200-yard medley relay squad. Also competing in the event was freshman Connor Signorin (East Windsor, N.J.), who took 14th overall in 15:00.13 to conclude his first NCAA meet with two All-America honors.

For complete results from the 2011 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, click here. Gator fans are also encouraged to follow the swimming and diving program via Twitter or Facebook.

2011 Final Top-10 Team Scores
1. California - 493
2. Texas – 470.5
3. Stanford - 403
4. Arizona - 302
5. Florida - 291
6. Auburn – 269.5
7. Southern California - 206
8. Virginia - 200
9. Michigan -181
10. Georgia 125.5

2011 NATIONAL TITLES (2)
EVENT
NAME
TIME
200-Yard Freestyle
Brett Fraser
1:32.21
800-Yard Freestyle Relay
Dwyer, Fraser, Rousseau, Raymond
6:14.88

FLORIDA ALL-AMERICA HONORS (15 Swimmers, 19 Honors)
NAME
FIRST TEAM (EVENT)
HONORABLE MENTION (EVENT)
Brett Fraser (6)
200 Free, 800 Free Relay, 200 Medley Relay, 400 Medley Relay
100 Free, 400 Free Relay
Marcin Cieslak (5)
200 Fly, 200 IM, 200 Medley Relay, 400 Medley Relay
100 Fly
Conor Dwyer (5)
500 Free, 400 Medley Relay, 800 Free Relay
400 IM, 400 Free Relay
Marco Loughran (5)
100 Back, 200 Back, 200 Medley Relay, 400 Medley Relay
200 Free Relay
Sebastien Rousseau (4)
200 Fly, 200 Free, 800 Free Relay
200 IM
Brad deBorde (2)
---
200 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay
Jeffrey Raymond (2)
800 Free Relay
200 Free
Connor Signorin (2)
---
1,650 Free, 400 IM
James Turner (2)
---
200 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay
Rodion Davelaar (1)
200 Medley Relay
---
Balazs Gercsak (1)
---
200 Fly
Mike Joyce (1)
400 IM
---
Cameron Martin (1)
---
200 Fly
Joey Pedraza (1)
---
1,650 Free
Scott Sommer (1)
---
200 Free Relay