Gators News: Florida sports splits with Georgia this weekend and other stories

It was a tough weekend for Florida football fans as their beloved team got manhandled by its most bitter rival, the Georgia Bulldogs. But it was not just on the gridiron that our foes from the north tormented the Orange and Blue — the Dawgs also took one from the baseball team in an exhibition as well.

The good news is that the highly-ranked swimming and diving teams both took care of business against UGA, while the soccer team advanced in the SEC Tournament, the volleyball team won its third in a row and the cross country team also wrapped up its SEC Tournament competition

Speaking of exhibitions, the men’s basketball team plays in its first warm-up ahead of the upcoming season tonight at home. Here is everything you need to know from the past few days in the Gator Nation.

Swimming and diving

The No. 3 men’s and No. 12 women’s swimming and diving teams swept the Bulldogs on Friday in their season home-opening dual meet. The men won ten out of the 16 events and the women won eight out of the 16 events to defeat their SEC rivals. Next up, the Gators head down the road to Tallahassee to face the Florida State Seminoles on Nov. 5 starting at 2 p.m. EDT.

Cross country

The cross country teams wrapped up the SEC Championships on Friday, with the women finishing sixth behind an individual fourth-place finish by freshman Parker Valby, while the men finished seventh. Next on the schedule is the NCAA South Regional Championships on Nov. 12 in Huntsville, Alabama.

Baseball

The baseball team played a 10-inning exhibition against Georgia on Friday night, dropping the game by a final score of 8-5. Sophomore Josh Rivera led the Gators at the plate with a 3-5 performance including a run scored, while sophomore Hunter Barco opened up the game in dominant fashion by shutting down all six hitters he faced. That’s it for the baseball team for now until the annual Orange and Blue game in late November.

Football

The football team took a hard loss in Jacksonville against the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, 34-7. Here is a look at our coverage from the game.

• These 10 players could make a difference in this year’s game

• Should the Florida-Georgia game remain in Jacksonville?

• Gators going with traditional look for Georgia game

• The Gator Nation gets hyped ahead of the UF-UGA game

• Florida to start Richardson at QB against Georgia, per reports

• The tailgate scene at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party

• Halftime Takeaways: UF collapses against UGA in final 2 minutes

• 5 takeaways: What to make of Florida’s blowout loss to Georgia

• Sunday Hash: How the Bulldogs skinned the Gators

• PHOTOS: Looking back at Florida football’s loss to Georgia

• Why didn’t Florida use Dameon Pierce more against Georgia?

• Despite loss Gators find bright spot in sophomore’s performance

• Should the Florida-Georgia game remain in Jacksonville?

Volleyball

The No. 23 volleyball team swept the Missouri Tigers on the road on Saturday to extend its winning streak to three games and improve its record to 14-6 on the year and 8-2 in conference play. The Gators return home after its long road trip to host the No. 21 Tennessee Volunteers on Nov. 4.

Soccer

The soccer team prevailed in the opening game of the SEC Tournament on Sunday with a shootout win over the Vanderbilt Commodores. The two teams fought to a 1-1 tie and the game was then decided by penalty kicks, which the Gators won, 4-3. UF now faces the No. 12 Vols, who are the second seed in the tournament, on Tuesday in the quarterfinals with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT.

Men's basketball

The men’s basketball team plays its opening exhibition game on Monday night against the Division II Embry-Riddle Eagles in the O’Connell Center. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. EDT and can be watched on the SEC Network+.

Around the Swamp

• SEC Report Card: Georgia throttles Florida to lead Week 9: There were only four games across the Southeastern Conference in Week 9 with another slew of teams on a bye week.

• Gators receive zero votes in USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches Poll after loss to Georgia: What could have been a close game at halftime turned into a massacre.

• WWE Superstar and former Gator Titus O’Neil unveils Thaddeus M Bullard Academy: “This has never been about me and never will be. It’s about kids that are like me and are told, ‘it can never be done.’”

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