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  • Florida Soccer, Volleyball make big moves in national polls

    Florida Soccer, Volleyball make big moves in national polls

    After a banner weekend for the Florida Gators soccer and volleyball squads, both teams have seen their stock rise in the national polls.

    On Friday, each program defeated the (previously) #1 ranked teams in the country. Each program followed up those victories with a positive outcome in their next contest.

    Soccer defeated the Stanford Cardinal on Friday and followed that with victory over Syracuse on Sunday.

    Florida Soccer moved from #8 to #2 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll, one spot behind UCLA. Stanford fell to #5.

    Volleyball defeated the Texas Longhorns on Friday in day one of the VERT Challenge and followed that up by coming from behind against Nebraska on Saturday.

    Florida Volleyball moved from #12 all the way to #3 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll.

    Both teams are in action on Friday. Soccer will travel to Seattle to take on Washington, while Volleyball travels to San Juan, PR and will face the NC State Wolfpack.

  • WR James Robinson suspended for opener against Michigan

    WR James Robinson suspended for opener against Michigan

    In a move that should surprise no one, Jim McElwain told media members that freshman WR James Robinson would not play against Michigan on Saturday.

    “No, of course not,” was McElwain’s response when asked if Robinson could play. “But I’m not giving up on him.”

    Robinson was cited last week for marijuana possession at an on-campus apartment. Robinson was also cited for the same offense while on a recruiting trip to Ohio State in January which almost stalled his recruitment.

    With star receiver Antonio Callaway already suspended, this is another hit that will test the depth of the position.

  • Kramer, Snyder earn SEC Player of the Week honors

    Kramer, Snyder earn SEC Player of the Week honors

    On Monday the SEC announced their week one volleyball honors. Not surprisingly, the Florida Gators were well represented after defeating #1 Texas and #5 Nebraska on consecutive days.

    Rachael Kramer was the SEC’s Offensive Player of the Week.

    Via the SEC Release:

    Offensive Player of the Week Rachael Kramer • Florida Sophomore • MB • 6-8 • Phoenix, Arizona

    Kramer was named the VERT Challenge MVP as she helped Florida defeat consecutive top-5 opponents for the first time in school history and a #1 team for the third time in program history. She amassed a career-high 20 kills (ninth-most by an SEC player this year) against #5 Nebraska. Her .679 clip versus the Cornhuskers is the fourth-best by an SEC player this year. Kramer is one of two SEC players ranked in the top 10 in hitting efficiency (.549 – third), kills per set (3.44 – ninth) and points per set (3.89 – 10th).

    Junior Carli Snyder was also awarded in being named the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Week.

    Via the SEC release:

    Defensive Player of the Week Carli Snyder • Florida Junior • L • 5-7 • East Bernard, Texas

    Snyder was named to the VERT Challenge All-Tournament Team as she helped Florida defeat consecutive top-5 opponents for the first time in school history and a #1 team for the third time in program history. She tied her career high with 20 digs against #1 Texas, and broke it with 27 against #5 Nebraska. Snyder leads the SEC in digs per set (5.22) and ranks second in the SEC in service aces (0.78 per set). She is the only Gator since at least 1998 to record six service aces and 20 digs in a match, along with 20.5 points in her performance against #1 Texas.

    Florida will travel to San Juan, PR and will take on North Carolina State on Friday.

  • Gabby Seiler named SEC Offensive Player of the Week

    Gabby Seiler named SEC Offensive Player of the Week

    Florida’s Gabby Seiler was named the Southeastern Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.

    Seiler is a redshirt senior from Georgia and has scored in all four Gators contests this season.

    Seiler has started every game in the Florida defensive end, but has shifted to the midfield and even the forward positions as needed.

    Seiler scored the game tying goal against #1 ranked Stanford on Friday, and followed that up with a PK goal on Sunday against Syracuse.

    Seiler and the Gators will travel to Seattle to face Washington on Friday.

