No. 2/3 Gator Softball Evens Series With No. 23 Georgia on Senior Day, 5-2

A total of 2,232 Gator fans, the sixth-largest crowd in school history, watched the No. 2/3 Florida Gator softball team (46-6, 15-5 SEC) knot the series with No. 23 Georgia (35-17, 12-8 SEC) Saturday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium with a 5-2 victory on Senior Day.

Florida celebrated its two seniors, Ensley Gammel (Bakersfield, Calif.) and Kelsey Horton (Valrico, Fla.), in a pregame ceremony before Saturday’s victory as the Orange and Blue improved to 10-4 (.714) against top-25 competition this season with the series-evening win over the No. 23 Bulldogs.

Working from behind, with a 2-0 deficit after a Tess Sito two-run double in the second, didn’t faze the Gators as sophomore starting righty Lauren Haeger (Peoria, Ariz.) delivered a game-winning three-run jack to left in the fourth to take UF up, 3-2. Gammel finished off the four-run fourth inning with a RBI double for the 4-2 Florida lead after four and the Orange and Blue never looked back.

The Gators added a fifth run in the fifth frame thanks to a junior Stephanie Tofft (Lincoln, Calif.) RBI single up the middle and Haeger worked out of a minor jam in the top of the seventh with runners on second and third, one out. Haeger fanned both Katie Browne and pinch hitter Christine Olney swinging to hold off the Dawgs for the victory.

Florida pounded out seven hits, paced by Haeger and Tofft at the dish Saturday, who both put up 2-for-3 performances, while Gammel and freshmen Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) and Taylor Schwarz (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) all connected for base hits on the afternoon, as Stewart continued her team-best 10-game hit streak.

The first-year Gator has reached base in all but three games this season and has had three hit streaks of nine or more games as she inches closer to UF’s freshman record for hits (75) with 72 so far this season. For Haeger, the game-winning RBI in the fourth counted as the eighth game this season she’s knocked in the game-winning runs for the Gators. UF’s come-from-behind was the 16th of the year for Florida, the fifth in SEC play.

Haeger (7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K) tossed a complete game, her ninth of the season, and fanned nine Bulldog batters in the process to improve to 13-2 in the circle for the Gators.

UF faced two Georgia pitchers in Geri Ann Glasco and Morgan Montemayor, each for three innings, with Glasco shouldering the loss (17-7). For the first time since April 7, 2012, the Gators didn’t strike out. Glasco (3.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K) gave up UF’s first three hits, including Haeger’s bomb before Montemayor (3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K) came in for three innings of relief.

Gammel and Horton have accumulated a career record of 199-42 (.825) donning the Florida uniform since stepping on campus as Gators in 2010, including a 77-23 (.770) mark in SEC play. The duo has made two Women’s College World Series appearances and helped led Florida to the national runner-up spot in 2011 in Oklahoma City. Horton, a 2013 Senior CLASS Award Finalist and recipient of a $5K scholarship from the SEC as part of the Brad Davis Award for community service, and Gammel have both shined for the Gators on and off the field, in the classroom and in the community, embodying what it means to be both a student and athlete. Both Kelsey and Ensley are team captains this year.

Women's Tennis Ranked No. 1 in ITA National Poll, Embree Still No. 1 Singles Player

Following last week’s impressive run to win its fourth consecutive Southeastern Conference Tournament championship, Florida jumped into the top spot of the women’s tennis national team rankings administered by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, which also featured Gator senior Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) as the No. 1-ranked singles player in the nation for a sixth consecutive ranking period.

During its three-match trek, Florida (22-2) defeated No. 18 Vanderbilt, No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 3 Georgia to capture the league’s postseason title en route to trading places with North Carolina atop the weekly ITA Team standings.

This is the fourth time this year the Gators are ranked No. 1 and the first time since January 30.

Embree has been the No. 1-ranked singles player since the February 26 biweekly chart, which will actually be re-administered on May 3 following the announcement of the NCAA Team, Singles and Doubles Championships fields.

All seven Gators earned a spot in the latest national singles rankings, with Sofie Oyen (Leopoldsburg, Belgium) checking in at No. 16, Alexandra Cercone (Seminole, Fla.) at No. 53, Brianna Morgan (Beverly Hills, Calif.) at No. 87, Caroline Hitimana (Waterloo, Belgium) at No. 120, Danielle Collins (St. Petersburg, Fla.) at No. 122 and Olivia Janowicz (Palm Bay, Fla.) at No. 124.

Embree and Oyen jumped from No. 22 to No. 12 in the national doubles rankings thanks in part to the tandem’s 9-8 (7-2) win on Sunday against Georgia’s No. 1-ranked team of Kate Fuller and Silvia Garcia, which maintained its spot in the this week’s listing.

By winning the SEC Tournament, Florida earned the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Championships field of 64. The NCAA Team Championships selections will be announced on April 30 at 5:30 p.m. ET on NCAA.com, with the names individual singles and doubles participants revealed on May 1 by 6 p.m. on the same website.

First round and second round matches of the team competition will be held May 10, 11 and 12 at 16 campus sites, with those locations also to be announced on April 30.

Seventh-Inning Rally Falls Short for No. 2/3 Florida Softball as No. 23 Georgia Takes Series Opener, 3-2

The Orange and Blue used a freshman Kirsti Merritt (Lake Panasoffkee, Fla.) bases-loaded walk and a sophomore Lauren Haeger (Peoria, Ariz.) sac fly for two runs in the seventh, but the No. 2/3 Gator softball squad fell short, 3-2, in the series-opener with the No. 23 Georgia Bulldogs Friday in front of a crowd of 1,492 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.

First pitch for game two of the series – Senior Day Saturday – will be noon from KSP. Florida will celebrate its two seniors, Ensley Gammel (Bakersfield, Calif.) and Kelsey Horton (Valrico, Fla.), in a pregame ceremony beginning at approximately 11:40 a.m. Saturday’s contest will air live on ESPNU, with Cheri Kempf and Cara Capuano on the call.

FLORIDA vs. GEORGIA SATURDAY AND SUNDAY BROADCAST INFORMATION

DATE	TIME	TV | VIDEO	RADIO	STATS
4/27	Noon	ESPNU (WatchESPN.com)	LISTEN	TRACK
4/28	Noon	CSS (ESPN3.com)	LISTEN	TRACK

Georgia improved to 35-16 on the season, 12-7 in Southeastern Conference play with the win Friday, while the Gators moved to 45-6 overall this year, 14-5 in league play, as both squads have one remaining SEC regular-season series next weekend before embarking on Lexington for the 2013 SEC Tournament May 8-11.

