Staff Writers

Website: http://gatorsportsnation.com

Posts by Staff:

GSN Video Weekly Wrap-up

Posted by Staff Writers on February 26th, 2010   No Comment

GSN is now doing a segment called The GSN Video Weekly Wrap-up. The Weekly Wrap-up includes game score updates, breaking news, and a look into the future of Gator Sports. The GSN Video Weekly Wrap-up will air every Friday. The Weekly Wrap-up is the newest and most convenient way to obtain your Gator sports updates. This week, we explain to you the three game sweep versus USF, an upset in basketball versus No. 19 ranked UT, and the first ever Gator lacrosse game. Thanks for watching and enjoy!
-GSN-

Post to Twitter

Ratliffe still on UF’s radar

Posted by Staff Writers on February 25th, 2010   No Comment

While Billy Donovan has already pulled in one great big man prospect for the 2010 recruiting class he may not be finished. Rumors are the staff have been going after 6’8 JUCO center Ricardo Ratliffe very hard in the last few weeks. Ratliffe is considered by most the #1 junior college player in the country and it is very apparent why. The 6-8 226 pound power forward averages 27 points and 11 rebounds per game along with his freakish athletic ability.

Florida was not even considered a major player up until a few weeks ago, but his close friendship with Vernon Macklin and the Gators depth issues make him a solid candidate for immediate help. Another positive working the the Gators favor is that Ratliffe plays just right down the road in Ocala, which has made it easy for him to attend several games at the O’dome this year.

To this point Ratliffe has been a very tough one to figure out. One reason is because he is being recruited by a long list of schools. He has currently narrowed his list to seven schools, but the leaders appear to be Florida, Arkansas, and Missouri. Some sources say that if Florida had been recruiting him harder he probably would already be committed, but they have gotten into the game late. The feeling is if Florida continues to go hard though, they have a great chance at landing Ratliffe and giving themselves plenty of big men next year.

By: Calvin McDermid
ricardoratliffemug3

Post to Twitter

Bullpen issues are apparent early in the season

Posted by Staff Writers on February 24th, 2010   No Comment

Florida’s baseball team moved to 4-0 on the season, but for the second game in a row it wasn’t as pretty as they would have liked. Bullpen issues continue to be a weakness early in the year.

The Gators built a seven nothing lead heading into the seventh inning, but UCF would not go quietly. Nick Maronde gave up 3 earned runs in the seventh and Greg Larson gave up 3 earned runs in the eighth inning. While the most important thing is the win the Gators cannot let this become a trend. Sunday the Gators gave up six runs to the USF Bulls in the seventh and eighth innings as well. Five of those runs were given up by Maronde and Larson as well.

Everyone knows there are high expectations for this team in 2010, but if the bullpen cannot pull it together it will be hard to win consistently.

By: Calvin McDermid
screen-shot-2010-02-25-at-10150-am

Post to Twitter

New Gator Coaches Looking to Amplify 2011 Recruiting

Posted by Staff Writers on February 22nd, 2010   No Comment

New coaches Stan Drayton, D.J. Durkin, and Teryl Austin are already searching for ways to recruit the fastest, strongest, and smartest high school athletes from around the country. All three of the new coaches are going to heavily be involved in next year’s recruiting class and for years to come.

Stan Drayton, former Syracuse and Tennessee assistant coach, will be coaching the running backs but he was also named the recruiting coordinator for the Gators in 2010. Before leaving the Gators for the Volunteers, he was named as one of the top 25 recruiters of 2007 after he and his fellow coaching staff reeled in one of the top recruiting classes of the year. Drayton had a hand in bringing in UF standouts, Riley Cooper and Jermaine Cunningham. He also brought in seven Lakeland players who signed with the Gators along with suspended quarterback, Cameron Newton. During the ’05-’07 campaign at Florida, Drayton primarily recruited in central Florida. But now, he is reaching into counties such as Dade and Polk counties in South Florida. This area was primarily Miami territory for recruiting a few years back. Drayton does not believe it will be hard to bring in those South Florida prospects even though he has not ventured into those areas before.

DJ Durkin, who is currently coaching the linebackers and special teams for the Gators, is also looking forward to recruiting in the upcoming year. He helped to bring in a couple of classes at Standford. Although, he does not plan on changing his recruiting style as he moves to the well known and successful Florida Gators. Durkin assisted in recruiting linebackers Micheal Taylor and Darrin Kitchens out of central Florida this year.

Austin and his defensive coaching staff are looking forward to the upcoming season as they intend to continue on their recruiting successes at Florida. In the upcoming years, you can expect to watch the new stars shine, as soon as the Gators recruiters bring them in.

