No. 23 Florida Opens Southeastern Conference Soccer Tournament Play Wednesday versus Georgia
Tuesday, November 1, 2011 | Soccer
No. 23 Florida (14-6, 7-4 sec) and Georgia (12-5-2, 6-3-2 SEC) meet Wednesday, Nov. 2 in the final match of the opening day of the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Match time is set for 8:30 p.m. ET at the Orange Beach SportsPlex. Defending tournament champion Florida enters the match as the SEC Tournament's No. 4 seed and Georgia is the No. 5 seed. Georgia is Florida's the most common opponent in SEC Tournament play, as Wednesday's match is the eighth tourney meeting in the 17-year history of each program.
| Wednesday's Match Info: |
| No. 4 seed Florida (14-6-0, 7-4-0 SEC) vs. No. 5 seed Georgia (12-5-2, 6-3-2 SEC) Date & Time: Nov. 2, 2011 @ 8:30 p.m. ET The Coaches: Becky Burleigh, 17th season @ UF (379-101-32/22nd season overall – 297-78-26/UF), Steve Holeman – 188-135-37/18th season overall & 23-11-6/second season at UGA Television: none Radio: live on WRUF SportsRadio 850 Video: none Internet: live stats and audio for UF-UGA match available on www.GatorZone.com Single Day Tickets: $5 adult; $2 children 12 and under. Contact the Orange Beach Parks and Recreation Department at (251) 981-6039 for further information. |
Five of the six SEC Eastern Division teams advanced to the 2011 SEC Tournament. The seeding for the SEC Tournament is as follows: No. 1 South Carolina, No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 Georgia, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 7 Auburn and No. 8 Alabama. The league's automatic berth to the 2011 NCAA Championship goes to the winner of the SEC Tournament. Two SEC teams are among the current National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) top 25 – No. 19 South Carolina and No. 23 Florida.
Florida took a 1-0 win when the two teams met in the opening day of 2011 SEC action in Athens, Ga., on Sept. 23. Junior Erika Tymrak scored off the through ball from sophomore Taylor Travis in the 70th minute.
Florida placed four on 2011 All-SEC teams, the league office announced on the afternoon of Halloween. A pair of Gator juniors are repeat selections for the 11-member All-SEC first team – midfielder Erika Tymrak and defender Kathryn Williamson. Senior outside back Jazmyne Avant and junior midfielder Holly King are All-SEC second team selections. Florida also placed a pair of midfielders on the 13-member SEC All-Freshman team –Havana Solaun and Annie Speese.
Although Florida leads all league teams with nine SEC Tournament titles, only the 2007 and 2010 titles came at the Orange Beach SportsPlex. Seven of the last eight SEC Tournaments have been held in Orange Beach, Ala. The Gators advanced to the tournament final four times in Orange Beach, with Tennessee taking a penalty kick decision after the two teams tied 1-1 20T in the 2003 final and the Gators lost 2-1 to Kentucky in the 2006 final. The last two appearances in the final have resulted in the Gators hoisting the trophy, taking the 2007 (4-1 versus Georgia) and 2010 (1-0 versus South Carolina) SEC Tournament titles. Florida has advanced to the SEC Tournament final 12 of its 16 SEC Tournament appearances.
Heading into the last Friday's regular-season finale in Gainesville, Florida was in position to claim a share of the 2011 SEC regular-season title, as a win versus South Carolina would have given UF a share of the 2011 crown. The Gamecocks opened a 2-0 lead on the Gators before senior Tahnai Annis headed in the cross from freshman Annie Bobbitt in the 36th minute. But UF couldn't find the equalizer and suffered its second consecutive home league loss for the first time in the program's 17-year history. With its league record of 7-4, Florida tied for third overall with Tennessee in the final SEC standings. Tennessee claimed the No. 3 seed for the SEC Tournament as it defeated UF 4-2 in the regular-season meeting.
Georgia took fifth in the final SEC standings with its 6-3-2 record. The Bulldogs had won four consecutive league matches, but was winless in their final three contests (0-0 2OT at Auburn, 2-2 2OT at Alabama, 2-0 loss versus Tennessee). Sophomore Alexa Newfield, a 2010 All-SEC first team selection, leads the SEC in points (38) and goals (15).
Wednesday's match can be heard on WRUF SportsRadio 850, by simulcast on Cox Channel 946 (Gainesville/Ocala) or on www.GatorZone.com with Adam Schick calling the action.