It took four innings of zeros on the board Friday in the classic pitcher’s duel between UF’s ace junior Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales, Fla.) and Georgia’s Chelsea Wilkinson before a Katie Browne RBI double in the fifth broke it up, counting as the first hit and score of the game for the Bulldogs for the 1-0 advantage.

After a scoreless sixth, the Gators and Dawgs put on a show in the seventh, combining for four of the five runs in the contest in the final frame. UGA first took advantage of a Gators’ defensive miscue to plate a second run in the top of the inning for the 2-0 lead before a Samantha LaZear two-out bunt single plated a third, giving the Bulldogs a 3-0 advantage heading to the home half of the seventh.

Florida battled though, loading the bags on a freshman Briana Little (Middleburg, Fla.) leadoff walk, followed by a sophomore Bailey Castro (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) one-out hit-by-pitch for runners on first and second with the top of the order due up. Freshman leadoff Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) dropped a bunt single to juice the bags for Merritt with one away.

Merritt had an epic battle at the plate with Wilkinson, fighting off and taking 15 pitches before drawing a bases-loaded walk for a 3-1 ballgame. Next up, Haeger sent a high flying Wilkinson offering to foul territory in left field for her third sac fly this season to plate UF’s second run of the game. With two down and UF trailing, 3-2, a senior Kelsey Horton (Valrico, Fla.) hard-hit ball to the UGA third baseman was fielded cleanly and sent to first for the final out of the game.

Stewart led the Gators at the plate with a 2-for-4 performance, extending her current hit streak to nine games, one shy of her season-best 10, while junior Stephanie Tofft (Lincoln, Calif.), Little and sophomore Katie Medina (Downey, Calif.) all connected for hits on the day.

Rogers (7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) shouldered the loss Friday for the Gators to move to 25-4 on the season, while Wilkinson (7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 14 K) improved to 6-3 in the circle for Georgia. Browne led UGA at the plate with a 2-for-3 performance, contributing two of the Dawgs’ five hits on the night.

UF’s series with UGA counts as Florida’s 13th, 14th and 15th games against a top-25 opponent this season, as UF moved to 9-4 (.692) against the high caliber competition with Friday’s loss. Georgia evened the all-time series in Gainesville 13-13, as the Bulldogs have won four straight at KSP Stadium.

UF’s seniors to be honored Saturday, Gammel and Horton, have accumulated a career record of 198-42 (.825) donning the Florida uniform since stepping on campus as Gators in 2010, including a 76-23 (.767) mark in SEC play. The duo has made two Women’s College World Series appearances and helped led Florida to the national runner-up spot in 2011 in Oklahoma City. Horton, a 2013 Senior CLASS Award Finalist and recipient of a $5K scholarship from the SEC as part of the Brad Davis Award for community service, and Gammel have both shined for the Gators on and off the field, in the classroom and in the community, embodying what it means to be both a student and athlete. Both Kelsey and Ensley are team captains this year.

Florida Baseball Uses Long Ball To Capture Series Opener Against Tennessee, 7-2

Freshman left-hander Danny Young (Boca Raton, Fla.) threw a career-high 5.2 scoreless innings and Florida (24-19/11-8 SEC) belted a season-high three homers in a 7-2 series-opening victory over Tennessee (17-23/5-14 SEC) on Friday night at McKethan Stadium.

Young (3-3) surrendered six hits in picking up his second SEC win, while the sophomore trio of Justin Shafer (Lake Wales, Fla.) (2-for-4, two RBI), Taylor Gushue (Boca Raton, Fla.) (2-for-4, three RBI, two runs) and Casey Turgeon (Palm Harbor, Fla.) (2-for-3, two runs) each went yard. The Gators have now claimed 10 of their last 11 outings and boast an eight-game winning streak at home.

“I thought Danny (Young) did a nice job,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “He threw strikes, and we got a couple of double plays. Overall, we threw strikes and only walked a couple of batters. (Justin) Shafer and (Taylor) Gushue both had a double and a home run apiece, and (Casey) Turgeon had another home run. But, I thought we swung the bats really well tonight. Eight out of the nine guys in the lineup got hits tonight. We threw all freshmen tonight, and on a Friday night in the SEC that doesn’t happen too often. Other than it getting a little sloppy in the ninth, it was a clean game and I was pleased by how we played tonight.”

Shafer opened the scoring with a leadoff homer in the second inning into the left-field bleachers off of Tennessee freshman right-hander Aaron Quillen (1-3). Shafer’s fourth big fly of the season was his first round-tripper since March 24 at Vanderbilt.

The Vols put their first two runners aboard in the third inning against Young, as sophomore Will Maddox (3-for-4) was hit by a pitch and freshman A.J. Simcox legged out an infield single to third base. Young induced a 3-6-3 double play ball from junior Scott Price (2-for-5), moving Maddox to third base. Freshman Christin Stewart drew a two-out walk for runners on the corners and Young had junior Pierce Bily pop up to Turgeon to end the frame.

Gushue cranked a three-run homer and freshman Richie Martin (Brandon, Fla.) had an RBI single in the bottom of the frame to expand Florida’s lead to 5-0. Freshman Harrison Bader (Bronxville, N.Y.) started with a single just out of the reach of Vols’ junior second baseman Taylor Smart and moved to second on senior Cody Dent’s (Boynton Beach, Fla.) team-leading seventh sacrifice bunt. Bader went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Martin’s base-knock into left field. After Turgeon lined a single into right field, Gushue blasted his team-leading fifth homer over the wall in right field. Redshirt sophomore Zack Powers (Seffner, Fla.) later collected his fifth double of the season with two down, giving the Gators five hits in the inning.

“I was trying to be aggressive,” Gushue said about his three-run homer. “I just wanted to get the first strike I could handle and put a good swing on it and wanted to see it up. Good things happen when you do that.”

Freshman Vincent Jackson (3-for-4) began UT’s fourth with a single up the middle but Young had Smart hit into a 4-6-3 double play. Although junior Ethan Bennett tripled to center field, Young put another zero on the board by having sophomore Parker Wormsley ground out.

