This, That, & More on a Saturday
SEC TOURNAMENT: Vanderbilt 11, Gators 6 — Commodores Strike Early and Often. Florida's run in the SEC Tournament ended Saturday with a loss to Vanderbilt in the semifinals.
WHAT HAPPENED: Vanderbilt scored early and often, plating four runs in the first inning, two in the second, and three in the third. That left the Gators (44-14) to play catch-up the rest of the way, eventually falling 11-6 in the SEC Tournament semifinals. The Commodores (40-18) advanced to Sunday's championship game to face Texas A&M, which beat Arkansas in Saturday's first semifinal. Florida was 4-0 against Vanderbilt before Saturday and owned a 28-7 advantage in runs. However, Gators starter Jac Caglianone struggled with his control as Vanderbilt scored four runs on two hits in the first inning, aided by a walk, a wild pitch and a hit batter by Caglianone. Despite falling behind 10-1 after three innings, the Gators kept the pressure on Vanderbilt starter JD Thompson (4 2/3 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER). Cade Kurland Luke Heyman and Wyatt Langford each homered for the Gators, highlighted by Langford's two-run homer in the fifth that left the Hoover Met with a career-best 117-mph exit velocity.
PLAY OF THE GAME: The game started inauspiciously for the Gators when Vanderbilt leadoff hitter Enrique Bradfield Jr. reached on an error by shortstop Josh Rivera and Caglianone walked Davis Diaz. Vanderbilt's No. 3 hitter, RJ Schrek, then hit a ball back to the mound that Caglianone fielded quickly with a chance to retire Bradfield at third. However, Caglianone's throw sailed over the head of third baseman Dale Thomas for an error, allowing Bradfield to score and Diaz to reach third. Caglianone then hit the next batter, Parker Noland, and his wild pitch allowed Diaz to score. After a pair of strikeouts, RJ Austin delivered a two-out, two-run single for a 4-0 lead.
STRANGE STAT: Vanderbilt's four-run outburst in the first inning Saturday matched the Commodores' run total from their visit to Condron Ballpark earlier this month. The Gators swept the three-game series by outscoring Vanderbilt 22-4.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Gators catcher BT Riopelle drove in a pair of runs Saturday, setting a new school record for most RBI in the SEC Tournament. Riopelle finished 4-for-13 with three home runs and 10 RBI in the tournament, eclipsing the previous school record of nine RBI by Ben Harrison in 2002.
KEY MOMENT: Florida's quest for an unlikely comeback took its final breath in the seventh after Langford, Caglianone and Rivera hit back-to-back-to-back singles with one out to load the bases. Riopelle drove home a run on a ground out to third to make it 11-6, but any hope of a breakout inning ended when Luke Heyman hit a fly ball to right for the final out.
BY THE NUMBERS: 15 — NCAA Tournament berths for the Gators in head coach Kevin O'Sullivan's 16 seasons. The 2020 postseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic with Florida ranked No. 1 at the time; 6 — Pitchers used by the Gators on Saturday: Caglianone, Nick Ficarrotta Tyler Nesbitt Blake Purnell Chris Arroyo and Fisher Jameson
FROM THE COACH: "Vanderbilt, obviously, played really well and jumped out to a comfortable lead. And we uncharacteristically made three errors today, made some other mistakes that kind of put us in a tough spot early. But offensively we battled throughout the game. We always felt like we had a chance to get back into it, and I think that's one of the biggest things we'll take away from just this week is we have an identity now offensively, which we've had the entire year, but I think everybody has seen it, that we feel like we can come back, regardless of the deficit that we're in. So all in all, it was a really good week for us. Today we're a little disappointed, but we've got bigger and better things ahead of us." — Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan following Saturday's game
FROM THE PLAYER: "He just wasn't as collected as he's been in his prior starts where he's had a lot of success. But all we can do is just flush it. I know he's a mentally strong kid. He'll do that, and he'll be ready for next weekend." -- Gators catcher BT Riopelle on starter Jac Caglianone's outing
NOTABLES
* Florida fell to 77-69 all-time in the SEC Tournament.
* The Gators finish with a 9-4 record across the last three seasons in Hoover.
* Florida is the ONLY program to have reached the SEC Tournament Semifinals in each of the last three seasons.
* The Gators have won seven SEC Tournament Titles, with the most recent coming in 2015.
* Riopelle singled home Rivera in the fifth and produced an RBI groundout in the seven, marking his ninth and 10th RBI of the 2023 SEC Tournament.
* Riopelle’s 10 RBI set a new program record for a single SEC Tournament, breaking Ben Harrison’s record of nine set in 2002.
