WRUF Profiles

Gators Gymnast Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto is right where she belongs.

By Bobby Scheppske on May 3rd, 2013
Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto
Credit: Bobby Scheppske

Gainesville may be far away from Montreal, Quebec, but Freshman Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto feels right at home at the University of Florida. The Canadian gymnast came to Florida as part of the number one ranked freshman class in the country, but before last year she never realized she could compete as a college gymnast.

“In Canada we don’t train to go to college, we train to go to regionals. While here in the United States they train to go to College. I didn’t even know college gymnastics existed before last year,” said Dancose-Giambattisto.

When Dancose-Giambattisto was choosing which college to attend, what she liked about the University of Florida  was how the gymnastics squad felt like more than just a team.

“Here it’s really like a family. I know it sound’s cliché, but it’s really true. Here every single one of us treats each other like a sister,” said Dancose-Giambattisto.

Competing at the University of Florida won’t be the only time Dancose-Giambattisto will be put in the spotlight. She has already been on the national stage while particpating with the Canadian National Team during their silver medal run in the Pan American Games, and when she placed first in uneven bars and third overall during the 2011 Canadian Championships.

Now Dancose-Giambattisto prepares for meets every week, but believes she has already adapted to collegiate play.

“It wasn’t a hard adjustment, but different. We are used to training months for one event, but now it’s every single week,” explained Dancose-Giambattisto.

Unfortunately, Dancose-Giambattisto hasn’t seen much action in her first year as she has been recovering from a Lisfranc fracture, an injury to the foot, which she suffered during 2012′s Olympic Trials. To compensate for the injury, she has been working on different apparatuses which are less intensive on her foot and believes  she will be ready to make an impact soon.

“I’m going to stay here for the whole summer and will work really hard on my foot,” said Dancose-Giambattisto. “Hopefully, I come back next year fully recovered.”

Once Dancose-Giambattisto recuperates, she will make the highly touted Florida gymnastics team that much better.

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Gators Softball Player Kirsti Merritt Dreams Of National Championship

By Chris Kirschner on April 28th, 2013

In her first game as a Gator, Florida Gators freshman center fielder Kirsti Merritt stepped into the batter’s box in the fifth inning against Creighton.

The Lake Panasoffkee, FL, native belted the ball over the left field fence for her first career home run.

“That was so exciting to me,” Merritt said of her grand slam. “I didn’t even know what was going on, and then it just happened. All of my friends were texting me like ‘oh my gosh, good job!’”

Since her first game, the freshman has had a stellar first year. Arguably replacing the best Gators softball player, Michelle Moultrie, in center field is no easy thing to do. Especially since center field isn’t Merritt’s primary position.

The South Sumter High School graduate played shortstop all four years before coming to Gainesville, but when she got to UF, coach Tim Walton stuck her out in center.

There hasn’t been any issue with the change though, as she only has two errors on the season as of April 28.

She credits the easy adjustment to playing multiple sports growing up. In high school, Merritt lettered in softball, volleyball, basketball, track and weight lifting.

“I love challenging myself,” Merritt said. “I like to do get out there and do as many things as possible. That’s why it has been so easy for me to transition from infield to outfield.”

The transition from high school to college was one Merritt welcomed and said signing day was “the greatest day of my life.”

When she first verbally committed to Florida, she ran through her house screaming at the top of her lungs.

“My mom was like ‘What’s going on? Are you OK?’” and Merritt said to her, “‘I just got off the phone with coach Walton and I’m going to Florida!’”

The freshman has been a force at the top of the lineup  since she arrived at Florida. As of April 28, Merritt has a .290 average, 38 runs scored and 15 stolen bases.

However, her legs haven’t been 100 percent all season.

In a game against Western Carolina, Merritt came up limping after legging out a double. She would miss the next seven games because of the injury.

She returned to the lineup against the University of South Florida on Feb. 27, the only other school that had recruited her out of high school.

“It was hard for me to sit out, but it was fun cheering them on because you always want your team to win and see them do good things,” Merritt said.

Now that she is back in the lineup, Kirsti has one goal on her mind, getting a national championship. She says,”That’s what I came to Florida to do.”

 

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Gaors Women’s Soccer Havana Solaun soars to new heights

By Michelle Provenzano on April 25th, 2013

Havana Solaun has all the traits of a high-level soccer player.