The Gators added two more runs in the fifth to increase their margin to 7-0. Turgeon belted his fifth homer of the year to right field with one down, matching Gushue for the top spot, and Gushue followed with his 11th double to the gap in left center field. Shafer collected his second extra-base hit of the game with a double down the left-field line that scored Gushue and prompted a pitching change. Sophomore Eric Martin took over for Quillen (4.1 IP, 10 H, 7 R) and a throwing error by Simcox allowed senior Vickash Ramjit (Miami, Fla.) to reach base but Shafer was thrown out at the plate to complete the inning.

Young recorded the first two outs of the sixth but was struck with a line drive by Jackson and replaced by redshirt freshman Aaron Rhodes (Venice, Fla.). Over a career-high 5.2 shutout innings, Young scattered six hits, with two walks and one strikeout.

“Danny (Young) had an unbelievable start,” Gushue said. “He has a lot of fight in him; he hates losing. Just the little things set him off and that is good from a pitching standpoint. He can have that fire up there and it helps him gets through those tough situations.”

In the seventh, Wormsley reached on a one-out fielding error by Rhodes and went to third on a double by Maddox. Rhodes (1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K) struck out Simcox and freshman Parker Danciu (Delray Beach, Fla.) came in and had Price ground out to keep the zeroes on the board.

After Danciu worked 1.1 scoreless innings and had a pair of strikeouts, freshman Tucker Simpson (Oxford, Ala.) came in for the ninth. The righty fanned Bennett but the batter was able to reach on a passed ball. A one-out double into right center by Maddox thwarted the shutout and Maddox took third on a wild pitch. An RBI grounder by Simcox finalized the 7-2 margin. Florida held an 11-10 advantage in hits.

Six-Run Fifth Inning Helps Florida Baseball Overpower USF, 12-1

Florida (23-19) plated six runs in the fifth, tacked on four runs in the sixth and added two more runs in the eighth to post a 12-1 victory over USF (26-15) that snapped the Bulls’ winning streak at 12 games on Tuesday night at McKethan Stadium. Freshman Richie Martin (Brandon, Fla.) (2-for-5, two runs) drove in a career-high four runs with the go-ahead RBI single in the fifth and added a three-run triple in the sixth and sophomore Taylor Gushue (Boca Raton, Fla.) was 2-for-3 with a two-run double.

In claiming their seventh-straight home game, the Gators have now emerged victorious in 12 of their last 15 contests. With USF ranked 25th by Collegiate Baseball, head coach Kevin O’Sullivan club picked up its SEC-leading 12th win over a ranked foe.

“I thought our pitching was really, really good tonight,” O’Sullivan said. “We played great defense: Richie [Martin] made a nice diving catch, [Harrison] Bader made a nice sliding catch to end an inning and [Casey] Turgeon made a great play to his right to start an inning. We threw strikes for the most part tonight, only walked one guy and we used six different pitchers. All in all, it was a great team effort. Eight of the nine starters got hits tonight. Richie had a big night with four RBI. We got contributions up and down the lineup; we had a lot of guys on the mound and they all did their jobs.”

USF seized a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a two-out RBI single by junior Anthony Diaz. Senior Jimmy Falla opened the frame with a base-hit into right field off of sophomore Bobby Poyner (Wellington, Fla.) and senior Chris Norton (2-for-4) followed with a single into left field. Poyner had sophomore Austin Lueck line out to first base and freshman Levi Borders fly to right field before Diaz drove Falla in with a single into center field.

A one-out double by Norton in the fourth prompted a pitching change, as redshirt freshman Aaron Rhodes (Venice, Fla.) replaced Poyner (3.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 K). The right-hander retired all four batters he faced and matched his career best of two strikeouts before freshman Danny Young (Boca Raton, Fla.) (2-3) came in with two down and no one on in the fifth.

The Gators erupted for six runs on five hits in the fifth and sent 10 batters to the plate to take control of the contest. Sophomore Connor Mitchell (Tampa, Fla.) (1-for-2, two runs) singled to right field with one down and freshman Harrison Bader (Bronxville, N.Y.) (2-for-3, three runs) executed a hit-and-run with a base-hit through the right side to move Mitchell to third. Bader was able to reach second on the ensuing relay throw. A wild pitch by sophomore starter Mike Clarkson (1-5) enabled Mitchell to come home with the tying run and the righty hit senior Cody Dent (Boynton Beach, Fla.) for Gators on the corners with one down.

Junior Janick Serrallonga came out of the bullpen for Clarkson (4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R) and yielded an RBI single up the middle to Martin that brought across Bader. A walk to sophomore Casey Turgeon (Palm Harbor, Fla.) (1-for-4, two runs) loaded the bases and Gushue smoked a two-run double down the left-field line to give the hosts a 4-1 advantage, with Dent and Martin scoring. Sophomore Justin Shafer (Lake Wales, Fla.) lofted a sacrifice fly into center field to score Turgeon and redshirt sophomore Zack Powers (Seffner, Fla.) raised his hitting streak to a career-high six games with an RBI single to bring home Gushue. Senior Adrian Puig took the mound for Serrallonga (0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R) and had senior Vickash Ramjit (Miami, Fla.) ground out to complete the inning.

Senior Alex Mendez opened the sixth with a double to left field and went to third on a failed pickoff attempt by Young. A walk to junior James Ramsey brought sophomore Ryan Harris (Jupiter, Fla.) into the ballgame and the righty hit Falla to fill the sacks with none out. Harris rebounded to escape the jam by striking out Norton and Lueck and having sophomore Zac Gilcrease fly out to left field to keep the score 6-1 in favor of the Gators.  

UF tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by a bases-clearing triple by Martin. Mitchell had drawn a leadoff walk and moved to second on a failed pickoff attempt before Bader was hit by a pitch. Dent blooped a single into right field, bringing in redshirt freshman Joe Adel in for Puig (0.1 IP, 1 H, 3 R) with the bases full. Martin registered his first career three-bagger to balloon the margin to 9-1 and came home on a sacrifice fly into left field by Turgeon.

In the eighth, Bader started things off for the Gators with an infield single and went to second on a grounder by Martin. A two-out single into right field by Turgeon advanced Bader to third base and freshman Kevin Stypulkowski (Lake Worth, Fla.) came through with a pinch-hit single into right field to plate Bader. Rookie Christian Dicks (Jacksonville, Fla.) followed with a pinch-hit single into left field to bring home Turgeon with the game’s final run.

