Florida Gators

WASHINGTON -- After winning the BIG EAST regular season outright April 24, the No. 2 Florida Gators head to DC looking to hoist the conference tournament trophy for the second straight season. Florida will re-match with Georgetown in the first conference tournament semifinal Thursday at 4:30 p.m. on BEDN after defeating the Hoyas 14-7 at Cooper Field April 9.
 
Florida captured five of the six major conference postseason awards Wednesday: Co-Staff of the Year, Middie of the Year, Co-Attacker of the Year, Defender of the Year, Freshman of the Year -- and seven were named All-Conference for the Orange and Blue, second-most in program history (eight in 2015).
 
The Gators have now won seven in a row down the stretch towards the championship season and will look to make it eight in DC.
 
BIG EAST Tournament Central | GAME NOTES
 
Should the top-seeded Gators advance, they will play the winner of Thursday's second semifinal between the No. 2 Seed Huskies and the No. 3 Seed Temple Owls. Florida defeated both UConn and Temple this season on its way to a perfect 7-0 in league play. The Gators are additionally 4-0 all-time against Temple and 2-1 against UConn in program history.
 
Florida is coming off a big week. After defeating the Huskies at home on Senior Day for the regular-season crown when fifth year middie Nicole Graziano eclipsed 100 career goals, 11 Gator seniors participated in commencement ceremonies at UF this past weekend. While Graziano graduated with her master's, four of Florida Athletics' 10 cum laude graduates belong to lacrosse: Sam Darcangelo, Lauren Lea, Carly Ross & Devon Schneider. Friday evening, Graziano and junior defender Caroline Fitzgerald were two of the top-25 nominees on The Tewaaraton Award's narrowed list.
 
Of note, Florida juniors Sammi Burgess and Mollie Stevens are both knocking on the door to join Graziano this season with career goal No. 100. Burgess and Stevens stand at 96 heading into Thursday's game at Georgetown.
 
Florida has won six conference championships in the last seven seasons since the program started in 2010 and the Gators have won back-to-back regular-season titles after sharing 2015 with Georgetown. In all, UF has three conference tournament championships (2012 & 2014 in ALC), 2015 BE.
 
The Gators ran the table in the BIG EAST two Sundays ago with a 13-8 win over UConn. Florida now has four undefeated conference season in its short history: 2011, 2012, 2014 (all in the ALC) & 2016. The Gators were the fourth BE member team in womens lacrosse to go undefeated in BE play. Georgetown (2001-06, 2010), Syracuse (2008, 2010, 2013) and Louisville (2014) have all had undefeated seasons in the conference since 2001.
 
NO. 2 FLORIDA AT GEORGETOWN BROADCAST INFORMATION
Georgetown Hoyas (May 5) 
Time: 4:30 p.m. (ET)

• Radio | ESPN Gainesville (Ben Murphy)
• Live Stats
• BIG EAST Digital Network (Pat O'Keefe & Monika Moore)
  • Gator fans and all lacrosse fans can watch Thursday's Florida at Georgetown clash free. Simply download the FOX Sports Go app on your mobile device or go to foxsportsgo.com. Click the "BIG EAST Channel" in the dropdown menu and select the game. Fans can tune in at 4:25 a.m. prior to Thursday's 4:30 p.m. opening draw between the Gators and Hoyas.

THE RECORDS
No. 2 Florida: 16-1, 7-0 BIG EAST
Georgetown: 6-10, 4-3 BIG EAST
 
UP NEXT
Should the Gators advance to the BIG EAST Tournament Championship Game, they will play the winner of Thursday's semifinal between the No. 2 Seed UConn and No. 3 Seed Temple. The BIG EAST Championship Game is slated for 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 7, from Georgetown's Cooper Field.
 
The 2016 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Selection Show is slated for Sunday, May 8, at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com.
 
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