She is fast, consistent and a team player – and she’s only a sophomore. The young midfielder became the second leading goal scorer on the team, behind senior Erika Tymrak, in the Gators’ 2012 season. She scored a total seven goals, and was second in assists, grabbing eight last season. Solaun said getting the ball into the back of the net is a feeling unlike any other.

“Once you score it’s kind of like ‘Wow, it worked,’” said Solaun. “We spend hours and hours of practice just trying to score and when it actually happens in the game, it kind of feels like your hard work paid off.”

Havana Solaun
Credit: Michelle Provenzano

Showing her strengths on the field early in her college career has gained Solaun attention nationally. The sophomore was recruited to play three games with the U.S. U-23 Women’s National team in Spain in March of 2013. Solaun brought her versatility on the field to La Manga, Spain, contributing an assist in the team’s 6-0 victory over Sweden. Solaun found U.S. teammate Colleen Williams in the 80th minute and initiated a cross kick that set up Williams for the goal.

Despite her achievements on the collegiate and foreign fields, the sophomore hasn’t let the success get to her head. Growing up on a farm just outside of Gainesville, FL, where she had to milk one of three family cows, Solaun credits her upbringing for her success.

“It teaches you a lot of discipline,” Solaun said of her farm work. “In high school that was my main chore, so it taught me to really manage my time. I had to make a lot of sacrifices because I had to be home every night at 5 o’clock to milk, and I had to wake up at 6:30 every morning to milk.”

Her small town life helped her make an impact away from the soccer fields as well. While in high school, Solaun rounded up cleats and soccer balls for children living in a Guatemalan village displaced by floods. Solaun joined her father on a trip to the village to help the community and deliver the soccer equipment. The experience gave her a perspective she has carried ever since.

“Soccer is such a distraction for them that it was really amazing to see how happy it really made them,” said Solaun.  “They would play for hours if they could. To me, that just made me realize how amazing the game can be.”

With two more years in collegiate play, Solaun is working toward a degree in psychology to become a sport psychologist if she doesn’t play pro soccer . For now though, she is hopeful for the seasons ahead.

“I wanna become a more consistent player overall for my team,” said Solaun. “I think I kind of have my moments and I wanna try and show more of that in the future.”

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Great Expectations: Claire Falknor Eyes Improvement this Season

By Danny Gibble on April 21st, 2013
Claire Falknor
Credit: Danny Gibble

Playing 24 of 26 games, while starting two for  over 900 minutes in their first year sounds successful to most players, but for freshmen forward Claire Falknor it wasn’t good enough.

In her first match as a Gator against the University of Miami, she received a pass from now National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) player Erika Tymrak that she shot past the Miami goalkeeper and into the side of the net. Falknor made it look so easy, but the Gators lost the match 4-1 to the Hurricanes. That was the first and only goal Falknor scored on the year. The drought made Falknor reconsider her play-style and become a little discouraged.

“I felt like I lost my confidence last year because I didn’t meet my standards,” Falknor said. “This year, our spring season is a clean slate, and I can start over new and start fresh, and I am slowly building my confidence back.”

She is not only trying to play the spring 2013 season with a new mindset; she is in a new position. Ever since Falknor was a freshman at Centerville High School in Dayton, OH she has been on the attacking side of the field. By her sophomore year she was leading her team in goals and assists with 17 and 14 respectively. Falknor even was ranked among ESPN’s top 150 prospects as a forward. But, Florida Soccer Head Coach Becky Burleigh moved Falknor to defense for the spring 2013 season.

“I am still going to get involved in the attack, but our team has a new identity now that the seniors have left, and there are a lot of spots to fill,” Falknor said.

Falknor showed  she still has offensive skills on a road trip to Cary, NC, scoring a goal from the defensive side against Duke that helped the Gators get the victory over the Blue Devils 2-1.

Falknor’s goals now are to help the Gators from whatever position she is on the field to live up to her own expectations, and with the creation of the NWSL in 2013, she hopes she can play well enough to make it to the pros.

“I am really striving to make it to the league, and I am confident this school will prepare me for that,” she said.

Claire Falknor will look to continue improving in the Gators last few spring games, and hopes to be back to top form when fall season begins.