    Via the SEC release:

    SEC Offensive Player of the Week – Florida’s Gabby Seiler, a senior midfleider from Peachtree City, Ga., has scored a goal in each of the Gators’ four matches this season, including the tying goal versus No. 1 Stanford and hitting a penalty kick versus Syracuse. She is one of nine Gators who have recorded four or more match scoring runs now 31 times in the program’s 23-year history. Seiler has started each match this season on Gator backline. Has pushed up to midfield in some matches this season. She is second among Florida’s field players with 325 minutes (averaging 81.25 minutes per match).Seiler leads Florida with 8 points off of four goal

  • Florida defeats Syracuse, improve to 4-0

    Florida defeats Syracuse, improve to 4-0

    FINAL: FLORIDA 2, SYRACUSE 1

    1st 2nd OT FINAL
    SYRACUSE 1 0 X 1
    FLORIDA 1 1 X 2

    GAINESVILLE, FL- #8 Florida improved to 4-0 on the season after defeating Syracuse 2-1 on a wet field at Dizney Stadium. The Gators showed no signs of a hangover after defeating #1 Stanford on Friday by dominating most of the game. Florida outshot Syracuse 17-6, and managed 9-2 edge in corner kick attempts.

    Florida got on the board early as Gabby Seiler scored in the eighth minute on a penalty kick. The penalty kick was awarded after Syracuse defender Shannon Aviza was called for a handball inside the box. For Seiler, it was her fourth goal of the season, and she has scored in each game this year. Syracuse tied the game in the 24th minute when Sydney Brackett scored off a terrific pass from Alana O’Neill.

    After halftime Florida dominated the course of play. Parker Roberts got her second goal of the season after a pass from Briana Solis in the 57th minute.

    Florida goalkeeper Susi Espinoza made four saves on the night.

    The Gators will travel to Seattle to face Washington on Friday night at 11:00 PM EST.

    TEAM STATS:

    SYRA FLORIDA
    SHOTS (ON GOAL) 6 (5) 17 (5)
    CORNERS 2 9
    FOULS 10 3

    Goal Scorers:

    • 8th minute: UF SEILER (4)
    • 24th minute: SU BRACKETT (3)
    • 57th minute: UF ROBERTS (2)

    Cautions/Ejections:

    • 13th minute: YELLOW CARD- SU LAMONTAGNE

    What’s Next:

    Florida Gators at Washington Huskies

    11:00 PM / September 1, 2017

    PAC 12 NETWORK

  • #12 Florida tops #5 Nebraska in five set thriller

    #12 Florida tops #5 Nebraska in five set thriller

    FINAL: FLORIDA 3, NEBRASKA 2

    1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th FINAL
    NEBRASKA 25 18 25 18 11 2
    FLORIDA 19 25 17 25 15 3

    GAINESVILLE, FL- The Florida Gators just endured one of the most impressive weekends of action in program history. Less than twenty-four hours after dominating the number one team in the country, the Gators had to follow up that emotional victory with a match against the number five ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers. In a very even matchup, Florida earned the comeback victory.

    Florida never had a lead in the first set, and Nebraska outhit Florida with a .200 percentage compared to Florida’s .061. Nebraska had 14 kills in the first set while the Gators only managed seven.

    The Gators won the second set, hitting at a much better .239 percentage while allowing the Huskers to only hit at a .140 clip.

    Set three was played with no halftime, and Nebraska seemingly dominated play. Although the statistics were close, Florida seemed out of the match from the beginning.

    The Gators fought back and won set four while allowing the Cornhuskers to only hit .024 forcing a fifth set.

    Florida raced out to a quick 5-0 lead in the fifth set behind the serving of Carli Snyder. Nebraska would make multiple comeback bids, however they couldn’t overcome the quick start by the Gators. Florida would win set five 15-11.

    Florida played very evenly with the #5 team in the nation, and earned the victory after having defeated the #1 team in the country just a night earlier. Florida seems set moving forward and will face North Carolina State in Puerto Rico on Saturday, September 2.

