Gators News: Recapping a mostly winning weekend for the Orange and Blue

Welcome back from a weekend chock-full-o Gators sports and the good news is that it was a mostly winning weekend for the Orange and Blue, with the exception of the volleyball team, which lost its first game ever to this weekend’s opponent. Otherwise, the football team came away with a strong win, while both tennis teams shone in tournament competition as well as the women’s golf team. Plus, after a few grueling opening weeks to the season, the soccer team appears to finally be finding its way.

Here is the latest from the Gator Nation.

Women's tennis

The women’s tennis team collected 13 total victories at the Kitty Harrison Invitational hosted by the University of North Carolina this past weekend. Junior Carly Briggs led the way by making it to the finals in both singles and doubles competitions and 10 of the team’s victories came in singles play. Next up is the Bedford Cup in Tampa, Florida, from Friday, Oct. 1 through Sunday, Oct. 3.

Men's tennis

The men’s tennis team also competed in tournament play this weekend, collecting 23 wins of their own while sophomore Ben Shelton went undefeated in singles play to earn the Dale Junta award at the Crimson Chowderfest hosted by Harvard University. The squad next travels to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the ITA All-American Championships from Oct. 2 through Oct. 10.

Women's golf

The women’s golf team landed in third place at the conclusion of the Mason Rudolph Championship this past weekend thanks to multiple career-low scores. It is the second-straight tournament that the Gators finished third place in as well as finished under par; the third-place finish is the best performance at the Mason Rudolph Championship all-time for the Orange and Blue. Next up is the Windy City Classic from Oct. 4 to 5.

Volleyball

The No. 17 volleyball team lost to the Mississippi State Bulldogs for the first time in school history on Friday in a hard-fought five-set battle. The home loss drops the Gators’ SEC record to 1-1 and will likely cause the squad to continue falling in the polls this week. Next up, Florida travels to Athens, Georgia, to take on the Georgia Bulldogs on Wednesday night, with start time slated for 7 p.m. EDT.

Football

The now-No. 9 football team took care of business on its home turf on Saturday against the Tennessee Volunteers, earning a convincing 38-14 win over its fellow SEC East foe. Here is a look at our coverage of the game.

• The Gator Nation gets hyped up for Florida’s home game vs. Vols

• Reports: Gators cornerback Kaiir Elam ruled out for Vols game

• WATCH: Gators open scoring with TD on opening drive

• WATCH: Nay’Quan Wright gives Gators lead with 23-yard TD run

• Halftime takeaways: Florida and Tennessee closer than expected

• WATCH: Gators score on trick play to open half against Tennessee

• Five things learned from Florida’s convincing win over Tennessee

• Sunday Hash: A sunny-side up serving from Florida’s win

• PHOTOS: Highlights from the Gators’ home win against the Vols

• The Good, Bad and Ugly: Breaking down Florida’s win

Soccer

After a rough start to the season, the soccer team appears to be finding its footing after three games of SEC play, notching its second win in three tries on Sunday on the road against Mississippi State, 2-1. The victory improves the Gators to a 2-0-1 record, making them one of three unbeaten teams remaining in the conference. Florida next hosts the Ole Miss Rebels on Sunday, Oct. 3 starting at 3 p.m. EDT.

Around the Swamp

• Stephen A. Smith: ‘It’s great to be a Florida Gator’ after losing bet to Tebow: Florida fans got a good chuckle seeing Stephen A. Smith squirm on ESPN Friday morning wearing a Gators tie after losing a bet with Tim Tebow last week.

• SEC Week 4 Results: Full review of the best college conference in the nation: Week 4 in the Southeastern Conference featured six conference matchups, headlined by No. 7 Texas A&M taking on No. 16 Arkansas.

• This 2023 in-state WR just committed to Florida: Darren “Goldie” Lawrence, a three-star receiver in the class of 2023, announced his commitment to the University of Florida on Saturday.

• Check out how high the Gators rank in The Athletic’s top 10: The Gators will likely be favorites in all their remaining regular-season games except Georgia.

• Dan Mullen says Kaiir Elam is likely to play against Kentucky: “Hopefully Kaiir gets back healthy this week, add some depth to the secondary for us,” Mullen said.

• Dan Mullen’s faith in QB Emory Jones is paying off: Jones finished the day as just the second Gator in the last 25 years to pass for over 200 yards and rush for over 100 yards in the same game.

• Gators move into AP Top 10 after a win over Volunteers: Florida could have moved up a bit more, but another team from the Southeastern Conference pulled off a pretty big upset this weekend.

• Here’s where Florida stands in the latest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll: UF is now the third-highest ranked SEC team behind No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Georgia.

It's great to be a Florida Gator!

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