Harris worked 1.2 scoreless and hitless innings with three strikeouts and was followed to the mound by freshman Parker Danciu (Delray Beach, Fla.) (0.1 IP, 1 H) and freshman Eric Hanhold (Palm Harbor, Fla.) (2.0 IP, 3 K). The Gators out-hit the Bulls, 13-6.

Lauren Embree is First Three-Time SEC Women's Tennis Player of the Year

Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) was named the Southeastern Conference Women’s Tennis Player of the Year for a record third time and was one of five members of the University of Florida women’s tennis team who were recognized by the league coaches to their All-SEC Teams. Roland Thornqvist was voted the league’s Coach of the Year by his peers for the fourth time in his 11 years with the Gators.

Embree is the first player in the 21-year history of the award to receive the SEC’s top individual honor three times in a career. Embree also was voted the SEC Player of the Year in 2012 and in 2010, when she became the first ever freshman to collect the award.

“It’s really special to me,” Embree shared. “I’ve never thought I’d be the first player to win this award so many times because there are and have been so many talented and great players in the SEC. I’m not really focused on awards. I just try and come out every day and win for the team and for my teammates. It’s an extra cool award to get and it’s something I want to thank my coaches and teammates who have helped me.”

Last year Embree joined Gator great Jill Craybas as the only two-time recipients, as Craybas was honored in 1995 and 1996.

Embree compiled a perfect 39-0 record during her dual match singles career against SEC opponents in conference matches and helped the Gators win four consecutive league regular-season and tournament championships.

“Lauren deserves every award that you can give her,” praised Thornqvist, who this year has led Florida to a 22-2 overall record, a share of the regular-season title and the team’s fourth straight postseason championship. “The cool thing about Lauren is that she’s obviously an outstanding tennis player, but she is a tremendous team player. She not only plays for herself, but she plays primarily for the team. She gives everything she has every day in practice and elevates our whole team to new levels. I’m very pleased but not surprised that she’s once again the SEC Player of the Year.”

A Gator has been named the SEC Women’s Tennis Player of the Year nine times, beginning with Lisa Raymond earning the honor in 1993, the debut of the award. In addition to Embree, Raymond and Craybas, Jessica Lehnhoff received the Player of the Year recognition in 2002, Alexis Gordon in 2004 and Allie Will in 2011.

Junior Sofie Oyen (Leopoldsburg, Belgium) joined Embree on the All-SEC First Team, with juniors Alexandra Cercone (Seminole, Fla.) and Olivia Janowicz (Palm Bay, Fla.) and freshman Brianna Morgan (Beverly Hills, Calif.) having earned a spot on the All-SEC Second Team.

Oyen is a three-time First Team All-SEC honoree, while Cercone was voted the second team for the third consecutive season. This is the second time on the second-team for Janowicz, who was also selected during her freshman year and was recently named the 2013 SEC Tournament Most Valuable Player.

Morgan, who also earned a place on the All-SEC Freshman Team, posted a 7-1 singles record in SEC matches during her rookie campaign.

Thornqvist has been named the SEC Coach of the Year in 2004, 2006, 2010 and now in 2013.

Champions Again: Florida Women's Tennis Captures Fourth Straight SEC Tourney Title

The third-seeded and second-ranked Florida women’s tennis team defeated top-seeded and third-ranked Georgia, 4-0, and won the 2013 Southeastern Conference Championship on Sunday afternoon at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

Not only was this the Gator’s 19th SEC Championship in the 26-year history of the league’s postseason event, but it marked the 16tth time Florida has won both the regular-season and tournament titles in the same season.

The Gators (22-2) captured the doubles point in thrilling fashion and then used singles victories from freshman Brianna Morgan (Beverly Hills, Calif.), junior Alexandra Cercone (Seminole, Fla.) and junior Olivia Janowicz (Palm Bay, Fla.) to win their fourth consecutive SEC Tournament crown

 

“We trained hard for this championship, to be able to play three grueling days in a row against competition like this. We played three top-20 teams, two top-four teams back-to-back. I was really proud of them,” said UF head coach Roland Thornqvist, who has guided the Gators to eight SEC Tournament titles in his 11 years. “This championship means a great, great deal to us.”

Florida’s SEC Tournament run included a 4-1 win against No. 18 Vanderbilt on Friday, a 4-1 win versus No. 4 Texas A&M on Saturday, before Sunday’s 4-0 shutout over third-ranked Georgia. Every Gator recorded at least one win on either the singles or doubles court during Florida’s three-match spree to the championship.

“When we meet in August, we talk about being the best team on day three and I thought we looked as fresh as a daisy even though we had to play late at night (for the quarterfinal match) and didn’t get much rest,” Thornqvist shared. “We had to play two top-four teams to win it. I thought we were the fresher team today and that’s all the credit to these guys for buying into the fitness we do. I love this team. We’ve lost a lot of doubles points this year but we never hang our heads. Of course, the doubles win today should give a lot of confidence that we can do it in the NCAA Tournament.”

Janowicz had been the first Gator to win her singles match during Florida’s quarterfinal and semifinal matches and was able to even the team score after the Gators had lost the doubles point in both outings. On Sunday, Janowicz came through with the third and final singles victory to clinch the championship as she rallied to beat Ayaka Okuno, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 on court five.

Janowicz, who was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Performer after providing three singles victories in three days, was down a break, 4-2 in the third set, but stepped up to win four consecutive games, including one final break at love, to win her team-leading 33rd singles match of the year, as well as the 89th of her career.

“When I was down 4-2, I saw that our girls needed my help because we were all in really close matches and I just wanted to do everything I could not to lose,” Janowicz said. “When I see our girls play and see how they fight and play with so much passion, it’s electrifying. It helps you.”

Morgan gave Florida a 2-0 lead after she posted an impressive 6-3, 6-0 win against junior Kate Fuller on court four. The Gator freshman lost her serve to begin the match, but quickly recovered and got the match back on serve until the fifth game, where the two competitors traded serves. Morgan held for a 4-3 lead and broke Fuller, before serving out for the first set, as she won the final nine games of the match to earn the victory.

Morgan improved to 15-1 in dual match singles action, while collecting her 24th overall win of the year.

Cercone stepped up again and set the stage for Janowicz’s heroics with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Silvia Garcia on court three and the Gators took a 3-0 lead in the team scoring. The Gator junior, who posted her 11th consecutive win, jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but a couple of breaks had the frame back on serve through nine games, as Cercone capitalized on her second break point in the 10th game to take the first set. The second set was just as tight, as Cercone got the break in the eighth game and served out at love to capture her 25th singles win of the season.