    KILLS LEADERS:

    NEBRASKA FLORIDA
    Foecke 18 Kramer 20
    Sweet 16 Joseph 11

    BLOCKS LEADERS:

    NEBRASKA FLORIDA
    Foecke 4 Alhassan 8
    Holman 4 Kramer 3

    DIGS LEADERS:

    NEBRASKA FLORIDA
    Maloney 18 Snyder 27
    Foecke 16 Monserez 20

    ASSISTS LEADERS:

    NEBRASKA FLORIDA
    Atherton 43 Monserez 41

    ACES LEADERS:

    NEBRASKA FLORIDA
    Foecke 4 Snyder 1

    WHAT’S NEXT:

    FLORIDA GATORS vs NORTH CAROLINA STATE WOLF PACK

    9/2/17 at 8:30 PM

    SEC-ACC CHALLENGE

  • #12 Florida defeats #1 Texas in season opener

    #12 Florida defeats #1 Texas in season opener

    FINAL: FLORIDA 3, TEXAS 1

    1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th FINAL
    TEXAS 16 23 25 21 X 1
    FLORIDA 25 25 18 25 X 3

    GAINESVILLE, FL- It was an incredible day in Gainesville for the University of Florida athletic department. Less than thirty minutes after Florida soccer defeated #1 Stanford, the Gators volleyball team took on #1 Texas in their first match at the new Exactech Arena. The Gators did not disappoint, defeating the Longhorns 3-1.

    Florida won the first set in dominating fashion, 25-16. Florida had 13 kills compared to just 7 for Texas. The Gators also limited Texas to a .031 attack percentage.

    In Florida’s 25-23 second set victory, the match was very even. Florida and Texas each had 13 kills. Texas committed seven errors while Florida committed six.

    Set three was played with no halftime, and Texas raced to a 25-18 win. Texas had an attack percentage of .289 compared to Florida’s .105. The Gators made seven errors compared to three by the Longhorns.

    Set four went the Gators way despite ten errors. Carli Snyder and Rhamat Alhassan seemed to come up with a big kill every time Florida needed it. The Gators finished set four 18 kills.

    Snyder led the Gators balanced effort with 14 kills while Alhassan led the Gators with six blocks.

    Florida outplayed the #1 ranked Longhorns for most of the match, and never appeared to give in to the idea that they weren’t supposed to win. The Gators played in front of an announced crowd of 7,523, the second largest crowd to see a volleyball match in UF history. The Gators will face Nebraska in the Vert Challenge on Saturday at 5:00 PM.

    KILLS LEADERS:

    TEXAS FLORIDA
    Sun 11 Snyder 14
    Nwanebu 9 Kramer 11

    BLOCKS LEADERS:

    TEXAS FLORIDA
    Johnson 6 Alhassan 6
    Ogbogu 6 Kramer 5

    DIGS LEADERS:

    TEXAS FLORIDA
    McCoy 20 Knop 22
    Rounsaville 11 Snyder 20

    ASSISTS LEADERS:

    TEXAS FLORIDA
    Shook 33 Monserez 26

    ACES LEADERS:

    TEXAS FLORIDA
    Hahn 1 Snyder 6

    WHAT’S NEXT:

    FLORIDA GATORS vs NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS

    8/26/17 at 5:00 PM

    SEC NETWORK / VERT Challenge

  • #8 Florida upsets #1 Stanford 3-2

    #8 Florida upsets #1 Stanford 3-2

    FINAL: FLORIDA 3, STANFORD 2

    1st 2nd OT FINAL
    STANFORD 1 1 X 2
    FLORIDA 1 2 X 3

    GAINESVILLE, FL- The #8 Florida Gators had a matchup with the #1 ranked Stanford Cardinal at Dizney Stadium on Friday. The Gators didn’t disappoint a near capacity crowd topping the Cardinal by a 3-2 score.

    Florida faced their first deficit of 2017 when Stanford’s Catarina Macario scored her fourth goal of the year after Gators keeper Susi Espinoza made the initial save in the 25th minute. Florida fought hard to come back before half with Samantha Chung capitalizing in the 40th minute.

