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  • Zebras make big impact in Gators-Terrapins tilt

    Zebras make big impact in Gators-Terrapins tilt

    MARYLAND 16, FLORIDA 14

    With 21:03 remaining in the second half, Florida’s Sydney Pirreca scored to bring Florida within one goal of the #1 ranked Maryland Terrapins. However, upon checking Pirreca’s stick, the officials determined that it was too deep and disallowed the score.

    Maryland, who took over momentum with the disallowed goal, would score the next five goals to make it a 16-9 game as the Gators expressed obvious frustration with the officiating.

    The Gators showed their resilience in the final ten minutes of the second half as they battled to within two points by the sound of the final horn.

    Florida, which lost to the Terrapins by an 18-8 final in 2017, played a much tighter game, especially on the defensive end.

    The officials made an impact on the final score, but neither Head Coach Amanda O’Leary nor midfielder Sydney Pirreca would express dismay over the calls. “We try to control the controllables” said Pirreca.

    Florida spent much of the second half a player down due to fouls that seemed to only be called against the Gators. The packed crowd at The Diz had no problem expressing their displeasure with loud choruses of boos several times throughout the contest.

    Florida (1-1) fell to Maryland (2-0) 16-14. Sydney Pirreca finished with six goals while Shayna Pirreca and Lindsay Ronbeck each added a hat-trick. Gators goalkeeper Haley Hicklen made a career high 14 saves, including several in the final few minutes as Florida attempted to mount a comeback.

    This result represents the first time in program history that Florida scored 14 or more goals in a losing effort. Prior to Saturday’s match, Florida had a 102-0 record in such games.

    Up next:

    Florida will face #25 Loyola next Sunday at noon in Gainesville.

  • Barnhill tosses no-hitter in Gators home opener

    Barnhill tosses no-hitter in Gators home opener

    FLORIDA 9, UNF 0

    Kelly Barnhill pitched a no-hitter to lead the #2 Gators (6-0) past the North Florida Ospreys (2-4) on Wednesday. Florida’s offense exploded for nine runs, including seven in the bottom of the fourth inning.

    The Gators took an early lead when catcher Janell Wheaton singled up the middle scoring first baseman Kayli Kvistad, who reached by walking.

    Florida tacked on another run in the third as Amanda Lorenz scored on a single by Kvistad that bounced off Ospreys pitcher Morgan Blourne. Lorenz raced home after seeing the throw from short being off target. Florida loaded the bases, before reliever Amanda Blanchard struck out Aleshia Ocasio to end the inning.

    The Gators then erupted in the fourth frame, adding seven runs on six hits.

    It was way more than Barnhill (2-0) needed. Barnhill was in control the whole way through, and just missed perfection by hitting a UNF batter in the fifth inning.

    Barnhill finished her five innings of work with 12 strikeouts and only threw 55 pitches (39 strikes). She emphasized working on her riseball during bullpen sessions this week after the game with the media.

    Kayli Kvistad finished the game 2-2 with a pair of singles, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored.

    “I’m thankful for the fans that came out to watch our home opener,” coach Tim Walton said after the contest after praising the efforts of his star pitcher and his potent lineup.

    Up Next:

    Florida will travel to Lafayette, LA to face Louisiana-Lafayette for a three game set Saturday and Sunday. The Ragin’ Cajuns are ranked #16 in the country with a 5-0 record.

  • Kennedy Baker, Alyssa Baumann earn SEC weekly gymnastics honors

    Kennedy Baker, Alyssa Baumann earn SEC weekly gymnastics honors

    Florida gymnasts Kennedy Baker and Alyssa Baumann were awarded with SEC weekly honors for their performances last Friday. Florida defeated #10 Alabama at home behind the efforts of the SEC Specialist of the Week and the SEC Freshman of the Week.

    Baker was named the SEC Specialist of the Week after she completed a perfect-10 as the anchor of Florida’s floor routine. It was her only event of the night. Baker has averaged 9.945 on the floor this year, good for second best in the country.

