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  • Gators Kicker Eddy Piñeiro stars in opener against UMass

    GAINESVILLE, FL-  The Florida Gators kicking woes were well documented last season. The Gators went only 7-17 on field goal attempts and their longest make was only 43 yards. 

    After video surfaced on YouTube of Eddy Piñeiro nailing 60+ and 70+ yard kicks, Florida head coach Jim McElwain went “all-in” in recruiting efforts, eventually landing the commitment of Piñeiro. 

    Piñeiro enters Florida with lofty expectations, but on Saturday night he may have raised those expectations even higher. 

    Piñeiro was 3-3 in his first ever football game (he played soccer in high school and junior college) connecting on kicks of 40, 49, and 48. He also drilled a 28-yard attempt which was taken away due to an accepted offsides penalty. 

    Piñeiro was also able to kick the ball deep showing the ability to kick it through the back of the end zone on kickoffs. 

    Piñero admitted to being nervous before his first field goal attempt (the 28-yard kick) saying, “Whoever says they don’t get butterflies is a complete liar.” He also added that kicking in front of a crowd of 88,191 fans wasn’t any more difficult than kicking in front of his teammates in practice. 

    Piñero was originally committed to Alabama before McElwain started recruiting him. 

  • Gators starting WR out for year

    GAINESVILLE, FL-  Dre Massey started at wide receiver in Saturday’s Gator football game. It will be his last start this season. 

    Gainesville Sun reporter Pat Dooley confirmed that Massey will miss the entire season with a knee injury. 

    Massey was a top target for Florida coaches as he was one of the top junior college receivers in the 2016 class. 

    Massey will likely receive a redshirt and maintain his two years of eligibility. 

    With Massey out, Brandon Powell will be the full time slot receiver. 

  • Florida football survives scare from UMass

    GAINESVILLE, FL-  The Florida Gators football team entered the 2016 season with lofty expectations. They entered ranked #25 in the country and are considered a contender to win the SEC East.

    Florida played a sluggish game against UMass, but in the end prevailed 24-7 at the Swamp. Florida was a 37 point favorite against a UMass team that USA Today ranked 128 out of 128 FBS schools.

    Florida jumped to a 7-0 lead after redshirt sophomore quarterback Luke Del Rio hit sophomore receiver Antonio Callaway for a twelve yard touchdown.

    Early in the second quarter the Minutemen got on the scoreboard after QB Ross Comis scrambled for a five yard touchdown. UMass was aided twice during the scoring drive on third down by Florida personal fouls.

    Florida ended the first half with a 40-yard field goal by new kicker, Eddy Piñeiro to take a 10-7 lead into halftime.

    The fourth quarter saw the Gators offense start to consistently move the ball. Piñeiro made a 49-yard kick to widen the gap to 13-7. Three minutes later Del Rio found Freddie Swain for a score and completed a two point conversion to make the score 21-7. Piñeiro hit a 48-yarder to complete the scoring.

    Del Rio made his first career college start and finished the night 29-44 for 256 yards and two touchdowns. Del Rio did not turn the ball over despite consistent pressure from the UMass defense.

    Sophmore running back Jordan Scarlett had 13 carries for 70 yards, while junior college transfer Mark Thompson rushed for 22 yards on his six carries.

    The Gators defense held UMass to 187 total yards, and only 46 in the ground game.

    The Gators committed 8 penalties for 80 yards, including three personal foul penalties.

    Up next: Florida will play Kentucky in their SEC opener September 10. Kentucky lost a wild game to Southern Miss 44-35 on Saturday.

  • Come tailgate with The Gator Chomp on Saturday

    GAINESVILLE, FL-  The Gator Chomp Blog will be hosting a tailgate at the commuter lot at 966 Gale Lemerand Dr. We will be in the grass next to lot 10. We will be joined by our friends from the Facebook groups: The Swamp Orange & Blue and Gators Group.

    Food and drink will be provided, also come play games such as corn hole and beer pong. 

    The Gators will face UMass at 7:30 PM. Steve Spurrier will be honored and will serve as the honorary Mr. 2-Bits. 

    The Gator Chomp Tailgate will start at 3:00 PM and will run until 6:30 PM. 

    Check out our event on Facebook at The Gator Chomp Tailgate.

  • Tebow shows off power, speed in MLB tryout

    LOS ANGELES, CA-  Former Florida football star Tim Tebow held his MLB tryout today. 

    According to multiple reports, Tebow showed off excellent speed and power. Tebow does have much to work on in order to make an MLB roster. 

    There were more than forty scouts from 28 major league teams. ESPN has reported that five teams took advantage of an opportunity to meet and speak with Tebow after the practice, indicating some level of interest. 

    Tebow ran the 60-yard dash in a quick 6.65 seconds and crushed eight home runs during batting practice including a 430-foot shot to right-center field. 

    However, during the live pitching portion, Tebow struggled. Tebow managed to hit only four of the first twenty pitches thrown, and only one of those hits were seen as sure fire base hits. 

    “I thought he was OK. Better than I expected, to be honest,” said one major league scout who spoke to USA Today “For not having played as long as he had, I thought he did OK.
    “That’s a big dude, for as fast as he can run. The power was impressive, but I wish he could have translated it maybe a little better (against live pitching).”

