Weekend Look Back: Gator Baseball Wins SEC Tournament, Softball Heads To CWS
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 | General
The Gator baseball team's first SEC Tournament title since 1991 and a berth in the softball College World Series highlighted an amazing weekend for Gator athletics.
Baseball
The Gators stormed through Hoover en route to their first SEC Tournament title since 1991, capping the weekend with a 5-0 victory over Vanderbilt in the title game.
The Gators opened their quest for the tourney title with a 7-5 victory over Mississippi State on Wednesday. Florida followed that with a 6-0 victory over Alabama to reach the semis against Georgia. After dropping a 4-3 decision in the opener on Saturday, the Gators rallied for a 3-2 victory to reach the title game for the first time since 2000.
On the strength of their SEC Tournament title, the Gators were selected as the No. 2 national seed for the NCAA Tournament and will host the Gainesville Regional this weekend, facing Manhattan at 4 p.m. on Friday. Miami and Jacksonville are the other two squads in Gainesville this weekend.
Softball
The Gator softball team dominated Oregon, sweeping a pair of games by a combined 16-1 score to become the first SEC team to ever reach four consecutive College World Series.
Florida opened with a 9-1 victory in game one behind the hot bat of sophomore Brittany Schutte, who hit a pair of two-run homers.
In game two it was more of the same, as the Gators jumped out to an early lead they would not relinquish, defeating Oregon 7-0 to reach the CWS. With the two-game sweep, as GatorZone.com Senior Writer Scott Carter points out, the Gators have the look of a team peaking at the right time.
Track & Field
The Florida track and field team capped a successful weekend at the NCAA Preliminary Rounds in Bloomington, Ind., qualifying a total of 24 slots for the finals in Des Moines from June 8-11.
Tennis
Following an amazing run to the NCAA team title last weekend, several Gator women's tennis players fared well in singles and doubles competition after the team event. Lauren Embree reached the semifinals of the singles competition before having to withdraw due to an injury. Allie Will reached the Round of 16 in singles while Joanna Mather fell in the Round of 32. In doubles, Alex Cercone and Will reached the quarterfinals before falling.
On the men's side, the doubles team of Alexandre Lacroix and Sekou Bangoura reached the semifinals of the NCAA doubles championship before falling in a third set tiebreaker. Lacroix also competed in singles where he reached the Round of 32.
