Florida Sports Wires

GAINESVILLE ( www.sportsdayjax.com ) - Notre Dame midfielder Kasey Choma scored all four of her goals in the second half, including the game-winner with just 10.1 seconds left that handed sixth-seeded and sixth-ranked Florida a crushing 16-15 defeat in Sunday's NCAA Tournament round of 16 game at Dizney Stadium. Choma's decisive score came after the Gators (17-4) playing from behind for nearly the final 36 minutes, stunned the No. 8-seed Irish with four goals from four different players in less than five minutes - after scoring 11 time during the game's first 54 - to pull even at 15-all on Danielle Pavinelli's unassisted tally with 1:22 to play. After winning the ensuing draw, UF turned the ball over with 54 seconds left and paid for it two-fold when midfielder Paisley Eagan was assessed a green card on the play. ND capitalized on the woman-up advantage when Choma cut through the 8-meter area, took a pass from Jane McAvoy and fired past Florida goalkeeper Sarah Reznick ...

  GAINESVILLE, Fla . ( www.sportsdayjax.com )– The No. 3 Florida State softball Team (44-8) took the season sweep over No. 17 Florida (36-15) as they won an 8-7 thriller at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. This marks the longest win streak over the Gators in program history with five straight victories. It also marks the first time the Seminoles have won back-to-back games in Gainesville since 2003. The Gators were able to score a run in the bottom of the first off a groundout, but Florida State answered promptly. Two walks and a single into right by Devyn Flaherty loaded the bases with Krystina Hartley up to bat. She was hit by a pitch to allow Hallie Wacaser to walk home to tie the game. Kaley Mudge then smacked a single up and through the middle to move everyone a base further and scored Flaherty for the lead. On the next at-bat, Jahni Kerr powered her single to right to score Bethaney Keen for the third straight run. Florida was able to tie the game with two runs in the bottom o...

 JACKSONVILLE ( www.sportsdayjax.com )  – No. 4 Florida came from behind for the 17th time this season to post a 7-5 victory over Florida State for a season sweep in the Sunshine Showdown at 121 Financial Ballpark on Tuesday night. Wyatt Langford (2-for-3) and Jac Caglianone (2-for-5) turned in multi-hit nights while swatting back-to-back home runs. Blake Purnell was untouchable out of the bullpen, tossing a career-high five shutout innings with eight strikeouts. The Gators (36-10, 14-7 SEC) pounced on the Seminoles (15-28, 6-18 SEC) with a four-spot in the top of the first. Caglianone opened the scoring with a two-run single to right field, allowing both Cade Kurland and Langford to score due to a fielding error in right field. Colby Halter followed with an RBI single to left while Dale Thomas drove in Luke Heyman with an RBI groundout to third base. Florida State quickly responded with five runs in the bottom half to snatch a one-run lead. The outburst was highlighted by RBI...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Two Florida men's basketball players earned Southeastern Conference accolades on Monday as graduate forward Colin Castleton was named first-team All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive Team and freshman guard Riley Kugel earned a place on the SEC All-Freshman Team. Castleton led the Gators in scoring (16.0) and rebounding (7.7) while his 3.0 blocked shots per game rank fourth in the nation and are a Florida single-season record. Castleton joined Dorian Finney-Smith as the only transfers to join the 1,000-point club at Florida, and his 1,165 points at UF rank 41st in program history.  His 194 blocked shots are third all-time for the Gators, and his 2.49 blocked shots per game are a program record. Castleton had four straight 20-point games before suffering a broken hand on Feb. 15 vs. Ole Miss that has sidelined him since. Castleton joins rare company in Florida history as a three-time All-SEC honoree becoming the fourth Gator this century, 13th all-time and the first in ...

TALLAHASSEE (Florida Sports Wire) – Florida State scored 17 unanswered points early in the third quarter to build a 38-24 lead and then held on to beat rival Florida 45-38 Friday night in Doak Campbell Stadium. Trey Benson’s 17-yard touchdown run with 4:06 left in the game broke a 38-38 tie and Florida’s last-minute drive to send the game into overtime died when Anthony Richardson’s pass on fourth and long fell harmlessly into the end zone. While Seminoles quarterback Travis Jordan’s passing numbers were modest, he was nearly unstoppable running the ball. Jordan finished 13 of 30 through the air for 270 yards and a touchdown and gained 83 yards on 15 carries with a pair of touchdowns. FSU’s defense gave up some big plays through the air, but limited UF’s Richardson to just nine completions on 27 attempts for 198 yards but three of those were for touchdowns. Travis Etienne led UF’s running game with 129 yards on 17 carries. Florida State finishes the regular season with a 9-3 record an...

 NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mike Wright threw for three scores and Ray Davis added 122 yards on the ground to lift Vanderbilt to a 31-24 SEC victory over Florida Saturday at FirstBank Stadium. Up 14-12 late in the third quarter, Wright found Gavin Schoenwald from 10 yards out and Ben Bresnahan for a 28-yard score in a 77-second span to break open the game.  The Commodores (5-6, 2-5 SEC) then held off a Gator rally, with Anthony Richardson finding Daejon Reynolds for touchdown passes covering 74 and 16 yards in the final period, to win back-to-back games for the first time this season. Wright finished the day 10 of 16 passing for 108 yards, while Davis carried 30 times in recording his third straight 100-yard effort. CJ Taylor led the Lady defense—which allowed just 45 net yards rushing—with 10 stops and a pass break up, with Anfernee Orji contributing eight tackles and Jeremy Lucien seven. Ventral Miller and Amari Burney paced the Gators (6-5, 3-5 SEC) with 11 and 10 tackles, respecti...

KNOXVILLE - Not sure what happened. Jaylen Wright’s touchdown run gave Tennessee a 38-21 lead over Florida with 7:55 remaining in Saturday’s SEC matchup in Knoxville The Tennessee defense must have thought the Gator was in the bag. Two Florida touchdowns and a successful onside kick with 17 seconds to play the Gators were on the verge on beating the Volunteers again. “Yeah, make a play. We did not want them to sit back there and pat it all day long and find a way to get off the football field and come away with a win,” said Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel. “Obviously, the hands team must find a way to come up with that one on the second attempt, and there are some things we could do better. Clock management could change that too.” After letting Florida back in the game Kamal Hadden intercepted a pass from Gators QB Anthony Richardson on the final play of the game to seal the victory. Richardson is being heralded as coming of age as a starting QB in the late rally. His pass...

Photo by Mary Holt/USF Athetics GAINESVILLE (SportsTicker) – The USF football (1-2) team gave No. 18 Florida (2-1) all in wanted in a wild game the Gators held on to win, 31-28, before 88,496 fans at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville on a Saturday night. The third-largest crowd USF has ever played in front of nearly witnessed one of the biggest wins in program history as head coach Jeff Scott’s Bulls ran for 286 yards, totaled 402 yards of offense and kept Gator quarterback Anthony Richardson in check in a game that wasn’t decided until a missed 49-yard field goal attempt with 23 seconds to play. The Bulls outscored the Gators 15-7 in the second half, outgained the Gators 402-329 and held a 28-24 lead with 11:14 to play, but a couple miscues and a late Florida touchdown drive prevented the upset. Sophomore running back Brian Battie ran for a career-high 150 yards and a touchdown and junior quarterback Gerry Bohanon added 102 and a touchdown on the ground as USF’s offensive line ...

By Tim Letcher/UK GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Mark Stoops became Kentucky’s all-time winningest coach as No. 20 Kentucky topped 12 th -ranked Florida 26-16 on Saturday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. It was the Kentucky defense that came up large all night long. The Cats held Florida to 279 yards of total offense and kept Florida’s talented quarterback Anthony Richardson in check. UK’s defense also came up with a pair of huge interceptions, both of which defined the outcome of Saturday’s win. Kentucky (2-0) struggled offensively but made enough plays to get the win. Quarterback Will Levis connected on 13 of 24 through the air for 202 yards and a touchdown. Kavosiey Smoke carried the ball 14 times for 80 yards, most of which came in the second half. Florida had the opening possession of the game but, after one first down, the Gators were forced to punt. On Kentucky’s first possession, the Cats went three-and-out, punting the ball back to Florida. The Gators took over on their own 48 and qui...

Florida came out firing from the start and continued bombing away until the finish of today’s 88-71 victory over ninth-ranked West Virginia in this year’s SEC/Big 12 Challenge at the O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida. The Gators (14-7) made 12 three-point field goals and shot 53.1 percent from the floor for the game against a Mountaineer defense that came into today’s game ranked first in the country in steals and turnovers, and second in the country in field goal percentage defense. Today, the Gators were making them with hands in their faces, wide open, it didn’t matter. And Florida, one of the worst free throw shooting teams in the country, was even making those as well – 24 of 31. Dorian Finney-Smith hit five of seven from long range, added five of six from the free throw line and finished with a game-high 24 points. Gator guard Brandone Francis-Ramirez came off the bench to hit all three of his three-point attempts and finished with nine, and guards KeVaughn Allen...