    Tebow told reporters afterward that he plans to pursue baseball “as hard as he can.”

    Tebow signed a merchandise contract with Adidas shortly before the workout and was decked out in Adidas gear from head to toe for the tryout. 

  • Gators GK Marckese wins SEC Defensive Player of the Week

    GAINESVILLE, FL-  Florida Gators sophomore Goalkeeper Kaylan Marckese has been named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week.  

    Marckese played a pivotal role in the Gators splitting games against two of the top teams in the country this week. 

    While playing against Stanford on Friday, Marckese matched a career high with six saves before suffering a 1-0 overtime loss. 

    On Sunday, Marckese made four saves against an explosive and talented UCLA team and stopped a penalty kick early in the second half. 

    SEC Women’s Soccer Awards- Week 2:

    • Offensive- (ARK) Stefani Doyle 
    • Defensive- (UF) Kaylan Marckese
    • Freshman- (MIZ) Sarah Luebbert

    Arkansas’ Stefani Doyle appears in the weekly awards for the second time this year. Last week Doyle was named SEC Freshman of the Week. 

  • Callaway cleared to play, five others suspended for Gators football opener

    GAINESVILLE, FL-  Florida Gators head football coach Jim McElwain has had a lot to deal with this off-season.  First it was the suspension of star wide receiver Antonio Callaway and former quarterback Treon Harris for an alleged sexual assault. Then, in July, two freshmen receivers were arrested after shooting BB guns into an on campus dormitory. So, it’s no surprise that McElwain announced today that five Gators have been suspended for the season opener against UMass on Saturday. 

    Not suspended though, is Callaway, who was cleared of the charges and will play in the opener. Callaway missed spring camp and was not on campus for much of the summer. 

    The suspensions of WRs Tyrie Cleveland and Rick Wells were expected after their arrests on felony charges. 

    McElwain announced two weeks ago that star CB Jalen “Teez” Tabor and TE C’yontai Lewis would be suspended after an on field fight escalated in the locker room after practice. 

    McElwain also added that another senior is suspended but didn’t name the player. 

    “We’ve had some guys that obviously made some choices not to play in this game,” McElwain said. “And yet, those guys will join us when the time’s ready.”

  • Savannah Jordan leads Gators in wild 4-3 OT victory over UCLA

    LOS ANGELES, CA-  The number six ranked Florida Gators soccer team defeated number fifteen ranked UCLA in overtime by way of a UCLA own goal. 

    Gators senior forward Savannah Jordan drove down the field in the 96th minute and crossed the ball into the six foot box where it pinged off two UCLA defenders before winding up in the net. 

    The entire game was a battle between two very good teams. Florida took an early lead as Jordan headed in a cross from freshman Julia Lester in the third minute. UCLA quickly countered with a diving header by Annie Alvarado just two minutes later. 

    Florida regained the lead in the 17th minute when senior Meggie Dougherty Howard‘s free kick bounced off red shirt junior Gabby Seiler‘s head and deflected off sophomore Sarah Troccoli and into the net.  

    The second half proved to be even more wild. The Bruins received a penalty kick in the 52nd minute after a hard foul in the box, but Florida sophomore GK Kaylan Marckese came up with the stop. In the 65th minute UCLA’s Jessie Fleming headed in a cross to tie the game. UCLA would take the lead after converting on a second attempted PK in the 69th minite, this one taken by Fleming. 

    Florida played determined to get the equalizer, and late in the 73rd minute, Jordan was able to head the ball past UCLA keeper Teagan Micah. 

    Three Gators received yellow cards:

    • 69th minute- Samantha Chung
    • 72nd minute- Kristen Cardano
    • 78th minute- Rachelle Smith

    Up next: Florida will travel to Tallahassee to take on rival Florida State. Florida State enters the season ranked number one in the country. The game will take place Friday September 2nd at 7PM. 

  • Gators top Oregon 3-1 for first win of season

    EUGENE, OR- The #10 Florida Gators volleyball team won their first match of the season on Saturday night. The Gators beat the VERT Challenge hosts Oregon Ducks 3-1 (25-16, 19-25, 25-16, 26-24) to improve to 1-1 on the season. 
    The Gators received a balanced effort en route to victory. Junior Carli Snyder had 16 kills and 13 digs, senior Alex Holston had 14 kills and 6 blocks, and junior Rhamat Alhassan contributed 12 kills and 8 blocks. 

    Sophmore Allie Monserez added a career-high 51 assists while junior Caroline Knop added 19 digs and three service aces. 

    Up Next: The Gators will head to East Lansing, Michigan to play in the Spartan Invitational with Michigan State, Central Michigan, and  Morgan State. The invitational will last two days from September 2-3. 

    Keep posted on all things Florida Gators athletics by checking on Twitter and Facebook. 

  • Miami CB commits to Gators

    GAINESVILLE, FL-  The Gators picked up another big commitment on the defensive side of the ball on Saturday. 

    Miami-Southridge CB Shawn Davis has committed to Florida over Miami, Florida State, Alabama, and Tennessee. 

    Davis is a three-star corner back and is 5-11 190 LBS and hopes to earn early playing time at UF. 

    Florida now has a 16 commitments in the 2017 class.