> > I’m even more impressed now with Chris Harry as a writer. > > I can’t believe he was unemployed when Gatorzone hired him. > > Helen, he was in Tampa, right? Did he get riffed? > > Oh yes, this is a great story about Gator performances of the year! > > > > Wednesday July 11, 2012Harry: Top 10 Individual Performances for Gators in > 2011-12 Athletic Season > > · Print > > · > > · > > · > > GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Remember, I was late to the Florida party, arriving at > GatorZone in November. But I saw some pretty impressive performances by UF > student-athletes, including some absolute show-stoppers. > > > > Also missed some moment that I wished I’d seen. > > > > None of these will soon be forgotten, no matter who saw them. > > > > > > 1. Oh, no-no he didn’t! > > > > All Jonathon Crawford did to start UF’s NCAA run was throw a no-hitter in a > 4-0 defeat of Bethune-Cookman, marking the first time a Florida pitcher > no-hit an opponent since John Burke iced Furman in the NCAA’s opening round > in 1991. > > > > Crawford, whose longest previous outing of the season was six innings, faced > the minimum 27 batters in going the distance -- the lone BCC base-runner drew > a walk, then was caught stealing -- to become just the seventh pitcher in > NCAA history to hurl a no-hitter. > > > > Bravo! > > > > > > 2. One of those “As” in NCAA must stand for “Alex” > > > > Sophomore Alex Cercone played No. 5 singles for the better part of her two > seasons with the UF tennis team, but she can stake a claim to No. 1 clutch > player when it comes to the postseason. > > > > Cercone, who was undefeated in NCAA Tournament play as a freshman, faced an > 0-2 hole in the third set of the team championship semifinals against Duke, > but rallied to win 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in a 3-hour, 14-minute gut-check match that > propelled the Gators to a 4-3 victory and advanced the team into the title > match vs. UCLA. > > > > Against the Bruins, Cercone was the first Gator to win her singles match, > making quick work of Channelle Van Nguyen with a 6-2, 6-3 defeat en route to > UF’s 4-0 win in the team final. > > > > Her last match gave Cercone a perfect 9-0 mark in NCAA play during her two > seasons at No. 5 singles with the Gators. > > > > > > 3. Killer Kytra > > > > When she rolled out for the first collegiate meet of her career -- on the > road at North Carolina State -- and promptly won the all-around competition, > Kytra Hunter announced herself as a freshman force to be reckoned with. > > > > She ended the season as the best gymnast in the country. > > > > Hunter not only became the first UF gymnast to capture two individual titles > at the NCAA championship meet (winning the all-around and the vault events), > she also became only the fifth freshman in the meet’s 31-year history to > claim multiple titles as a freshman. > > > > Her performance helped the Gators finish within 0.075 points from the > program’s first NCAA team crown. That was tough to swallow. > > > > But in the coming weeks, word came that Hunter was the 2012 Honda Sports > Award recipient for gymnastics, an honor given annually to the nation’s top > female. Put another way: the Heisman Trophy winner for gymnasts. > > > > > > 4. He definitely was the “Real Deal” in the postseason > > > > Speaking of freshmen, Bradley Beal arrived at UF as arguably the most > decorated men’s basketball recruit in the program’s history. The 2011 > Gatorade National Player of the Year had his ups and downs early in the > season, but everything started clicking in March. When it mattered most. > > > > A first-team All-SEC selection (the first UF freshman ever to be so > recognized), Beal was spectacular during the postseason. In two SEC > Tournament games and four NCAA Tournament games, he combined to average 16.5 > points, making 53 percent from the floor and nearly 46 percent from > long-distance, eight rebounds and 3.7 assists, as the Gators rolled to the > Elite Eight only to lose to Louisville one win shy of the Final Four. > > > > His performance in the spotlight of March Madness, vaulted the 6-foot-5 guard > to the top of pro scouting charts. He announced for the NBA in April and on > June 28 -- his 19th birthday -- was selected by the Washington Wizards with > the No. 3 overall pick in the draft, tying for the second-highest a UF player > had been chosen. > > > > > > 5. From NCAA champion to two-time U.S. Olympian > > > > Winning the 200-meter backstroke at the NCAA Swimming Championships proved to > be a