Jalen Jones scored 26 points and Danuel House added 22 to help Texas A&M (14-2, 4-0 SEC) defeat Florida 71-68 for their seventh straight win. Florida (10-6, 2-2 SEC) never led after halftime. Dorian Finney-Smith led the visitors with 17 points and Justin Leon had 16. The Gators' KeVaughn Allen, who averages 10.5 points a game, was held scoreless. The undefeated streak in SEC play is te Aggies best league start since going 4-0 to open Big 12 play in 2006-07. The Aggies are 10-0 on their home court. The winning streak is the longest since winning 13 straight in 2010-11.

By MIKE BONTS Kurt Roper Jacksonville SportsDay South Carolina head football coach Will Muschamp has announced the hiring of Kurt Roper as the Gamecocks’ co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.  Roper comes to Carolina after spending the 2015 season with the Cleveland Browns as senior offensive assistant coach. He joined the Browns after spending 2014 as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at the Florida under Muschamp. Roper brings 19 years of experience on the collegiate level, including 13 in the Southeastern Conference, and helped his teams appear in 11 bowl games.  “I’m excited to have Coach Roper joining the staff,” said Coach Muschamp. “He’s been a play-caller in the SEC, has experience in working with and developing quarterbacks like Eli Manning and former Gamecock Connor Shaw, has an NFL background, and did a great job at Duke under David Cutcliffe. We are excited for what he offers.” Prior to his year-long stint in Gainesville, Roper spent si...

Jim McElwain University of Florida head football coach Jim McElwain has been named the 2015 SEC Coach of the year, the league announced on Wednesday afternoon. In earning his first SEC Coach of the Year honor, McElwain has guided the Florida Gators to a 10-3 record and their first SEC East Division Title since 2009. McElwain is only the third first-year coach in SEC history to reach the SEC Championship game, joining LSU's Les Miles (2005) and Auburn's Gus Malzhan (2013). The former head coach at Colorado State took over the program in January after the Gators had finished 11-13 the past two years and led the Gators back into the national spotlight behind a superb defensive unit.  McElwain is the first UF coach to earn the honor since Will Muschamp in 2012. The Gator football program has had six coaches win the award in its history. McElwain and the Florida Gators continue their season at the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1. The Gators will face the Michiga...

By MIKE BONTS COLLEGE BOWL NEWS ORLANDO, Fla. – The 14th-ranked University of Michigan football team will be heading to Florida over the holiday season, squaring off against the 19th-ranked Florida Gators in the 2016 Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl on Friday, Jan. 1, 2016. This will be the Wolverines fifth appearance in the Citrus Bowl. The game pitting the Wolverines (9-3, 6-2 Big Ten) against the Gators (10-3, 7-1 SEC) will kick-off at 1 p.m. EST from Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando. The New Year’s Day bowl match-up will be televised nationally by ABC. U-M will be seeking a double-digit win total for the 27th time in the 136-year history of the program. After dropping the season opener at Utah, the Wolverines rattled off five straight victories, including three consecutive shutouts over No. 22 BYU, Maryland and Northwestern. Michigan rebounded from a last-second loss to No. 7 Michigan State with four consecutive victories in Big Ten play before a season-ending setback to No. 8 O...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida has hired Michael White as head men’s basketball coach, director of athletics Jeremy Foley announced on Thursday. White, the 2014-15 Conference USA Coach of the Year, comes to the Gators after leading Louisiana Tech to a 101-40 record (.716) over the past four seasons, including three straight conference championships. Born in Dunedin, Fla., White brings a wealth of SEC experience to the Gators, as a four-year starter at Ole Miss and later an assistant coach for seven seasons under two different head coaches on the Rebels’ bench. “I have an incredible amount of respect for the University of Florida, and I am so excited to be a Gator,” White said. “Not only is Florida home for me, but the tradition and success that the Gators have built make this an incredible opportunity. I know about the great home court advantage in the O’Connell Center, which is a testament to the fans and the Rowdy Reptiles. There’s an unbelievable commitment to ex...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Billy Donovan has stepped down as head coach of the Florida men's basketball team to take the same position with the Oklahoma City Thunder, director of athletics Jeremy Foley announced on Thursday. Donovan leaves Florida after 19 seasons leading the men's basketball program to unprecedented levels of success, winning two national championships, reaching four Final Fours and claiming six SEC titles, posting a 467-186 (.715) record with the Gators. "While we are certainly extremely sad to see Billy go, the primary feeling I have is one of gratitude for what he has done here at Florida," Foley said. "Billy and Florida basketball have been synonymous for a long time now, and our program would not have reached the heights it has without him. The legacy he leaves here is one of personal and professional excellence, and we wish him, Christine and the Donovan family continued success and happiness as they make this move. There is no better person...