The Dandy Dozen Part III: Top Team Performances by the Gators During 2010-11 Athletic Year
Friday, July 15, 2011 | Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In our final installment of The Dandy Dozen – a look back at the best of the Gators in 2010-11 – we turn our attention to the top team performances.
These are the days or nights when everything came together and the team in orange and blue went home happy.
We've touched on the top moments and top individual performances, but it's now time for some teamwork.
Here are 12 team performances – listed in no particular order –that highlight what a year it was for UF's athletic department.
And if you want to join the conversation and add one or more to the list, click here to visit the official Facebook page of GatorZoneScott and add your voice.
Volleyball Wins Thriller Over FSU
The winner advanced to the Austin Regional. The loser's season was over.
To add to what turned into a thrilling NCAA Tournament match, the Gators faced their old nemesis from Tallahassee with their season on the line. They trailed 12-7 in the fifth set before storming back.
The final two points were scored on back-to-back kills by Kristy Jaeckel, lifting the No. 1-ranked Gators to their 19th consecutive win over the Seminoles. The Gators collapsed at the net – part joy, part exhaustion.
“This match lived up to its billing,'' Gators coach Mary Wise said.
Gymnasts At Their Best
The Florida-Georgia gymnastics rivalry is one of the best in the country. A match against the Bulldogs is always meaningful.
The Gators didn't disappoint when they faced the Bulldogs in Athens, posting the fifth-highest point total in school history (197.725) and highest score in the country at that point in a convincing victory in front of a sellout crowd at Stegeman Coliseum.
The win was only UF's third at Georgia since 1983. The Florida trio of Alaina Johnson, Ashan?e Dickerson and Mackenzie Caquatto claimed at least a share of the top three all-around places to set the tone for the Gators, ranked No. 1 at the time.
Gators Snap Skid in Style
The annual Gators-Bulldogs clash in Jacksonville has its share of classics over the years. The 2010 game is one to add to the list.
Florida won 34-31 in overtime on Chas Henry's 37-yard game-winning field goal. An interception by Will Hill gave Florida possession to set up Henry's game-winning kick.
In regulation, the return of running back Chris Rainey played a pivotal role in Florida's offense waking up in arguably the most entertaining game of the season. Trey Burton rushed for a career-high 110 yards and the defense, led by safety Ahmad Black and linebacker Jelani Jenkins, came up with some big plays.
The victory snapped Florida's three-game losing streak and gave Coach Urban Meyer a 5-1 record against the Bulldogs.
Women's Tennis Wins National Title
We ranked the Gators' win at Stanford as the top moment of the year and for obvious reasons. Not only did the Gators win their fifth national title – the most of any program on campus – they did it in dramatic fashion with a gutsy performance by Lauren Embree in the final match.
However, it was a total team effort as the Gators won the doubles point behind wins by Embree/Sofie Oyen and Joanna Mather/Caroline Hitimana.
In singles play, Alex Cercone won at No. 5 and Oliva Janowicz won at No. 6 to make Embree's effort at No. 2 mean something.
Indoor Men's Track Team Repeats
Winning one national title is hard. Winning two in a row is even harder.
The Gators discovered that when at the NCAA Indoor Track Championships in March they suffered key losses when injuries sidelined sprinter Tony McQuay and thrower Kemal Mesic.
Instead of folding, others stepped up to help the Gators become the fourth school to win multiple NCAA Indoor national titles.
Sprinter Jeff Demps won the national 60-meter dash title and jumper Will Claye captured an individual title as well.
Gators Rout Alabama for Share of SEC Title
It was Senior Night. Former Gators assistant Anthony Grant was back in town with his Alabama team. The Gators and Crimson Tide were each in the running for the SEC regular-season title.
You could say it was a big game.
The Gators made it look easy, winning 78-51 and following that up with a win at Vanderbilt a few days later to clinch the third outright SEC regular-season title in school history. The senior trio of Chandler Parsons, Vernon Macklin and Alex Tyus combined for 50 points, 26 rebounds and six assists to go out in style.
Baseball Wins SEC Tournament
They lost one of their best pitchers – left-hander Brian Johnson– earlier in the tournament.
However, that didn't stop the Gators from advancing to the SEC Tournament championship game against Vanderbilt.
While most teams might have trouble overcoming a loss like Johnson, Coach Kevin O'Sullivan tossed junior lefty Alex Panteliodis on the mound to face the Commodores and all he did was shut out the Commodores for 5 1/3 innings before turning the game over to relievers Greg Larson, Nick Maronde and Austin Maddox.
SEC Tournament MVP Daniel Pigott chipped in with two hits and an RBI in the Gators' 5-0 win, giving Florida its first SEC Tournament title in 20 years.
Soccer Wins SEC on Road
The UF soccer team traveled to South Carolina in the final regular-season match of the season needing a win to claim its fifth consecutive SEC title.
The first half was nearly over when the Gators were awarded a free kick. With five seconds remaining, senior Nicky Kit's goal gave the Gators the lead. It ended up being the only goal scored in the match as Florida's defense clamped down in the second half.
The Gators and Gamecocks met a week later in the SEC Tournament and Florida won again by a 1-0 score. The clutch performance at South Carolina was undoubtedly on both teams' minds as they took the field.
Men's Golfers Clamp Down
In terms of clutch team performances, Gators men's golf coach Buddy Alexander couldn't have asked for much more from the foursome of Andres Echavarria, Bank Vongvanij, Phillip Choi and Tommy Mou at the NCAA Southeast Regional.
The foursome combined to shoot 11-under-par in the third and final round to lift the Gators to the tournament title and a spot in the NCAA Championships. Echavarria shot all three rounds under-par, Vongvanij made four birdies and Choi finished the round with three consecutive birdies.
Softball Sweeps Tennessee
The Gators softball team needed to sweep Tennessee in the final regular-season series of the season to win the SEC East for the fourth consecutive year and keep alive their hopes of an overall SEC title.
They did exactly that, defeating the Vols three consecutive days to win the East title and send out the senior class of Kelsey Bruder, Aja Paculba, Stephanie Brombacher, Tiffany DeFelice and Megan Bush with 229 career wins. That was before the Gators made a run to the WCWS and finished national runner-up.
It was a weekend that started with a walk-off home run by Cheyenne Coyle to win Game 1 against the Vols and ended with the seniors taking photos on the field with their families long after the final out of Game 3.
Big Win at FGCU
The UF women's basketball team struggled at times during the season, but the Gators regrouped to qualify for the postseason with a berth in the WNIT.
In the second round the Gators traveled to Naples to face Florida Gulf Coast University at Alico Arena, where FGCU owned a 42-game win streak. Florida trailed by nine in the second half and it looked as if FGCU's streak would remain intact.
However, freshman Jaterra Bonds led Florida's comeback with 19 points in a 74-69 win. The victory was Florida's 20th of the season, marking the 10th time in school history the Gators reached 20 wins. It also provided a memorable highlight to the season.
Making a Splash
The UF men's and women's swim teams hosted the SEC Championship Meet for the first time in six years hoping for a sweep of the team titles.
They came up short, finishing second on both sides. Still, UF dominated the SEC Yearly Awards with an array of strong performances in the finals.
Marcin Cieslak (male) and Elizabeth Beisel (female) were named SEC Freshman Swimmers of the Year, Monica Dodson earned Female Diver of the Year honors, and Conor Dwyer was named the league's top male swimmer and won the Commissioner's Trophy for high-point award.
Meanwhile, on the final day of the event Marco Loughran (200-yard backstroke), Beisel (200-yard backstroke) and Teresa Crippen (200-yard butterfly) captured SEC titles in a memorable home event.
