FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2020 www.alligator.org/sports
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
UF trounces AU for back-to-back wins By Bryan Matamoros Sports Writer
Samantha Harrison / Alligator Staff
Freshman guard Nina Rickards scored a season-high 13 points in Florida's road win over Auburn.
Freshman guard Nina Rickards has struggled to find the bottom of the net since coach Cam Newbauer inserted her into the starting lineup in mid-December. She managed just 12 points combined in her six starts on 5-of-29 shooting from the field heading into Thursday night’s game against Auburn. But Rickards nearly tripled her scoring average against the Tigers, as the freshman dropped 13 points to help the Gators come away with an 83-63 victory over Auburn in Alabama. After a scoreless performance from Rickards against Vanderbilt over the weekend, UF made it a priority to get her the ball early
and often. The Queens, New York, native was averaging just 4.4 points per game this season before Florida’s bout against AU, yet she surpassed that total in the opening minutes of the contest. Rickards scored the Gators’ first five points of the night and finished the first quarter with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor, including a 2-of-3 effort from downtown. Besides Rickards, UF (11-5, 2-1 SEC) had four other players score in double figures. Freshman guard Lavender Briggs paced the team with 19 points, extending her streak of double-digit games to 14, the most by any UF player since the 2001-02 season. Her backcourt partner, redshirt junior guard Kiara Smith, chipped
in with 15 points in 37 minutes of action. Both Briggs and Smith have made things difficult for opponents this year, which was evident in Thursday night’s conference showdown. The two shot a combined 13 of 20 from the field, including a 4-of-8 showing from behind the arc against Auburn. Sophomore guards Kristina Moore and Ariel Johnson sparked the offense as well with 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Tigers (6-8, 0-3 SEC) deployed a zone defense at the start of the game in an effort to fluster the Gators, but it backfired. Florida counteracted by pushing the tempo in transition,
SEE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL, PAGE 12
GYMNASTICS
Florida begins season against Arkansas at home By Noah Ram Sports Writer
The Gators gymnastics program has been among the best in NCAA history. Only seven teams have ever won a national championship, and Florida is one of them, winning three consecutively from 2013-15. Last season, though, it missed the NCAA Championships for only the second time in school history after falling to Denver and Oregon State in the regionals. Now, after months of waiting, UF will try to finally put last season behind it, and that quest begins tonight. The No. 3 Gators begin their 2020 season at 6:45 p.m. against No. 19 Arkansas at the O’Connell Center. The match will be televised on SEC Network+. Florida is returning most of the team that lost only two regular season matches last season and only one at home. That includes six All-Americans: sophomores Trinity Thomas and Savannah Schoenherr, junior Alyssa Baumann and Megan Skaggs and seniors Rachel Gowey and Amelia Hundley. Thomas and
Schoenherr also earned All-American honors at the 2019 NCAA Individual Championships. One of the toughest tasks for the squad this season will be replacing Alicia Boren, who graduated after last season. Her senior campaign was one of the best in school history, capped off by winning a share of the floor title at the Individual Championships last season. Despite losing Boren, UF only brought in one freshman in the offseason. It’s just the third time in program history the program brought in only one recruit. However, that freshman-- Payton Richards-- has already earned the praise of coach Jenny Rowland, who is entering her fifth season coaching the team. “She is an old soul and a very happy soul and has already fit in well with this team,” Rowland said. “You will probably see Payton in multiple events in this first meet and throughout the season.” Two things working in Florida’s favor this season are experience and, most importantly, depth. “At our intersquads, we had
SEE GYMNASTICS, PAGE 12
Junior outfielder Danielle Romanello has entered her name into the NCAA Transfer Portal, per Softball America. She played in 45 games last season and hit .186.
Samantha Harrison / Alligator Staff
Sophomore Trinity Thomas was named 2019 SEC Freshman of the Year and is a five-time All-American.
Turner named Defensive Line Coach of the Year FootballScoop named David Turner the nation's top defensive line coach on Wednesday. The Gators' 49 sacks this season were the fourth-most in the FBS.
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