(Information collected by Gatorsports.com and Rob C. Witzel of GatorSports.com)
By: Justin Rectenwald

Post to Twitter

GSN Introduces: The GSN Video Weekly Wrap-up

Posted by Staff Writers on February 22nd, 2010   No Comment

GSN has created a new way to you to get your Gator athletic news, score updates, and pre-game analysis. Beginning on Friday, February 26th, GSN will have a video weekly wrap of the past week in Gator athletic news. Watching The GSN Video Weekly Wrap-up will be one of the most convenient ways to obtain all of your Gator news. This will including summaries of nail biting games, breaking news effecting the Gator Nation, and previews of games in the upcoming days. The video will be the fastest and most convenient way to obtain everything you need to stay on top of the world of Gator athletics. The GSN Video Weekly Wrap-up can be viewed on Fridays afternoons and possibly earlier! Keep checking into GatorSportsNation.com for information on the new GSN Video Weekly Wrap-up along with the latest Gator articles, sports scores, and pre-game analysis.

-GSN Staff-

Post to Twitter

Gators Advance to 3-0 After Three Game Sweep

Posted by Staff Writers on February 21st, 2010   No Comment

The Gators opened their season strong this weekend after facing the USF Bulls in a three game series which left the Gators 3-0. The series began on Friday, ending on Sunday in extra innings in McKethan Stadium. Although, completing the sweep was not a complete cakewalk.

The Florida Gators begin their 2010 baseball season with a running start, as they beat South Florida by four runs on Friday evening. Junior, Josh Adams, seemed as if he was the impact player of the game when he went 3-3 at the plate along with 4 RBI. Two home runs by Adams and Maddox enabled them to take an early 4-0 lead. On Saturday, freshman lefty pitcher, Brian Johnson, was the starting pitcher for the Gators with 5.2 scoreless innings. The sophomore outfielder, Tyler Thompson, had a standout night going 2-5 with 4 RBI. Washington and Maddox both hit one run homers to put a few runs on the board. Brian Johnson and his fellow Gators defeated the Bulls 9-1.

Sunday was a completely different story as the Bulls were looking to finally beat the Gators after losing two nights in a row. USF scored five runs in the top of the 8th as they trailed the Gators 3-1. Now, the Bulls were leading the game 6-3. Although, Coach Kevin O’Sullivan and his players had other things on their minds as they were behind by 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Gators were looking to complete the sweep and they would not quit fighting for the victory until the last out. The Gators rallied in the ninth to give USF a run for their money which would lead the teams into extra innings. USF shortstop enabled the Gators to score the tying run as he committed a very costly error. Without the error, the Bulls would have packed up and hit the road leaving the town of Gainesville victorious.

Only the Gators got of the McKethan Stadium alive this weekend as they faced the Bulls, but the #7 ranked Gators are facing the UCF Knights on Wednesday evening at 6:30. The Gators are having a extremely successful start to the 2010 baseball season as they look to advance to 4-0 after the three game sweep in Gainesville.

(Information collected from ESPN.com, Gatorzone.com, and from Adam Silverstein from Onlygators.com)
By: Justin Rectenwald

Post to Twitter

Gator Lacrosse Team Wins Opener

Posted by Staff Writers on February 20th, 2010   No Comment

In front of 2,114 fans at the the Donald R. Dizney Stadium in Gainesville, the Florida Gator lacrosse team had their first game ever. The Gators faced Jacksonville University on Saturday and defeated the Dolphins by a score of 16-6.

The freshman, Ashley Bruns, out of Ellicott City, Maryland led the Gators to a victory with four goals and four assists. Other notable Gators were Colby Rhea, Julie Schindel. Rhea and Schindel both scored three goals in the game. Sam Farrell scored the first goal in the Gator lacrosse team’s history to take the first lead of the game, 1-0. Although, the Dolphins tied up the score as Megan Lusby got the ball past the Gator defense and into the net. Within another minuet after the JU score, Rhea knocked one into the net to give the lead back to the Gators.

Schindel and Bruns used the all valuable teamwork method the give the Gators a 3 score lead. Jacksonville attempted a comeback as Hurley and Spangenberg scored two points to lessen the Dolphin deficit to three points. Although, Hillier, Chesterman, and Dashiell each put a point on the board to lift the Gators to a 11-4 going into halftime. The Gators made a two-goal run but before JU got too far behind, Abigail Warnken scored a goal for the Dolphins. The Gators responded by increasing the lead to 15-5, then to 16-5 by Schindel to end the game.

Bruns spoke to Gatorzone.com and said, “We’ve been waiting two years for this game. It was a huge win, but we still just have to take it one game at a time. It’s still going to be a lot of work.” Coach O’Leary spoke to the media saying, “We needed to get the first game under our belts. There was a lot of hype leading up to this game. I’d like to say it’s going to get easier, but I don’t think it will because of the competition.”

The next Gator lacrosse game will be played at La Salle on Tuesday. They face the number 4 ranked North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Sunday.

(Information collected from Gatorzone.com)
By: Justin Rectenwald

Post to Twitter

Gators Defeat Bulldogs in Gymnastics Meet

Posted by Staff Writers on February 20th, 2010   No Comment

The Gators knocked off the 5-time defending National Champions in the O’Dome in a dual meet

Post to Twitter