    Baumann was named SEC Freshman of the Week for the second time this season as she scored a 9.925 on both the beam and the floor apparatuses.

    Per the SEC Press Release:

    SEC Specialist of the Week
    Kennedy Baker • Florida
    Senior • Dallas, Texas

    Baker anchored Florida’s floor exercise lineup with a 10.0 against No. 9 Alabama. It was her third 10.0 floor mark of her career en route to earning her 14th floor title of her career and her second this season. It was the third floor 10.0 in the nation this season and the only one on floor this past weekend.

    SEC Freshman of the Week
    Alyssa Baumann • Florida
    Freshman • Dallas, Texas

    Baumann scored two 9.925s on beam and floor as Florida earned a victory over No. 9 Alabama. Her efforts on the floor exercise helped Florida score a season-best total of 49.625. Baumann has scored a 9.9 or better in half of her beam routines in 2018, and has scored a 9.85 or better in the last five floor routines.

    LSU’s Myia Hambrick earned SEC Gymnast of the Week honors.

    Florida travels to Stegeman Coliseum to take on #14 Georgia on Friday. The Gators return home against Arkansas for the annual Link to Pink meet on February 23.

  • Former UF QB Shane Matthews to serve three months in prison

    Former UF QB Shane Matthews to serve three months in prison

    Last week, former Florida quarterback Shane Matthews was sentenced to three months in prison for his role in a pharmaceutical conspiracy scheme headed by former Gators linebacker Monty Grow.

    The Miami Herald’s Jay Weaver detailed the story on Monday, as Grow was unanimously convicted of healthcare fraud by a jury in Miami. Grow was convicted of “bilking $20 million from the TRICARE program for military members, veterans, and their families.” Grow was also convicted of money laundering in addition to conspiring to receive kickbacks for referring up to 700 military patients to the South Florida-based pharmacy, Patient Care America.

    Grow will be sentenced on April 16.

    Matthews’ role was in plans to fleece TRICARE. Matthews was paid $440,000 for “lining up sales representatives who then landed TRICARE patients for [Patient Care America]”.

    Matthews must begin his sentence by June (must surrender no later than noon, June 1) and will be required to pay $439,000 in restitution according to Kevin Brockway of Gatorsports.com.

    Matthews threw for more than 9,000 yards and 74 touchdowns in three seasons at Florida from 1990-92 and was the SEC Player of the Year in 1990 and 1991. Matthews was ruled ineligible for the 1989 season after admitting to gambling on college football games.

    Matthews went on to play professionally for the NFL’s Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins, and the Buffalo Bills. He threw for 4,756 yards and 31 touchdowns in the NFL.

    Matthews is an assistant coach for Gainesville High School and co-hosts a morning radio show on WRUF-Gainesville with former Gators RB Brady Ackerman. Matthews was on the air on Monday.

  • Embarrassing second half effort costs #23 Gators at home against Alabama

    Embarrassing second half effort costs #23 Gators at home against Alabama

    ALABAMA 68, FLORIDA 50

    I purposely included Florida’s number 23 ranking in the title of this article because it will likely be the last time this year we see a number associated with this team until postseason play begins.

    Florida fans were treated to one of the worst halves of basketball by a Gators team in a long time. And, to add insult to injury, Florida football coach Dan Mullen attended the game with top-WR target Jacob Copeland (who is also considering Alabama).

    Florida actually played really well in the first half. The Gators attacked the basket and knocked down shots. Commentators actually praised the use of Keith Stone during the broadcast.

    The second half showed just how much of a Jekyll and Hyde type team this is. The Gators not only couldn’t throw a stone into the ocean and they also seemed to forget how to play defense.