* Riopelle already tied Jonathan Pigott (2009) and Chuck Hazzard (1996) for the most home runs (three) hit by a UF player in a single SEC Tournament.
* Langford hit his 22nd double of the season in the first inning, moving him one step closer to tying Mike Zunino’s single-season record of 28.
* Kurland swatted his 16th home run of his freshman campaign in the third inning, giving him more homers in a single-season than any middle infidel in program history (Brady McConnell – 15, 2008; Josh Rivera – 15, 2023).
* Heyman connect for his 11th home run of the season including his second of the 2023 SEC Tournament in the fourth.
* Langford hit his 17th homer of the season with a two-run shot in the fifth inning.
* Florida has struck out 595 batters in 497 innings – translating to 10.8 per nine innings, which would mark a new program record.
* The Gators have 579 hits through 58 games (10.0 hits/game).
* The Gators have scored in 45.2% of batted innings (213 of 471).
* Florida is now 147-79-1 all-time vs. Vanderbilt including 6-8 at neutral sites.
* The Gators are 34-21 in the series under O’Sullivan featuring a 6-4 mark in neutral-site battles.
* Florida’s five-game winning streak against Vanderbilt was snapped as the Gators dropped to 4-1 against the Commodores in 2023.
UP NEXT: The Gators return home to await the start of the NCAA Tournament. Florida is projected as one of the eight national seeds and will host a regional next weekend at Condron Family Ballpark.
Florida Shoots Two-Under to sit in Second at NCAA Championships. The Gators round two of 278 (-2) topped the program's best round set yesterday and the lowest at nationals since 2007.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The Florida men's golf team shot a round two score of 278 (-2) to leap into second place at the NCAA Championships on Saturday.
After setting its Grayhawk best with a 283 (+3) in round one, the Gators were one of two teams (Illinois, -7) to go under-par today. The -2 performance by UF is the best round at the NCAA Championships since the opening round in 2007.
Florida tees off round three tomorrow, which will feature a top-15 cut after 54-holes, at 9:10 a.m. ET and will be paired with leader Illinois (-2) and T3 North Carolina (+4). Monday will feature the final round of stroke play as the top-8 teams advance to match play. The Gators are seeking its first-ever appearance in the match play portion, which was added in 2009.
Earning PING All-Regions for the multiple time in their career earlier today, both Fred Biondi and Ricky Castillo turned in 68s (-2). The duo knocked down birdies on the par-5 11 (650 yards) to put Florida -1 on the day. The seniors teamed up again with Biondi a birdie on 16 followed by Castillo adding his third on 17.
Biondi was bogey-free for the round and only has three bogeys through 36 holes in the desert. He is solo fourth at 3-under overall and is three shots off the individual lead. Tied for 8th, Castillo erased an early +1 on hole four with three birdies and 11 pars. He is -1 on the weekend.
Staying consistent was John DuBois with his second straight round of 70 (E). He started the round with par-birdie-par-birdie-par in the first five holes. The 2022 SEC Individual Champion is tied for 13th.
Improving a shot from yesterday, Yuxin Lin (T55) was the Gators final counting score with a 72 (+2).
Florida Head Coach J.C. Deacon On the team's first two rounds at the NCAA Championships:
"I think you look back historically at the national championship at Grayhawk and playing in the afternoons are really difficult, and for some reason this team loves difficult circumstances. They don't back down. They don't flinch, and today was certainly no exception to that. To shoot under-par, to have Ricky (Castillo) and Fred (Biondi) to shoot 68 (-2) in those conditions is great, mature, and very smart golf and I'm proud of them but only half of stroke play is done and we got to go get some rest and some hydration and get back to work."
On the message to the team going into round three:
"Luckily, the way they do the draw here we're going to get to play in the morning tomorrow which will make it a little softer and hopefully a little less wind. We earned the right to play in better conditions tomorrow. But we have to stay patient but I think we got a chance to go low and put up a good number tomorrow morning and distance ourselves from the pack."
Four Gators Receive PING All-Region Honors. Fred Biondi, Ricky Castillo, Quentin Debove and Yuxin Lin all were selected to the Southeast team.
NORMAN, Okla. - Prior to round two of the NCAA Championships, four Florida men's golfers received PING All-Region honors from the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCCA) on Saturday.
Fred Biondi, Ricky Castillo, Quentin Debove and Yuxin Lin all were selected to the Southeast team. The four selections are tied for the third most in the country and second in the SEC. UF is one of eight schools with four or more honorees.
