Team Moments to Remember 2014-15 -- Chris Harry's Top 10
Thursday, July 2, 2015 | Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- As had been the case each of the previous five years, the University of Florida's 2014-15 athletic year included spectacular runs through the Southeastern Conference and national championships as well.
This one, though, will be remembered most for the seismic shakeups that rocked all things Gator and altered the landscape of Florida sports for years to come.
These are the 10 team moments that struck me most; in some cases, they flat out flattened me.
1) BILLY D SAYS GOODBYE
That Billy Donovan would one day scratch his NBA itch -- the same one that had him accept the Orlando Magic job in 2007 for a weekend -- was never in doubt. Twelve months before, following his team's incredible run of 30 straight wins and Final Four berth, Donovan was chased by three NBA teams before deciding to come back for a 19th season.
His last, as it turned out.
Donovan, 49, stepped down April 30 to accept a six-year, $30 million deal to become head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder. He left behind 502 career victories (467 of them at Florida), as well as those two NCAA championships, six Southeastern Conference crowns and four league tournament titles.
In no way was it a surprise, but that didn't make the loss of the greatest coach in the history of Gators sports -- yes, I believe that -- any less numbing.
Three days after his introduction press conference in OKC, Donovan walked into the Gator Room one last time for a combination farewell/thank-you session in the very same room (albeit updated) he stood on March 30, 1996 when athletic director Jeremy Foley introduced him as Florida's new coach.
Three days later, in the very same room, Michael White, by way of four seasons and 101 wins at Louisiana Tech, was introduced as Donovan's successor, all the while speaking in humble and appreciative tones regarding the immense shoes -- and, let's face it, expectations -- in which he'd be walking.
White's tenor and sense for the circumstances were perfect.
Now, all he has to do is succeed a legend and future Hall-of-Famer.
2) SOFTBALL DOUBLES DOWN ON NCAA TITLES
Tim Walton knew he had a great team returning from the program's first national-championship squad. He also knew with SEC Female Athlete of the Year and 2014 Women's College World Series MVP Hannah Rogers gone, someone had to step up and become the ace of the Florida pitching staff.
That Lauren Haeger became that someone was hardly a surprise.
How utterly dominant Haeger became?
Yes, that was a surprise.
Haeger, the senior from Arizona, put the Gators on her back and led them on an incredible ride, as she went 32-2 in the circle and hit .348 with 19 homers and 71 RBI.
Florida lost just five games during the regular season to gain the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. UF then coupled Haeger's dueling dominance in the circle and at the plate with timely hitting and small-ball run-production throughout the lineup, along with its usual stellar defensive play in eventually defeating No. 3 Michigan, winner of 27 straight going into the finals, in a best-of-three title series at Oklahoma City.
In the decisive Game 3 over the Wolverines, a 3-1 victory, Haeger pitched a complete game, knocked in the game's first run and also scored once to sprint away with MVP honors, as the Gators became just the third team in college softball history to win back-to-back national titles.
3) A FOOTBALL CHANGE
The brand of football Will Muschamp coached during his four years at Florida caught up to him Nov. 15 in an overtime loss at home against South Carolina. The Gators had a handful of chances to put the game away, be it on offense or special teams, but unproductive plays and badly botched kicks -- including a blocked punt with just 39 seconds to go -- set in a motion an outcome that altered the course of UF football.
The Gamecocks won 23-20 and the next day it was announced that Muschamp, 28-21 over four seasons, would be relieved of his coaching duties at the end of the regular season.
UF finished 6-5 and two weeks later lured Jim McElwain away from Colorado State.
McElwain took over at CSU in 2011, inheriting a program that went 3-9 three straight years. In his three seasons, the Rams went 4-8, 7-6 and 10-2, but just as importantly rolled out an imaginative offense that cranked out yards and points. The offensive coordinator for the 2010 Alabama national-championship squad, McElwain will make moving the chains and finding the end zone a priority for the Gators, rather than an annoyance.
Offensive fireworks back in the Swamp, the likes of which lit up the score board -- as well as the fan base -- during the reigns of Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, was a goal of Foley's in his quest to return the Gators to national prominence. With McElwain, he believes he'll find it.
4) FAEHN 3-PEATS ... THEN THROWS DOWN THE MIC
Remember when each year seemingly brought a different kind of thatclose disappointment at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships for the Gators?
OK, maybe you don't.
Maybe you hopped on the bandwagon just in time.
On April 18, freshman Alex McMurtry -- UF's final participant in its final event of the night -- piped a 9.95 on the uneven bars to push the Gators past Utah by five-tenths of a point, matching the slimmest margin in the meet's history and giving Florida its third straight national title.
It was a phenomenal achievement by Coach Rhonda Faehn and her athletes, who immediately took their place among the greatest dynasties in the history of the sport. Faehn, in her 13th season, became just the second Florida coach to win three straight national championships.
And then she resigned.
Six days after McMurtry twirled the Gators into collegiate gymnastics lore, Faehn announced she was leaving to become Senior Vice President of USA Gymnastics, a prestigious post that put her in the decision-making process from youth level to Olympics.
UF hired Auburn assistant Jenny Rowland, who helped guide the Tigers to the Super Six, as Faehn's replacement.
