Florida Sports Wire

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –   Two Seminoles were announced as finalists for national awards on Tuesday night. Redshirt sophomore kicker Roberto Aguayo is one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, while senior tight end Nick O’Leary is one of three finalists for the John Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top tight end. Both players are repeat finalists for the awards, while Aguayo is looking to become the second person ever to win back-to-back Groza Awards, joining fellow Nole Sebastian Janikowski (1998, 1999). “It’s a dream come true to be named a finalist again,” Aguayo said. “It meant a lot to win the award as a freshman last year. It motivated me to work even harder this year. I know there a lot of great kickers out there so it’s an honor to be in the running for this award. It’s exciting to get to go back to West Palm Beach. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission puts on a great event.”   The Groza Award will be announced at the H...

ORLANDO, Fla. - Individuals from Fernandina Beach and Jacksonville received awards over the weekend at the 65th USTA Florida Annual Meeting & Volunteer Celebration, held Nov. 22-23, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando.  The weekend celebrating Florida tennis volunteers and community advocates also included educational sessions, a tennis mixer, the Starry, Starry Night Awards Dinner & Dancing, and the Sunday Breakfast with the Stars awards. Here are the local award winners from the 65th USTA Florida Annual Meeting & Volunteer Celebration: HALL OF FAME AWARD -- Celia Rehm of Jacksonville Jacksonville native Celia Rehm is a former USTA Florida president, the current Bylaws & Governance Committee Chair, a USTA Florida Section Foundation Board Member -- and she also almost-single-handedly saved high school tennis and reinstated USTA League play in the city of Jacksonville. Locally Celia co-founded Jacksonville's first CTA, the First Coast Tennis...

Longtime major league outfielder Raul Ibanez is one of three finalists for the vacant Tampa Bay Rays managerial position, the team announced Friday. Ibanez, who just completed his 19th season as a player in 2014, made the cut along with former Seattle Mariners skipper Don Wakamatsu and Cleveland Indians bullpen coach Kevin Cash. The Rays plan to make a final decision after the Thanksgiving break. The Rays interviewed 10 preliminary candidates to be the successor to Joe Maddon, who opted out of his contract shortly after the conclusion of the regular season and was recently named the new manager of the Chicago Cubs. Among the seven contenders to be eliminated was Dave Martinez, Tampa Bay's bench coach under Maddon over the past seven seasons. "The decision on Dave Martinez was especially difficult. He's played a key role in our organization's evolution, and he's done all he can to put himself in position to be a manager," said Rays president o...

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The North Florida basketball team held the lead over Northwestern for most of the final 10 minutes of play before the Wildcats connected on their final six shots and rallied for the 69-67 victory on Thursday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Ospreys (1-2) used a 23-10 spurt midway through the second half to move from six points down to seven points up, 61-54, with 3:55 remaining. However, NU (3-0) was able to connect on a couple of late three-pointers to mount the final decisive charge. UNF had a final shot in the closing seconds for the win, but Demarcus Daniels shot from the top of the arc rattled out at the buzzer allowing the Wildcats to escape with the win. Sophomore Dallas Moore finished with a team-best 18 points including 12 in the second half while also dishing out a season best five assists. Fellow sophomore Chris Davenport added 17 points with four rebounds and senior Jalen Nesbitt narrowly missed a double-double finishing with nine points and eight rebou...

ST. AUGUSTINE – Last year the Flagler College women’s soccer team finished second at the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional at Charlotte, North Carolina, and will look to have similar success on Saturday at the University of Montevallo. By finishing second last year, the Saints automatically qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championship, which was held at Spokane, Washington. The top three teams from the regional along with the top three runners not on teams qualifying for nationals will go as individuals.   The Saints are coming off of a third place finish at the Peach Belt Conference Championship two weeks ago (Nov. 8). Hanna Ramirez, Taylor Strekel and Lauren Rodriguez earned all-conference honors and will look to lead the Saints on Saturday. Flagler is ranked No. 4 in the latest (Nov. 11) United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association Southeast Regional Ranking. Peach Belt Conference champion, and regional host, Montevallo, is ranked No...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In a press conference Wednesday afternoon, the Jacksonville Suns announced that they will host a Major League exhibition game featuring the Miami Marlins before the 2015 regular season.  The 2014 Southern League Champion Jacksonville Suns will take on the Miami Marlins in a special pre-season exhibition matchup at Bragan Field at the Grounds of Jacksonville on Saturday, April 4, 2015 at 2:05PM. The Suns have been an integral part of the Marlins’ player development system winning three Southern League Championships in the six seasons affiliated with the Marlins.  A number of Suns made the jump to the Marlins roster over the course of the 2014 season, including Andrew Heaney, Anthony DeSclafani and J.T. Realmuto.  Tickets for the exhibition game are on sale now at the Suns box office and online at www.jaxsuns.com .  Dugout Box seats will be $38.50, Homeplate Box seats will be $28.50, Reserved seats will be $22.50 and General Admissi...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Armada FC, Jacksonville's new professional North American Soccer League (NASL) team, injected its roster with a solid veteran presence on Tuesday with the addition of former Colorado Rapids (Major League Soccer) midfielder Jaime Castrillón (Hi-may Cas-tree-yoan). Castrillón joins goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo, defender Fabricio Ortiz and midfielder Lucas Rodriguez, who were signed to the roster in late October. "We are excited to welcome a seasoned veteran like Jaime to the Armada FC family," said Dario Sala, Armada FC General Manager. "With his extensive experience, he will be a key addition to our roster. We expect him to be a driving force for our offensive attack with his superb technique, and dynamic goal-scoring abilities." A 31-year-old native of Puerto Nare, Antioquia, Colombia, Castrillón led the Rapids in 2012 with eight goals in 30 matches before missing most of the 2013 season recovering from knee surgery. Prior to playin...