Timeline of a Wild, Winning Weekend

The Southeastern Conference men's and women's championships in track came back to Gainesville together for the first time.

Timeline of a Wild, Winning Weekend

Monday, May 14, 2018 | Baseball, Lacrosse, Softball, Men's Tennis, Track and Field, Chris Harry

Four UF teams won SEC titles and two more advanced in NCAA tournament play Saturday and Sunday.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — There's a reason they call the spring "Championship Season" around these parts. If you weren't sure why, you're either new in town or probably weren't paying attention during a whirlwind 30 hours of Florida Gators success Saturday afternoon and on into Sunday night.

The events allowed UF to become the first school in Southeastern Conference history to claim regular-season championships in baseball, softball and both men's and women's track in the same year.

And that wasn't all.

Let's review.

SATURDAY

3:40 p.m.

BACK-TO-BACK SEC CHAMPS!!!!

Gators win 9-3 to clinch the series and the league. #Champs pic.twitter.com/fDMjqYvECZ
— Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 12, 2018

UF freshman reliever Tommy Mace got Georgia's Cole Tate on a groundout to short to cap a 9-3 home win for the No. 1-ranked and reigning national champion Gators, thus clinching the program's second straight SEC regular-season title. Make that five league crowns for Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan, which is tied for third-most in SEC history. With only a road trip to Mississippi State remaining, UF is 41-12 overall and 20-7 in the rugged SEC and, obviously, has a lot more in front of it. The conference tournament begins May 22 in Hoover, Ala., followed by the start of the NCAA Tournament the following week.

8:46 p.m.

For the 4th time in program history, the @FloridaGators are @SEC Tournament Champs! https://t.co/fSyDjjpRlt pic.twitter.com/SBu8CkRus0
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) May 13, 2018

Senior Aleshia Ocasio finished off a complete-game gem by getting South Carolina's Alyssa VanDervee on a game-ending fly out to center, capping a 3-1 win in the SEC Tournament championship game at Columbia, Mo. It was Florida's first run to the league postseason title since 2013, while giving Coach Tim Walton and his crew, ranked fourth in the country, their 50th win on the season. SEC Player of the Year Amanda Lorenz provided the power with a three-run homer in the third inning. That was all Ocasio needed, as she allowed just two hits, faced only 22 batters, and at one point threw 22 consecutive strikes. It was quite a night for the Gators … but so was Sunday afternoon and night (read on).

SUNDAY

2:10 p.m.

???????? pic.twitter.com/KNVXKkKVhF
— Gators Lacrosse (@GatorsLAX) May 13, 2018

Though Shayna Pirreca had six goals, it was Lindsey Ronbeck and Caroline Benetiz with tallies in the final 7:22, plus some tough defense down the stretch, that iced sixth-ranked Florida's 13-9 home defeat of No. 15 Colorado in second-round play of the NCAA Tournament, an outcome that advanced the Gators to the Elite 8 next weekend to face No. 3-seed James Madison at Harrisonburg, Va. UF trailed in the game 5-0, but awakened at that point to score eight straight goals to take a lead it never relinquished. Now, it's on to the tournament quarterfinals.

3:16 p.m.

??-4 | Mia-0

Alfredo clinches the match for Florida to advance to the Round of 16!

Singles Scores
1?? 2-6?, 6-6??
2?? 0-6?, 6-1?, 3-1??
3?? 6-3?, 5-4??
4?? 6-4?, 6-4?#NCAATennis #GoGators pic.twitter.com/KzcFRn9sr2
— Gators Men's Tennis (@GatorsMTN) May 13, 2018

When Miami's Bojan Jankulovski slammed a shot into the net, Alfredo Perez completed a 6-4, 6-2 win at Court No. 3, and the No. 13 Gators completed a 4-0 waxing of Miami in second-round action of their NCAA regional at Linder Stadium. The win advanced Coach Bryan Shelton's squad to the round of 16 and NCAA Championships at Winston-Salem, N.C., where the Gators will face unseeded Ole Miss, which shocked No. 4 Stanford. Florida is in the Sweet 16 for the third straight year (and fourth time in the five seasons). The Gators defeated the Rebels 6-1 back on March 23, but Ole Miss was without its best player.

9:45 p.m.

DOGPILE AT THE FINISH LIKE IT'S 2009!!! #SECTF OUTDOOR CHAMPIONS!

Watch more celebration: https://t.co/z9ihxN1Bur pic.twitter.com/vBgK2Gqc28
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) May 14, 2018

At Knoxville, Tenn., the 4x400 relay team went to the blocks knowing it only had to finish ahead of LSU to lock up the first SEC outdoor title in women's track and field since 2009. Guess what? It was senior Taylor Sharpe on the anchor leg of the team made up of Taylor Manson, Sharrika Barnett and Nikki Stephens, who together ran the second-fastest time in school history (3:27.30). Earlier in the meet, Barnett won the open 400, part of a 91-point team tally for the ninth-ranked Gators that bested top-ranked LSU's 88.5.

10:05 p.m.

Is there an echo out here? #WeChomp #SECsweep pic.twitter.com/WImrKdqrTv
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) May 14, 2018

Mere moments after the women learned they were the 2018 SEC champs, the men learned that Alabama would not run the 4x400, meaning the Gators had all the points needed to claim their first league outdoors title since 2015. It was the third men's title for Coach Mike Holloway, but the first time in school history Florida left the SEC outdoors meet with both trophies. All told, Florida men and women combined for 13 top-three finishes on Sunday alone. The men's standout was Grant Holloway, who won the 110 hurdles in a time of 13.15 seconds (the second-fastest in collegiate history) and the long jump at 27 feet, 3.75 inches.

10:09 p.m.

The #Gators earn the nation's No. 2 seed!! Here's who's coming to Gainesville.

Ticket Info ??https://t.co/rorZG7uxz0 pic.twitter.com/zaLvResgAP
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) May 14, 2018

The softball team knew it would be a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament, but the numbers became official late Sunday night when the tournament field was unveiled and the Gators showed up as the No. 2 overall seed, behind only top-ranked Oregon. As such, UF (50-8) will host the Gainesville Regional starting Friday, where the Gators will take on Bethune-Cookman (31-24), with South Florida (38-21) and Ohio State (34-14) squaring off on the other side of the mini-bracket.