Florida had lost the doubles point in each of its last three matches and halted that streak with a thrilling display on Sunday. Georgia won 8-0 on court two in 36 minutes and put the pressure on Florida’s remaining two teams.

“Today, we were spectacular in doubles,” Thornqvist said. “We had to beat the number one doubles team in the country to win the doubles point. It looked grim for a little while, but one thing about this team is that we never give up. We’re like a fourth-quarter team – the longer it goes the better we get and that’s very comforting as a coach.”

The Gators rose to the challenge, beginning with the freshman pair of Danielle Collins and Brianna Morgan which topped Ayaka Okuno and Lilly Kimbell, 8-3, on court three. Attention then turned to court one, where No. 22-ranked Lauren Embree and Sofie Oyen were battling top-ranked Kate Fuller and Silvia Garcia.

Florida was assessed a point-penalty from an incident on court two, but because that match had finished the rule stated that the penalty was to be charged to the highest-ranked position still in progress, which was court one where the Gators were serving at 4-all. Florida lost that game and Georgia quickly held for a 6-4 lead.

Embree then held and the Gators broke Fuller’s serve, as Oyen headed to the baseline aiming to get the 8-game pro-set back on serve.

Oyen held on her third game-point, but the Gator’s needed Embree’s overhead winner to fight off one break point, as Florida held the 7-6 lead.

Garcia held for the Bulldogs, who clawed back and earned another break for an 8-7 lead. With Fuller serving, the Gators fought off double-match-point and got the break, as Oyen’s lob for winner set up break point and the match headed to a tiebreak, where Florida won the first three points behind a pair of mini-breaks and closed out the victory with a 7-2 margin for the 9-8 (7-2) decision and claim the important doubles point.

“We lost the momentum midway through, but stayed together because they were communicating,” Thornqvist shared. “Once we got to the tiebreaker I thought we were mentally tough. Sofie made some crosses early in the tiebreaker that set the tone and we were off and running.”

The individual win was Embree’s 114th career doubles victory, tying for the fourth-most in program history with Jessica Lehnhoff (1999-2002) and Nina Suvak (2004-07).

“This championship is really special for our team,” shared Embree, who was named to the SEC All-Tournament Team. “We’re all really excited and going to enjoy the moment. (Senior) Caroline (Hitimana) and I are four-for-four (in SEC championships) but without us having the team that we’ve had these last four years, none of this would have happened. We’re a really tough team and that’s what it took today.”

Florida Lacrosse Earns No. 1 seed in ALC Tournament

The University of Florida lacrosse team earned its second-straight No. 1 seed for the upcoming American Lacrosse Conference tournament, announced by the league on Monday. The tournament will be held on May 2-5 hosted by Johns Hopkins. 

The Gators earned a share of their third-straight regular season conference title with Northwestern and Penn State who also finished 4-1 in league action.  Florida wins the No. 1 seed via tiebreaker rules that favors the team with the least goals scored against them in conference play. Florida came in with 46, Northwestern with 49 and Penn State with 62.

UF (16-1, 4-1 ALC) will face the winner of the No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed game in the semifinals on May 3 at 4 p.m. Both seeds have yet to be determined as the winner of the Johns Hopkins vs. Ohio State game on Sunday, April 28 will decide who gets the higher seed.

ALC Tournament - May 2-5 - Baltimore, Md. Hosted by Johns Hopkins

Quarterfinals - Thursday, May 2  Game 1 - #4 seed vs. #5 seed - 4 p.m. Game 2 - #3 Penn State vs. #6 Vanderbilt –  6:30 p.m. Semifinals - Friday, May 3 Game 3 - #1 Florida vs. Winner of game #1 - 4 p.m. Game 4 - #2 Northwestern vs. Winner of game #2 - 6:30 p.m. Championship Sunday, May 5 Game 5 - Semifinal winners – 12:00 p.m.

Florida is 3-1 in tournament games as the No. 1 seed, as it captured the 2012 tournament title in Gainesville. 

Florida gymnastics claims first national title

LOS ANGELES — Florida won its first NCAA gymnastics championship Saturday night by edging past Oklahoma and Alabama, last year’s national champion.

Florida posted a 197.575 for the title. Oklahoma was second at 197.375 and Alabama came in third at 197.35. UCLA was fourth at 197.10, followed by LSU 197.05 and Georgia 196.675.

Alaina Johnson capped the championship run on bars with a 9.95 for a team score of 49.475.

Bridget Sloan, the NCAA champion in the all-around Friday, had three 9.950s on the vault, beam and floor and a 9.900 on bars to lead coach Rhonda Faehn's team to the title.

The Gators got off to a poor start, falling twice on the beam.

But the Gators recovered thanks to Bridgette Caquatto’s 9.950 on her floor routine to give the Gators a 49.725 score, the best in Super Six history and a school record.

At the halfway point, Florida trailed Alabama 98.750 to 98.600.

Florida had four vaults of 9.9 or better to go 49.5 to make a run with a 148.100 as a team score entering the last rotation on the bars. After an Alabama rotation, the Tide led Florida by .025 heading into the final turn with the Gators on bars and the Tide on the beam. The two teams battled to the final routine for the title last year with the Gators coming up .075 short.

No. 14 Men's Tennis Falls to No. 7 Tennessee 4-2 in SEC Tournament Semifinal

The Florida men’s tennis team lost 4-2 on Saturday afternoon in the 2013 Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals to No. 7-ranked Tennessee. With the loss, the Gators will enter NCAA play with a 15-10 record.

“I thought Tennessee played really well today,” said head coach Bryan Shelton. “They came out in the doubles, and they just executed a lot better than we did.  I thought that made a big difference in the match how they came out playing so well from the very start, and got us on our heels.  But we did a good job of competing and staying after it.  I thought our guys competed until the last ball was struck, but they just played a little bit better than us today.  My hat is off to them.”

Tennessee took an early lead after winning the doubles point. Florida actually won the first doubles match on court three, when Mike Alford and Luke Johnson beat Taylor Patrick and Jarryd Chaplin 8-6. The Vols then finished off the other two matches to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

In singles, Tennessee’s Mikelis LIbietis, ranked third in the nation, beat Stephane Piro 6-2, 6-4 to push the advantage to 2-0. Gordon Watson got the Gators on the board with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Patrick on court six. Florida then tied the match when Bob van Overbeek beat Chaplin in three sets at No. 3 singles.