Three of the four Gators collected the award for the multiple time, including Castillo earning the fourth time in his career. Lin added the nod for the third time after earning a spot on the Big West team his freshman season and Southeast last year. Biondi is tabbed to the team for the second straight season and Debove honored for the first time.
In round one at the NCAA Championships on Friday, the Gators shot the program best score at Grayhawk with a 283 (+3), two shots better than its previous best set in round two last year. Florida tees off round two today at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Florida Sends Thirteen More Women to the NCAA Outdoor Championship. On the final day of the women's NCAA East Preliminaries, 13 Gators qualify for the National Championships in 14 events
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The final day of the NCAA East Preliminaries has concluded and the Gator's women's team sent 13 athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 14 events. In total, the women's team advanced 13 athletes to the Championship in 16 different events.
Alida van Daalen was the first Gator of the day to secure her spot in the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The freshman from the Netherlands finished second in the discus (55.57m/182'3") and will compete in both the discus and shot put at the National Championship.
In the second event of the day, jumper Claire Bryant qualified in her second event of the meet. Bryant finished eighth in the high jump (1.77m/5'9.75"), advancing to the NCAA Championship in two events for the first time in her career.
Jayla Hollis, Grace Stark, Laila Owens, and Kynnedy Flannel competed in the first running event of the day, the women's 4x100, finishing eleventh (44.27) and qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Shortly after the 4x100, Gabrielle Wilkinson competed in the 1500m, finishing twelfth (4:14.80) and qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 1500m for the first time.
In the 100m hurdles, Grace Stark finished ninth overall (12.92), qualifying for the NCAA Championships. She will compete in Austin in the 100m hurdles and 4x100. Kynnedy Flannel also qualified in two events, running in the 4x100 and advancing in the 200m (11.09) after finishing eighth in qualifying.
Talitha Diggs qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 400m after finishing first overall with a time of 51.07. Diggs has qualified in the 400m for all six National Championships she has been eligible for as a collegiate athlete. Imogen Barrett also advanced to the NCAA Championships, finishing twelfth in the 800m (2:04.97). Barrett has qualified for the Indoor and Outdoor National Championship in both 2022 and 2023.
Vanessa Watson advanced to her second consecutive NCAA Outdoor Championship in the 400m hurdles. She finished third overall (56.68) at the East Prelims. Both Talitha Diggs (22.62) and Kynnedy Flannel (22.74) qualified for the NCAA Championships finishing fourth and sixth respectively.
The final field event of the day was the triple jump where Jasmine Moore finished fifth (13.47m/44'2.5"), advancing to the NCAA Outdoor Championship. Parker Valby competed in the final individual event of the day, the 5000m, finishing second overall with a time of 15:33.43, qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
In the final women's race of the day, Ramiah Elliot, Talitha Diggs, Jayla Hollis, and Vanessa Watson qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 4x400 with a time of 3:31.33. They finished first overall.
Next up, the Gators travel to Austin, Texas for the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 7-10.
NCAA EAST PRELIMINARIES MEET Saturday's Finals Recap
Discus Women- Freshman Alida van Daalen, qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a throw of 55.57m/182'3" on her first attempt, finishing second overall. She has now qualified for the Championships in both the shot put and discus. As a Gator, van Daalen has advanced to every NCAA Championships in every event she has competed in. Akari Isaac finished thirty-first (48.08m/157'9").
Triple Jump Women- Jasmine Moore finished fifth in the triple jump (13.47m/44'2.5"), advancing to the NCAA Outdoor Championship. Moore has advanced to the NCAA Championships in the long and triple jump every year as a Gator.
High Jump Women- For the second time this meet, Claire Bryant qualified for the NCAA Championships. After qualifying in the long jump on Thursday, Bryant finished in the top-12 in the high jump, advancing to the NCAA Championships. She finished eighth (1.77m/5'9.75"). This is the first time in her career that Bryant has qualified for the Championships in the high jump. 100m Women- Kynnedy Flannel finished eighth (11.09) in the 100m at the NCAA East Preliminaries, advancing to NCAA Outdoor Championship.
100m Hurdles Women- Grace Stark returns to the NCAA Championships, qualifying in the 100m hurdles with a time of 12.92. She finished ninth overall in the event. Sterling Lester finished twenty-second (13.40) and Jayla Hollis finished twenty-third (13.54).
200m Women- Both Talitha Diggs (22.62) and Kynnedy Flannel (22.74) qualified for the NCAA Championships. Diggs finished fourth overall and Flannel finished sixth overall in the event.