    Too often a missed three-pointer resulted in a quick run-out for the Tide that almost always seemed to result in an inside bucket. The Gators were outrebounded to the tune of 43-25 and allowed Alabama to make 55.8% of their field goals. After Florida forced 14 first half turnovers, the Tide corrected themselves (or possibly, Florida’s lack of interest did) and only committed five in the final twenty minutes.

    Mike White has a big problem on his hands. And this time, it’s not a matter of their front court, though that will need to be addressed later. Mike White has emphasized defensive intensity in his tenure at Florida. At times, this team is as feisty as any in the country. But, as has been familiar at times this year, this team also folds shop on that end at the first site of shots not falling. That is a problem That neither John Egbunu nor Chase Johnson can fix.

    KeVaughn Allen finished with a team high 16 points while Stone added 12. Egor Koulechov scored 11 more for Florida.

    Alabama point guard Colin Sexton led all scorers with 17 points while forward Donta Hall added 16 points and 11 rebounds. Hall made all seven of his shot attempts to highlight Florida’s lack of interior defense.

    At this point in the season, this is the team we are stuck with. Either the shots go down and Florida wins, or the shots don’t and the Gators lose. We are what we are!

    Florida will face LSU in Gainesville on Wednesday. LSU is 13-9 and defeated Arkansas 94-86 on Saturday. Florida hasn’t scored 90+ points since SEC play began and has only put 80 on the scoreboard three times in the same timeframe.

  • 11-year old Alexia Carrasquillo commits to Florida Softball

    11-year old Alexia Carrasquillo commits to Florida Softball

    Florida softball coach Tim Walton received a commitment to his 2024 recruiting class Thursday night. Yes, you read that right. The 2024 recruiting class. Catcher Alexia Carrasquillo is the latest to commit to Walton’s staff.

    Chez Sievers of FloSoftball.com first reported that Carrasquillo is now the youngest athlete to ever commit to a university in any sport as she turned twelve on Friday.

    Carrasquillo had unofficially visited UCLA, Oklahoma, and Florida and waited about a month after the visit to Gainesville to publicly commit.

    Carrasquillo hit .680 with 12 homers and 120 RBI last season and told Sievers that she plans to work even harder as a committed prospect.

    In October, 2023 prospect Mia Williams, the daughter of former NBA star (and former Gator) Jason Williams, verbally committed to Florida and was joined by fellow 2023 prospect Keagan Rothrock who committed in December.

    Florida opens their 2018 season in Tampa on February 8 in the USF Wilson-DeMarini Tournament.

    *Information for this article was featured in the FloSoftball.com article previously linked.

  • Barnhill, Lorenz on “watch list” for Collegiate Player of the Year award

    Barnhill, Lorenz on “watch list” for Collegiate Player of the Year award

    On Wednesday, USA Softball announced the “watch list” for the 2018 Collegiate Player of the Year award. Two Gators were among the fifty student-athletes selected as juniors Kelly Barnhill and Amanda Lorenz were both named.

    Barnhill, a righthanded pitcher from Marietta, Georgia, earned the 2017 honor in addition to the Honda Award, and even won the programs first ESPY award. Barnhill finished 2017 with a 26-4 record and a 0.51 ERA. Barnhill struck out 359 batters in 193.2 innings.

    Lorenz, an outfielder from Moorpark, California, was a 2017 All-American and earned All-WCWS honors as well. Lorenz led the Gators with a .388 batting average in 2017 and added 11 homers and 46 RBIs.

    Florida will begin their season in the USF Wilson-DeMarini Tournament on February 8th in Tampa and will host North Florida on February 14 in their home opener.

    Follow @GatorChompBlog on Twitter for all of the latest regarding the University of Florida’s softball program.

    *Information for this article was provided by the official UF softball press release.

  • OL Griffin McDowell flips to Gators

    OL Griffin McDowell flips to Gators

    The Florida Gators received some good news Tuesday night. Three-star OL Griffin McDowell completed his flip from Mississippi State by announcing his commitment to Florida.