The Vols earned the win after No. 34 Hunter Reese beat Florent Diep 7-6 (5), 6-3 and Ed Jones finished off Billy Federhofer 7-5, 6-4.

Florida will now have a few weeks off while waiting for the 2013 NCAA Tournament to begin May 10-12 with the first and second rounds.

No. 3 Florida Overwhelms No. 4 Northwestern, 22-4, on Senior Day; Will Share ALC Regular-Season Title

As 13 seniors played their final regular-season home game, No. 3 Florida lacrosse rose to the challenge as it overwhelmed No. 4 Northwestern, 22-4, Saturday at Donald R. Dizney Stadium. With the win, Florida shares a portion of the ALC title with the Wildcats; marking their third-consecutive regular season championship in their four-year history.

The Gators (16-1, 4-1 ALC) hand the two-time defending national champion Wildcats (13-2, 4-1 ALC) their most lopsided loss since they were reinstated as a varsity sport in 2002, shooting 22-for-28 (.785) in front of a season-high 1,023 fans on a cold, rainy day in Gainesville. UF was led by sophomore midfielder Shannon Gilroy (Northport, N.Y.) who scored seven points (five goals, two assists) while six other Gators scored multiple goals.

“This group has worked so hard day in and day out and it’s just a testament to our seniors,” Head coach Amanda O’Leary said. “For them to come out and play the way they did and with the supporting cast, I thought it was just a great job by everyone today.”

Senior attack Gabi Wiegand (Bay Shore, N.Y.) added five points (four goals, one assist) while senior midfielder Brittany Dashiell (Bel Air, Md.) became the first Gator to record 200 career draw controls. Dashiell recorded a team-high seven draws for the second-consecutive game and paired it with a hat trick to help the Gators extend their home win streak to 18.  They also concluded the regular season 9-0 at home, the first undefeated season and most wins at Dizney Stadium in a season.

Senior attacks Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.) and Ashley Bruns (Ellicott City, Md.) each had three goals while Cullen dished out two assists as Florida matched its season-high in goals with 22. Senior attack Caroline Chesterman (South Nyack, N.Y.) and sophomore midfielder Nora Barry (Marcellus, N.Y.) each had two goals, rounding out the scoring for the afternoon.

Florida got off to a quick start with Gilroy scoring just 30 seconds into the contest on a Gilroy goal. It was followed 31 seconds later by Wiegand to jump start the Gators offense for the afternoon.  They would score five unanswered goals before Northwestern’s Taylor Thornton got on the board on a free position with 17:59 to play.  Cullen and Bruns assisted by Barry scored back-to-back 11 seconds apart to respond putting their team up 8-1. 

UF assisted on 11 goals on the afternoon, marking a season-high and tied for the second-most in a single game in program history.  Dashiell led the way with a career-high three assists while Barry, Cullen and Gilroy each found teammates on two.

Northwestern scored its only other goal of the game on an Erin Fitzgerald free position with 13:24 to play as the Orange and Blue closed the half on a 5-0 run taking a 13-2 lead at the break. UF opened the second half with goals from Wiegand and Dashiell before NU’s Fitzgerald found the back of the net again with 24:47 to play.

UF’s defense didn’t disappoint either as it forced eight turnovers and held the Wildcats to just four shots in the second half.  Senior defender Kayla Stolins (Glen Arm, Md.) and junior defender Krista Grabher (Vero Beach, Fla.) each caused two turnovers with Dashiell and Barry each picking up three ground balls.  Senior goalkeeper Mikey Meagher (Liverpool, N.Y.) recorded five saves in the net for the Gators with four of them in the first half. 

“I thought we did a great job all around on defense,” O’Leary said. “We had early slides all-around on their best attackers and Mikey played a great game in goal, so I think it was a total team effort.”

Florida improves to 4-2 all-time against Northwestern, winning the last three meetings. Penn State could also share a portion of the league title with a win at Johns Hopkins in their final conference game of the season

Lax Seniors Go Out with Historic Beating of Northwestern

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- To truly appreciate what Florida's lacrosse team accomplished on the first Senior Day in the program's short history, you need to understand how thoroughly dominant Northwestern has been over the years. 

So bear with me for a brief history lesson.

The Wildcats began playing NCAA women's lacrosse in 1982 before shifting the program to club status after the '92 season. There it remained for the next nine years.

In 2002, NU returned to varsity classification under Coach Kelly Amonte-Hiller. In 2005, the Wildcats became the first school outside the eastern time zone to capture the NCAA championship and last May won their seventh national title over eight years.

Got that?

Now get this.

Florida 22, Northwestern 4.

"There's not many words to express how that game went," said senior attacker Kitty Cullen, clearly drained by the emotions of the day, not to mention zipping through the Wildcats defense for a trio of goals and two assists. "That's probably the best our team has ever played."

And that's how the Gators and 13 seniors celebrated the final home match of their remarkable something-from-nothing careers. Talk about an orange-and-blue explanation point for this class. All Coach Amanda O'Leary's bunch did was hand one of the dominant forces of women's college sports -- any sport, mind you -- the worse defeat since the program rebooted to Division I a dozen years ago.

"We didn't expect that," defender Sam Farrell. "I guess everything just came together."

You could say that, yes.

The Gators won the opening draw and scored 30 seconds into the game. They won the second draw and scored 31 seconds later. Then 26 seconds after that.

Barely 10 minutes into the game, Florida led 5-0 on the way to a 13-2 edge at halftime, an output that matched the most goals Northwestern had given up to any opponent this season -- or in the past three seasons.

By the time the game ended, the Gators, whose first lacrosse game came on Feb. 20, 2010, had tallied the most goals ever against NU (topping a 21-2 loss to Virginia on March 26, 1991) and held the Wildcats to their fewest goals in 210 matches (dating to a 14-3 loss to Syracuse to end the 2003 season).  

Oh yes, Florida had also clinched a share of the American Lacrosse Conference regular-season crown for the third straight year.

Take a bow, ladies, especially you seniors.

Who could have pictured something so good happening so fast?

"They could have gone to Maryland or Northwestern or Duke or Carolina, but they came to Florida," O'Leary said after watching her senior class account for 15 of 22 goals and seven of 11 assists "We often talk about them as trailblazers. They took a chance. No field. No coaches. No lacrosse tradition. They bought into a dream."

