The highlight of Florida’s spring sports weekend was the performance of the track teams at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Florida women claimed the SEC title while the men finished second to host Arkansas.
In other spring sports action, Florida’s ninth-ranked women’s tennis team shut out sixth-ranked Duke, 7-0, and fourth-ranked North Carolina handed the Florida lacrosse team an 18-5 defeat.
Here is a roundup of the spring sports action compiled from information provided by the University of Florida Sports Information Department.
WOMEN’S TRACK: Florida’s third-ranked Gators won five individual championships to win the SEC championship in Fayetteville. Florida scored 100 points while Arkansas finished second with 82 and LSU was third with 79.5.
In winning their sixth indoor championship in school history, SEC titles were turned in Mariam Kevkhishvili (shot put), Shara Proctor (long jump), Shara Proctor (long jump), and Charlotte Browning (mile and 3000m).
Proctor and Browning were co-recipients of the Cliff Harper Trophy, awarded to the athletes who score the most points in the meet.
WOMEN’S FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1. Florida 110
2. Arkansas 82
3. LSU 79.5
4. Tennessee 77
5. Georgia 65.5
6. Auburn 55
7. South Carolina 53
8. Alabama 51
9. Kentucky 38
10. Ole Miss 30
11. Mississippi State 16
12. Vanderbilt 5
MEN’S TRACK: Calvin Smith won the 200 and produced a 45.64 split to lead the Gators to the title in the 4X400 relay as fourth-ranked Florida was edged out by Arkansas 123-119 for the SEC championship. Fifth ranked LSU placed third with 108.5 points.
Smith won the 200 with a time of 20.73 and he also finished third in the 400 meters with a time of 45.61.
Florida’s Kemal Mesic won the shot put (61-1.25) and Christian Taylor won the triple jump (55-2.75). Jeff Demps finished second in the 60 meter dash with a time of 6.66
MEN’S FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1. Arkansas 123
2. Florida 119
3. LSU 108.5
4. South Carolina 67
5. Georgia 61
6. Auburn 50
7. Alabama 47
8. Ole Miss 37
9. Kentucky 26
10. Tennessee 24.5
WOMEN’S TENNIS: The ninth-ranked Gators extended their home winning streak to 74 matches with an impressive 7-0 win over sixth-ranked Duke at Linder Stadium Sunday evening.
Florida won the doubles point when freshmen Lauren Embree and Anastasia Revzina beat Duke’s Reka Zsilinskzka and Elizabeth Plotkin, 8-4, and senior Marrit Boonstra and freshman Alli Will teamed to beat Duke’s number one duo of Ellah Nze and Amanda Granson, 8-3.
Will beat Duke’s Plotkin in number one singles (6-1, 6-1) while Embree beat Nze at number two, 6-3, 6-3. Other winners were Revzina (beat Granson, 7-5, 6-4); Claire Bartlett (beat Mary Clayton, 6-4, 7-5); Carolina Hitimana (beat Monica Gorny, 5-7, 6-4, 11-9); and Boonstra (beat Zsilinszka, 6-0, 6-7, 10-7).
WOMEN’S LACROSSE: Freshman Brittany Dashiell scored two goals but it wasn’t enough as fourth-ranked North Carolina turned in a strong second half to beat Florida, 18-5, in Chapel Hill.
The Gators fell behind, 6-1, in the first half but they rallied for three straight goals in the closing minutes to trail only 6-4 at the break.
The Gators return home Thursday night to face St. Bonaventure at 6:30 at Donald Dizney Stadium.