    McDowell (6’4, 280 lbs) was committed to the Bulldogs under new Florida head coach Dan Mullen. Mullen made McDowell a top target, offering him a scholarship and earning an official visit last weekend.

    McDowell, from Leesburg, Georgia, had been committed to Mississippi State since June 30, 2017, but also had offers from Louisville, Indiana, Kansas, and FAU.

    McDowell is the #22 ranked center in the country according to 247sports.com.

    *Photo via Rivals/Yahoo Sports

  • Gators enter 2018 season ranked #2 in national polls

    Gators enter 2018 season ranked #2 in national polls

    On Tuesday, the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll were both released, and both polls have the Florida Gators ranked number two overall heading into the 2018 season.

    The Gators, who finished last season as the National runner-up to #1 Oklahoma, received one first place votes in the Coaches Poll.

    Florida will face nine programs ranked inside the preseason Top-25 and several more receiving votes just outside the Top-25.

    USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll (Top-5)

    1. Oklahoma
    2. Florida
    3. Oregon
    4. Washington
    5. UCLA

    ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll (Top-5)

    1. Oklahoma
    2. Florida
    3. Oregon
    4. UCLA
    5. Washington

    Florida will begin it’s season in the USF Wilson-DeMarini Tournament in Tampa on February 9. The Gators first home game is scheduled for Wednesday, February 14 at 6:00 PM.
    *Information for this article was provided by the official UF softball press release.

  • #20 Gators top Baylor in Big 12/SEC Challenge

    #20 Gators top Baylor in Big 12/SEC Challenge

    FINAL: FLORIDA 81, BAYLOR 60

    1st 2nd OT FINAL
    BAYLOR 31 29 X 60
    GATORS 43 38 X 81

    GAINESVILLE, FL- It’s a pretty simple concept. If the Florida Gators are knocking down three-point shots, they are very likely to win. Saturday was no exception as Florida drained 14 of their 25 attempts from long range en route to an 81-60 victory over Baylor in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

    The Gators, looking to rebound from a loss against South Carolina on Wednesday, hit shots early to build a lead and were able to coast for what seemed like an easy win.

    Chris Chiozza led Florida with twenty points, including a run of thirteen straight late in the first half. Chiozza’s final line read: 20/6/6 while only turning the ball over once.

    Egor Koulechov added 16 points and 8 rebounds while Jalen Hudson contributed 17 points in the win. Florida center Kevarrius Hayes added five blocks on the defensive end as Baylor consistently attacked the paint.

    The Gators shot 52% from the field including 56% from deep while defensively keeping the Bears at 40% including 3-15 from three-point land.

    *Florida center John Egbunu went through pre-game warmups, and even dressed for the contest which should signal that the big man’s return is sooner than later. Egbunu’s inside presence will help significantly on both the offensive and defensive end.

    Florida will return to SEC play on Tuesday in a road contest against Georgia in Athens.

    RECORDS:

    • BAYLOR: 12-9 (2-6 SEC)
    • FLORIDA: 15-6 (6-2 SEC)

    Team Stats:

    BAYLOR GATORS
    FG % 40 52
    3-PT % 20 56
    FT % 75 60
    Offensive Rebounds 11 3
    Total Rebounds 38 30
    Assists 13 12
    Steals 7 10
    Blocks 1 6
    Turnovers 15 12

    What’s Next:

    Florida travels to Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia to face the Bulldogs. Georgia is 12-8 overall and 3-5 in conference play. Be ready to hear the name Yante Maten a lot, Gator Nation. Maten plays 36 minutes a game and is Georgia’s only player to average double-digit points. Maten is averaging 19.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per contest. At 6-9 and 240 pounds, Maten loves to play physical and will pose a matchup nightmare to a Gators team that lacks depth in the frontcourt.

    Florida vs Georgia

    January 30, 2018

    7:00 PM / Stegeman Coliseum

    SEC Network