Now, they've lived it and passed it on to the players that followed.

"They started the program ... with no upperclass girls to teach them what they taught us," sophomore midfielder Shannon Gilroy said of her senior sisters after ripping the Wildcats for five goals and a pair of assists. "They really dug deep and played really hard."

In doing, they went out in style and with four seasons worth of momentum.

"We'll savor this, but it's on to the next one," O'Leary said afterward. "Hopefully, we'll see Northwestern again."

Amonte-Hiller may not want to see Florida after falling in the series for the third straight time.

This one, though, was much different than the 8-7 loss at Evanston in the 2012 regular season or the 14-7 defeat in the ALC Tournament title game last year.

As the Wildcats filed out of the UF lacrosse complex, Amonte-Hiller stopped for a (very) brief chat with reporters. She was asked if her players were shocked by the outcome.

"I don't know," she said. "I haven't talked to them."

One blowout victory does not a season make. In fact, it surely will fuel the Wildcats if they face the Gators again in the ALC Tournament at Baltimore in two weeks or the NCAA Tournament after that.

But the Gators have a resounding reference point to just how good (or great) they can be.

Not that they didn't know before.

"We're a pretty confident team, but this definitely will give us more confidence going against some of the big teams," senior midfielder Brittany Dashiell said. "We'll watch this game over and over to see what we were doing right, but every game is different. We may have won this one by 18, but it's not going to happen that way again. Every game is different, so we just have to stay focused and keep moving on."

Sort of like they've done since arriving on campus four years ago and turning a vision into reality.

Florida Baseball Outlasts Missouri, 4-3, In 15 Innings To Clinch Series

A fielder’s choice by sophomore Casey Turgeon (Palm Harbor, Fla.) brought home freshman Harrison Bader (Bronxville, N.Y.) with the eventual decisive run in the 15th inning as Florida (22-18/10-7 SEC) extended its winning streak to eight games and clinched its weekend series over Missouri (12-22/4-13 SEC) with a 4-3 triumph on Saturday afternoon at Taylor Stadium.

UF’s bullpen tossed 12.2 scoreless innings, with sophomore Bobby Poyner (Wellington, Fla.) (2-0) earning the decision. Sophomore Johnny Magliozzi (East Milton, Mass.) induced a game-ending groundout with Tiger runners on second and third base to end the game and nail down his 11th save, two shy of the school’s single-season mark shared by Danny Wheeler (1994) and Josh Fogg (1998).

With the game deadlocked at 3-3 in the 15th, Bader reached on a one-out fielding error by Missouri junior third baseman Shane Segovia. Senior Cody Dent (Boynton Beach, Fla.) followed with a base-hit into center field and freshman Richie Martin (Brandon, Fla.) drew a walk to load the bases with one down. Turgeon’s grounder to second base drove in Bader with the go-ahead run, completing a comeback from a 3-0 deficit for the Gators.

Magliozzi replaced Poyner (0.1 IP) to begin the bottom of the stanza and issued a one-out walk to junior Dylan Kelly, who was replaced by sophomore pinch runner Nick Moore. After junior Kendall Keeton flew out to center field for the second out, senior Scott Sommerfeld ripped a pinch-hit single into center field to keep the Tigers alive. Although a wild pitch by Magliozzi pushed Moore and Sommerfeld over, the righty had Segovia ground out to secure the club’s sixth-straight league win.

Junior Keaton Steele (2-for-6) had provided the Tigers with a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a two-run homer to left field off of freshman Danny Young (Boca Raton, Fla.). Young had retired the first two batters before yielding a bloop single into center field by senior Dane Opel (2-for-7). Steele then opened the scoring with his second round-tripper of the campaign.

Florida threatened against sophomore Brett Graves in the second inning, putting two runners aboard with one down, as redshirt sophomore Zack Powers (Seffner, Fla.) reached on a fielding error and senior Vickash Ramjit (Miami, Fla.) (2-for-7) singled through the left side of the infield. However, Graves induced an inning-ending 1-6-3 double play from sophomore Josh Tobias (Greensboro, N.C.).

Missouri used three-straight two-out singles to build a 3-0 advantage in the home part of the stanza. Young recorded the first two outs before Segovia extended the inning with a single through the right side. Junior Dillon Everett (2-for-6) advanced his teammate to third base with a base-hit into right center and sophomore Logan Pearson punched an RBI single into right field to score Segovia. An intentional walk to sophomore Case Munson loaded the bags and the move paid off when Young had Opel ground out to strand the trio of runners.

The Gators got on the board in the third on a two-out RBI single by Turgeon (3-for-8, 3 RBI) for a 3-1 deficit. Martin had his third double of the season into the left-field corner with two down and Turgeon drove him in with a single into right field and went to second on the relay throw to the plate. After a walk to sophomore Taylor Gushue (Boca Raton, Fla.), sophomore Justin Shafer (Lake Wales, Fla.) (2-for-6) popped out in foul territory to end the frame.

A one-out double by Kelly in the bottom of the inning ended the afternoon for Young (2.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R). A wild pitch by redshirt freshman Aaron Rhodes (Venice, Fla.) moved Kelly to third base but the right-hander struck out junior Kendall Keeton and had sophomore Jake Ivory ground out to keep the Gators down by two runs.

Bader raised his hitting streak to eight games, matching his career high, to open the fifth. Graves had Dent fly out to center field and struck out Martin before Bader swiped second base for his team-leading ninth theft. Graves jammed Turgeon on an infield fly to complete the inning.

A leadoff walk to Munson brought freshman Parker Danciu (Delray Beach, Fla.) in for Rhodes (1.2 IP). Danciu had Opel fly out to left field and then plunked Steele. A grounder by Kelly advanced the runners into scoring position with two down and freshman Eric Hanhold (Palm Harbor, Fla.) was summoned from the bullpen for Danciu (0.2 IP). The righty had Keeton ground out to Dent to hold the count at 3-1.

Gushue began the sixth with a single into right field and Graves (5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R) retired Shafer on a foul pop-up before being replaced by redshirt junior Jake Walsh. The southpaw had Powers and Ramjit each ground out to retire the side.

After Hanhold pitched a clean sixth, Tobias drew a leadoff walk in the seventh from Steele, who had replaced Walsh (0.2 IP). Bader followed with a single into right field and Dent laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance both of his teammates into scoring position. Martin brought the Gators within 3-2 with an RBI grounder and Turgeon tied the game with a two-out single up the middle that plated Bader.