400m Women- For the third straight outdoor season, Talitha Diggs advanced to the NCAA Championships in the 400m (51.07). Diggs finished first overall at the NCAA East Preliminaries in the event. She has qualified in the 400m for every NCAA Championship she has been eligible for.
400m Hurdles Women- Vanessa Watson advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championship in the 400m hurdles for the second consecutive year. Watson finished third overall (56.68) at the NCAA East Preliminaries in the event. She finished seventh last year in the event at the 2022 Outdoor
National Championships.
800m Women- Imogen Barrett finished twelfth (2:04.97), advancing to her fourth consecutive NCAA Championship in the 800m. Barrett has qualified for both the Indoor and Outdoor National Championship in 2022 and 2023.
1500m Women- Gabrielle Wilkinson finished twelfth in the 1500m (4:14.80), qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. This is the first time she has advanced to the NCAA Championship in the 1500m. Wilkinson's time was a season best in the event.
3000m Steeplechase Women- Kathryn Nohilly finished twentieth in the steeplechase (10:23.10).
5000m Women- Parker Valby finished second overall in the 5000m (15:33.43), qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
4x100 Women- Jayla Hollis, Grace Stark, Laila Owens, and Kynnedy Flannel qualified for the NCAA Championship with a time of 44.27 in the 4x100. The relay team finished eleventh.
4x400 Women- The relay team of Ramiah Elliot, Talitha Diggs, Jayla Hollis, and Vanessa Watson finished first in the 4x400, advancing to the NCAA Outdoor Championships (3:31.33).
HOLLOWAY'S WORDS On the team going to Austin for the NCAA Outdoor Championships...
"We had somebody compete in every event tonight. We got someone to Austin [,Texas] in every event but one. The ladies were just phenomenal. We had a couple people who were not really feeling well but they fought through it. Very proud of Kynnedy Flannel, big breakthrough for her at the right time. Talitha Diggs was Talitha Diggs. Gabby [Wilkinson], Imogen [Barrett], the list goes on and on and on. Jasmine Moore did what she had to do to get through. I think the biggest thing is we are coming out of here very healthy. We just have to keep our focus now, get to Austin, and go to work."
On what goes into having so many athletes make it to Austin... "The biggest thing is recruiting. Then we get them in and have to coach them. The biggest thing with this group is they are starting to believe how good they can be. There are some great teams out there and we know no one is going to give us anything so we have to get back to Gainesville, get rested up, and get back to work on Tuesday. We are going to start getting ready to go to Austin to participate in what I think is the best track meet on the planet."
On Alida van Daalen... "I think she adds another element to it, an element of excitement. When you look at the score you go wow, we have the shot put coming and the discus coming. She is a legitimately happy person who keeps everyone's spirits up when she is around. Coach [Eric] Werskey has done a phenomenal job with her."
On the meet... "I am just very proud. We competed in every event today and go someone through in every event but one. At the national level we have someone in every event except the steeplechase. It is a phenomenal job by all the ladies this weekend. Then you add the shot put, the discus, the long jump, triple jump, and high jump. It's going to be a lot of fun in Austin, so I am looking forward to it."
NCAA East Preliminaries Results Event Place, Gators (Time/Distance), Notes Discus (W) 2. Alida van Daalen (55.57m/182'3") Qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships 31. Akari Isaac (48.08m/157'9")
Triple Jump (W) 5. Jasmine Moore (13.47m/44'2.5") Qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships
High Jump (W) 8. Claire Bryant (1.77m/5'9.75") Qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships
100m (W) 8. Kynnedy Flannel (11.09) Season Best, Qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships
100m Hurdles (W) 9. Grace Stark (12.92) Qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships 22. Sterling Lester (13.40) 23. Jayla Hollis (13.54)
200m (W) 4. Talitha Diggs (22.62) Qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships 6. Kynnedy Flannel (22.74) Qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships
400m (W) 1. Talitha Diggs (51.07) Qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships
400m Hurdles (W) 3. Vanessa Watson (56.68) Qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships
800m (W) 12. Imogen Barrett (2:04.97) Qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships
1500m (W) 12. Gabrielle Wilkinson (4:14.80) Season Best, Qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships
3000m Steeplechase (W) 20. Kathryn Nohilly (10:23.10)
5000m (W) 2. Parker Valby (15:33.43) Qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships
4x100 (W) 11. Jayla Hollis, Grace Stark, Laila Owens, Kynnedy Flannel (44.27) Qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships
4x400 (W) 1. Ramiah Elliott, Talitha Diggs, Jayla Hollis, Vanessa Watson (3:31.33) Qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships
(Special to 1st & Ten Florida by Florida Athletics)