5) GATORS BITE BACK AT DAWGS
In the grand scheme of things, it was just one win in very unspectacular season that ended with the head coach getting fired.
But it was also Florida's first win over Georgia in four years.
The Gators went into their Nov. 1 rivalry game with the Bulldogs unranked and coming off back-to-back home losses, including a 42-13 drubbing against Missouri that marked the worst home defeat -- get this -- since Paul “Bear” Bryant and Alabama did a 40-0 number on the Gators in 1979.
Note: Missouri had been shut out by Georgia 34-0 the week before.
Yet this game was never really close. Florida ran the ball 60 times (and attempted just six passes) for a whopping 445 yards. Sophomore Kelvin Taylor rushed for 197 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Matt Jones went for 192 and two scores. Walk-on holder Michael McNeely took off on a fake field goal for a 21-yard run, as UF opened a 24-point second-half lead.
When all was said and done -- and half of EverBank Field was empty -- the Gators had won 38-20 and handed Muschamp, the former Georgia safety and team captain, the first (and only, as in turned out) victory over his alma mater and one of the most satisfying wins of his tenure.
Big day in the River City for those in orange and blue.
6) BYE-BYE, NOLES! LATER, CANES!
Kevin O'Sullivan's baseball team had grand plans for Omaha.
After storming from the loser's bracket to upend reigning national champion Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament title game, the Gators were the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, but had that look of the team to beat heading into the postseason.
Florida State and Miami certainly found that out.
For the first time in program history, UF sent both FSU and UM packing for the summer in the same season. The Gators swept the Seminoles in the Gainesville Super Regional then twice defeated the Hurricanes at the College World Series.
The combined score of the four games: Florida 49, Florida State/Miami 14.
The in-state dominance when it mattered most didn't mean much to the Gators on June 20, as they lost to Virginia 5-4 and fell one game shy of the CWS national title series. In time, it will mean more.
For what it's worth, the Cavaliers went on to win the national title.
7) SEC WATER DOMINANCE CONTINUES
The Auburn men won 16 straight conference titles in swimming and diving from 1996-2012, along the way claiming eight NCAA crowns.
The balance of power has turned.
To put it in perspective, the Florida men were so thoroughly in control of the SEC Championship meet they enjoyed a 132-point lead heading into the third and final day of competition. UF with a score of 1,314.5, winning by nearly 200 points over runner-up Georgia (1,134.5) and by 230 over third-place and host Auburn (1,084).
The Gators claimed the conference title for the third straight year, for the seventh time in program history, and broke three school records along the way.
8) MEN'S TRACK RACES TO CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
Eight individual or relay titles, including a pair of school records, paved the way for Florida to win its first SEC outdoor title in men's track since 2010.
Easily, also.
The Gators, with 130.5 points, crushed both Texas A&M and Arkansas (tied with 95 points) with superstar jumper Marquis Dendy doubling in both the long and triple, and sprinter Dedric Dukes winning the 200 and running the second leg in the championship 4x400 relay.
Again, it was UF's first outdoor title in five years and just the second since winning it all way back in 1987. Make it a conference sweep for the Gators men, who also reeled in the 2015 SEC indoor title in February.
Take a bow, Coach Mike Holloway. The “Mouse” is roaring.
9) “MR. 500” GETS HIS TEAM'S BEST
On Feb. 28, Billy D gave the adoring Rowdy Reptile section a wave as he walked off the court to an appropriately rowdy ovation following a 66-49 crushing of Tennessee that marked the best overall game of a frustrating UF basketball season.
It also marked the 500th win of Donovan's coaching career.
They've been playing college basketball a long, long time, yet only one coach -- Indiana's Bob Knight -- reached 500 career victories sooner than Donovan did at 49 years, 254 days.
The wave he gave to the students -- as they serenaded him with chants of “BILL-Y D! BILL-Y D!” -- turned out to be a foreshadow of sorts to his eventual goodbye.
The next game, the home finale against Texas A&M and win No. 501, was Donovan's final appearance at the O'Connell Center.
10) SOCCER BEATS EVENTUAL NCAA CHAMP ON RIVAL TURF
On Dec. 7, Florida State defeated Virginia 1-0 in the women's soccer national title game at Boca Raton. For the Seminoles, the victory capped a near-perfect season when they finished 24-1-1.
The tie came on the road at Virginia.
The loss came to the Gators in Tallahassee.
UF snapped FSU's run of 38 straight wins in regulation, thanks to goals by Pamela Begič and Betsy Middleton that accounted for a 2-1 win on Sept. 1. Both Gators goals came in the first 34 minutes, with the Seminoles answering late in the first half.
The Florida defense, with keeper Taylor Burke, was sensational after intermission and closed out the biggest win of the season.
The Gators advanced to the Elite Eight, but fell one win shy of reaching the Final Four, falling one penalty kick short in a heart-breaking loss at Stanford, which was upended in the national semifinals by Florida State.
The Seminoles won 19 of their 24 games by shutout -- including all five NCAA Tournament games -- and gave up two goals in a game just once all season.
To the Gators.
Next: Scott Carter picks his Top 10 individual moments (Friday, July 4)