Shafer and Powers drew back-to-back walks to start the eighth for Florida and Ramjit’s sacrifice attempt forced Shafer at third base. A fielder’s choice by Tobias erased Ramjit at second base and Powers was gunned down at the plate on a relay from freshman first baseman Josh Lester to Kelly to preserve the stalemate.

After Hanhold retired all 10 Tiger hitters he faced over 3.1 innings, junior Daniel Gibson (Lutz, Fla.) took the mound for the Gators. The lefty registered the first two outs of the ninth before yielding a single into right field by Everett. Following a walk to Pearson, Gibson had Munson fly out to left field to provide the fans with free baseball.

Gibson notched the first two outs of the 11th before Everett reached on a fielding error by Turgeon. Martin made a nice running grab at the center-field wall on a ball hit by Pearson to send the contest into the 12th inning.

Powers began the 13th with a base-hit through the right side of the infield and was replaced by redshirt freshman pinch runner Cory Reid (Port St. Lucie, Fla.). After a single by Ramjit gave the Gators two runners aboard, Tobias laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position. Steele fanned Bader for the second out and then issued a walk to Dent that loaded the bases. The reliever rebounded with a strikeout of Martin to end the inning.

Gibson collected the first two outs of Missouri’s 13th and Lester legged out an infield single to extend the frame. Senior Brannon Champagne was inserted as a pinch runner and stole second base before sophomore Ryan Harris (Jupiter, Fla.) replaced Gibson (career-high 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 K). The righty caught Segovia looking on strikes to complete the inning.

Harris set down the first two batters of the 14th and Munson singled into left field to bring Poyner into the contest. The lefty had Opel pop up to Dent.  

Women's Tennis Powers Way into SEC Semifinal with Win vs. Vanderbilt

Florida lost the doubles point but put on an impressive showing on the singles courts and marched into the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Championship after a 4-1 win against No. 18 Vanderbilt on a fridge and windy Friday evening at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

With matches several hours behind schedule due to the competitive play of the three earlier contests, the Gators (20-2) didn’t finish their match until just after midnight (Eastern time zone) and the temperature dipping into the upper 30s.

The team from the Sunshine State didn’t let the cold weather effect their play on the singles courts, where the Gators received straight-set wins from Olivia Janowicz (Palm Bay, Fla.), Alexandra Cercone (Seminole, Fla.),  Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) and Caroline Hitimana (Waterloo, Belgium) and Florida improved to 26-0 all-time in SEC quarterfinal round matches.

The Gators dropped a tough doubles points to begin the match, similar to how the regular-season finale started on April 14 in Nashville, where Florida rebounded with four victories on the singles courts to earn the 4-1 team win.

The Commodore’s Ashleigh Antal and Marie Casares opened with an 8-3 win on court two against Alexandra Cercone (Seminole, Fla.) and Caroline Hitimana (Waterloo, Belgium) in 44 minutes, before Danielle Collins (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Olivia Janowicz (Palm Bay, Fla.) came back five minutes later with an 8-2 victory over Frances Altick and Georgina Sellyn at the number three position.

The doubles point came down to court one, where Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) and Sofie Oyen (Leopoldsburg, Belgium) found themselves down 3-1 early to No. 10 Courtney Colton and Lauren Mira. The Gator pair was able to get the break in the 10th game and Embree held to get the match back on serve at 6-5. The Vandy pair, however, held and broke for a 7-6 lead. The Commodores won the first three points and the Gators were able to fight off two match points but not a third, as Vanderbilt captured the doubles point and the 1-0 lead in the team scoring 65 minutes into the match.

“We got outplayed at doubles, Vanderbilt played really good doubles,” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “We had our chances at one, but I felt like the Vanderbilt players were a little more aggressive at the end and that made a difference.”

It was the eighth time this season Florida had dropped the doubles point.

“Just like we’ve been doing all year, we regrouped really quickly and played excellent tennis from start to finish in singles,” Thornqvist said. “Olivia was again the first one off the court and Alex was right behind her. I was happy to see Caroline racked up a win because she was hitting match point last Sunday against Vanderbilt when we abandoned the match. Overall, I was pleased.”

Janowicz collected her second individual win of the day and was the first Gator off the singles court when she posted a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Antal on court five, as the Gator junior won her team-leading 31st singles victory. Janowicz won the first two games of the match and Antal earned a break in the third game, but the Janowicz quickly regrouped and won four straight games to take the first set. The second set was nearly identical to the first and Janowicz won her 10th consecutive match and evened the team scoring at 1-all.

Cercone was the next off the court, as she earned a 6-3, 6-2 win against Georgina Sellyn on court three and gave Florida a 2-1 lead. Cercone jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set en route to the opening frame win. The two competitors traded breaks early and Cercone earned her second break of the frame in the sixth game and held for a 5-2 lead as she broke one more time to earn her 10th straight victory, as well as the 90th of her career.

Embree gave Florida a 3-1 lead in the team scoring as she topped Lauren Mira, 6-2, 6-2, on court one. The Gator All-American earned breaks in the fourth and eighth games to take the first set and then jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second. There were three straight breaks early in the second and Embree came out ahead, as she held for a 4-2 lead en route to her 17th straight singles victory which also was her 35th consecutive win in dual match singles action.

Embree’s fellow senior, Hitimana polished off the dual match victory with her 6-4, 6-3 win against Altick on court six, where jumped out to a 3-0 lead to start the match and held a 4-1 advantage. Altick came back with a late break and was serving to try and get the set back on serve, but Hitimana came up with the break and took the frame. She again won the first three games of the second before Altick earn breaks in the fifth and seven games. Hitimana broke right back for a 5-3 lead and served out for the clinching win. The victory marked the Gator senior’s 33rd consecutive singles win in dual match pay, as well as her ninth straight victory overall.

Florida plays fourth-ranked and second-seeded Texas A&M in the semifinals on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT. The Aggies (21-2) handed the Gators their only SEC setback and one of their two regular season losses, winning the doubles point before taking three singles matches for the 4-3 decision in College Station on March 3.

“It’s going to be a fun match,” said Thornqvist of the rematch against Texas A&M. “They have a really good team and they have a new player in the lineup that did not play against us in the regular season. I’m pretty sure I’m not going to have to motivate anybody to play tomorrow.”