warm-up act for Elizabeth Beisel. > > > > The UF sophomore, who made the U.S. Olympic team as a 16-year-old Rhode > Island high school junior in 2008, doubled down on her international resume > by winning the 400 individual medley at the 2012 Olympic Trials last month, > then placed second in the 200 back to lock up two spots with the American > team bound for London. > > > > While a handful of swimmers with Gator ties (See Lochte, Ryan) will be > swimming for U.S./UF coach Gregg Troy in England, Beisel was the lone current > UF student-athlete to make the squad. > > > > > > 6. And while we’re on the subject of Gator Olympians .... > > > > Junior sprinter Tony McQuay is headed across the pond with Beisel too, only > he’ll be sprinting on dry land. > > > > McQuay finished second at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in the 400 > meters, an event he has claimed as his own three times at the NCAA level. He > sped to personal-best time of 44.49 to finish behind world leader LaShawn > Merritt’s 44.12 in the national outdoor meet. > > > > Just three weeks earlier, though, McQuay ran the anchor leg of UF’s > victorious 4x400 relay at the NCAA Track and Field Championships, securing > the winning points on the meet’s final event to give the Gators (and Coach > Mike Holloway) the program’s first men’s outdoor national crown. > > > > > > 7. Gilroy was there -- all day long > > > > Northwestern had won seven of the last eight NCAA women’s lacrosse > championships and were the odds-on favorites to make it eight in nine years. > > > > But first, the Wildcats wanted to avenge a rare home loss to the upstart > Gators that gave Florida, in just its third year of existence, the > regular-season title. The two teams met in the American Lacrosse Conference > Tournament title game in Gainesville. > > > > Northwestern came to UF having allowed just 6.9 goals per game, which ranked > No. 1 in the nation. Think about that stat when digesting the next one. > > > > Gators freshman midfielder Shannon Gilroy scored seven goals her herself in a > 14-7 route of the nation’s top-ranked team, as the blossoming Florida program > celebrated a rare regular-season and tournament ALC sweep on its home field. > > > > > > 8. NCAA’s fastest indoor man > > > > Running back and return man Jeff Demps didn’t have the senior year he wanted > on the football field, nor did the focus of his Olympic pursuits come to > fruition. > > > > But in between, Demps erupted for one big burst in winning the 60-meter dash > at the NCAA Indoor championships for the third straight year, this time in a > school-record 6.52 seconds. > > > > Demps’ title also helped the Gators claim a third straight men’s indoor > national crown. > > > > > > Nearly every award from A to Z(unino) > > > > Consensus first-team All-American. Dick Howser Trophy recipient. Baseball > America 2012 College Player of the Year. Johnny Bench Award as nation’s best > catcher. Golden Spikes Award finalist. > > > > Those were the honors junior Mike Zunino threw into his U-Haul and pulled out > of town with after being taken by Seattle with the third overall pick in the > MLB Draft; the highest ever by a Gator, no less. > > > > Want more? > > > > In helping guide Florida to its third College World Series in his three > seasons, Zunino also claimed the UF team version of theTriple Crown, leading > the club in average (.322), home runs (19) and RBI (67) during the 2012 > season. > > > > > > > > 10. Fitting finish for Embree > > > > A year earlier, she fought back from four games down in the third and > decisive set to win the crown-clinching point in the NCAA Women’s Tennis > Championships at reigning champ/dynasty Stanford. > > > > This year’s task wasn’t nearly as daunting nor dramatic, but once again it > was UF junior Lauren Embree setting off the celebration for her teammates. > > > > Her defeat of UCLA’s McCall Jones at No. 2 singles gave Florida its fourth > point and merely reinforced what anyone who follows college tennis already > knew. > > > > No one is tougher in the clutch than Embree. > > > > > > > > Oliver Barry, CRS, GRI > > Bob Parks Realty > > REO Department > > 1517 Hunt Club Blvd > > Gallatin TN 37066 > > Phone: 615-826-4040 > > Direct Line:615-265-4209 > > Fax: 615-822-2027 > > Mobile: 615-972-4239 > > [email protected] > > > > > > > > > ======= > Email scanned by PC Tools - No viruses or spyware found. > (Email Guard: 9.0.0.888, Virus/Spyware Database: 6.20120) > http://www.pctools.com > =======
-- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