    Florida entered halftime with Stanford tied at one despite being outplayed for much of the half. The second half would prove to be different though as the Gators dominated much of the possession. In the 59th minute though, Stanford’s Beattie Goad scored to give the Cardinal the lead. Florida’s Gabby Seiler would have an answer in the 79th minute, heading in a perfect cross by Mayra Pelayo. Momentum was squarely with the Gators, and just minutes later Lais Araujo scored the game winner on a beautiful individual play just outside of the six yard box.

    Espinoza played a key part in preserving Florida’s win as she made a career high five saves including a point blank opportunity in the closing moments. Seiler has now scored in all three games this season and was utilized in each position group.

    Florida was outshot by Stanford 14-8, but the Gators were awarded one more corner 3-2.

    Florida takes on the Syracuse Orange on Sunday in a night game at Dizney Stadium (7 PM start).

    TEAM STATS:

    STAN FLORIDA
    SHOTS (ON GOAL) 14 (7) 8 (4)
    CORNERS 2 3
    FOULS 12 6

    Goal Scorers:

    • 25th minute: STAN MACARIO(4)
    • 40th minute: UF CHUNG (1)
    • 59th minute: STAN GOAD (1)
    • 79th minute: UF SEILER (3)
    • 82nd minute: UF ARAUJO (1)

    Cautions/Ejections:

    • NONE

    What’s Next:

    Florida Gators vs Syracuse Orange

    7:00 PM / August 25, 2017

    SEC NETWORK +

  • James Robinson shows Coach Mac ultimate disrespect with latest trouble

    James Robinson shows Coach Mac ultimate disrespect with latest trouble

    Jim McElwain deserves better from a player he went out of his way for.

    On August 10th the newest Florida Gators football player tweeted this:

    James Robinson was very nearly not a Gator, twice. However, on August 4th Florida head coach Jim McElwain officially welcomed him on campus.

    Back in January, Robinson was a four-star recruit visiting Ohio State with offers from most of the college football heavyweights. Robinson would be cited for marijuana possession while on that trip. Subsequently Ohio State and Florida had stopped recruiting him just days before National Signing Day.

    When Florida head coach Jim McElwain found out that the UF administration wouldn’t allow Robinson to enroll, he contacted numerous other schools to help Robinson find a spot. McElwain also spoke with the the university’s administration, and ultimately convinced them that the Lakeland, FL native deserved a second chance.

    Robinson did an interview with SEC Country in May saying he was embarrassed for the incident.

    When Florida’s media days began on August 1, we still weren’t sure of Robinson’s status with the team as he had not been enrolled at UF yet. According to multiple reports there was a holdup between the NCAA and UF regarding meeting academic requirements. By the end of the first week of fall practice, however, Robinson was there.

    On Thursday it came to light that Robinson and his teammate freshman linebacker Ventrell Miller were cited with marijuana possession in their on-campus apartment at 12:30 AM on Monday morning. Both players admitted to owning the marijuana.

    This is not a debate about the “legal/illegal” status of marijuana in our society. The University itself put out a statement saying that Jim McElwain was aware of the situation and that James Robinson had been at practice all week.

    The issue here is that James Robinson forgot about his commitment to a coach that gave him a second chance less than two weeks from typing the above tweet.

  • Former Gator Peter Alonso promoted to Double-A

    Former Gator Peter Alonso promoted to Double-A

    After a rough start to his 2017 season, New York Mets #10 prospect Peter Alonso has found his groove. The Mets are obviously taking notice, as Alonso was promoted to Double-A Binghamton on Wednesday.

    Alonso sat out six weeks after breaking a bone in his left hand during an early-season at-bat. He was hitting a paltry .143 in mid-June, but has turned the season around since.

    In the 46 games since July 4, Alsonso is hitting .343. He has seen his season average rise to .286. He is tied for the Florida State League lead in home runs with 16, and has the highest slugging percentage at .516. Alonso was named the FSL’s Player of the Month for July.

    Alonso is expected to join the Rumble Ponies on Thursday at Portland. Alonso, himself seems up to challenge:

    Alonso was drafted by the Mets in the second round of the 2016 MLB Draft after a stellar collegiate career at Florida, where he hit 23 homers and had 124 RBIs in his career.

    Also check out this MiLB feature on Peter Alonso by Guy Cutwright.