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Stuck The Landing: Gymnast Marissa King Reflects On Gators Career

By Robert Judin on April 17th, 2013

When Marissa King was about 11 years old, she and a few friends put their hopes and dreams, including where they saw themselves in 10 years, down on paper. They put the slips of paper into a shoebox and haven’t opened it since.

King, a senior and geography and telecommunications major on the University of Florida gymnastics team, is planning to open it with those friends after she graduates – in the summer of 2013.

“I really had no idea I’d be here,” King said on being at UF.

Although she will be graduating soon, the experience the Great Britain native obtained from her collegiate career will stick to her like she sticks a dismount: proud, prominent and passionate.

Even with many lifestyle changes she has faced coming to the United States to compete for the University of Florida and a hectic schedule, King said she’s loved being a Gator.

“I’ve grown up a lot. Coming over here was such a huge transition. I’ve had to learn so many things, not only just in the gym and learning about collegiate gymnastics, (but) growing as a person transitioning over here and learning to adapt with living in a new environment and a new culture,” King said.

King said her brother has made fun of her for picking up an “American twang” when she speaks, but her English accent returns when she is around her family.

“As a freshman, it was really difficult to kind of get used to not having my family here at all. But now as a senior I’ve kind of gotten used to them not here,” said King.

Her family may have been across the pond, but they know what she has accomplished, and she has achieved many accolades in her career with the Gators, even if all the awards are difficult sometimes to track.

“I don’t even know what they mean half the time. I hear All-SEC and I’m like ‘that’s cool.’” King said on awards.

King, a leader on the team as one of four seniors for 2013, said her biggest priority, as well as the team’s, is winning the first NCAA Championship for Florida gymnastics.

“I’m definitely more of a vocal leader, but we don’t have one leader,” she said. “Being the upperclassmen, having gained so much experience over the last couple years, it was very exciting to come back.”

King made the jump from the U.K. to the U.S. not knowing how she would respond. But, she has undoubtedly stuck the landing.

 

 

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McCumber Looks to Leave Mark in Senior Campaign

By Lucas Dolengowski on April 17th, 2013
Tyler McCumber
Credit: Lucas Dolengowski

Growing up as the son of a PGA Tour winner can put pressure on a young golfer to perform well and live up to expectations. But Tyler McCumber is making a name for himself as the senior captain of the Florida Gators Men’s golf team.

McCumber was named a Division I PING Honorable Mention All-American honors and was selected to the PING All-Southeast Region and All-SEC Second Team. He ranked second on the team in stroke average (72.8), percent of rounds counted (88 percent), scoring differential (3.51), birdies made (115), and top-10 finishes (seven). McCumber finished off his season with a tie for second at the NCAA Championships. He was also named to the 2011 and 2012 SEC Community Service Team.

“I just want them to say that I didn’t leave anything on the table, that I gave it my all,” McCumber said. “Putting in the work and directing the team as best I can, that’s definitely my legacy.”

McCumber has been around the game of golf his whole life. His father, Mark McCumber, played on the PGA Tour from 1979 to 1994, winning ten times and also played on the 1989 U.S. Ryder Cup team. Although his father  did not force his son into the game, but once Tyler McCumber realized his potential to succeed in the sport, he looked to his father to take his abilities to the next level.

“He’s been a positive influence. He’s been my mentor, my teacher,” Tyler said. “Obviously he’s taught me most of the things I know about the game, especially before I came here [to UF].”

Although he has aspirations of playing professionally and leaving a legacy as an individual competitor, his goals for his senior season are purely collective. The Gators finished tied for 12th last year at the NCAA Championships, just a few shots of getting into the match play round, with McCumber finishing in a tie for second. He hopes that those results will be a little different this time around.

“Our goal for the season is to prepare ourselves for the postseason and get as good as we can get going into SEC’s, and then continuing our success there,” he said. “We have nothing to look back on but good memories and good thoughts.”

 

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Amanda O’Leary: Florida’s Lax Leader

By Shane Chernoff on April 17th, 2013
Amanda O’Leary
Credit: Shane Chernoff

University of Florida Lacrosse Coach Amanda O’Leary has had success as both a player and coach. Her drive and focus are apparent as she shouted out orders to her players during a March 2013 matchup against Ohio State University.

“Kitty [Cullen], move up! Who’s on number 24?!” yelled O’Leary.

Her competitive spirit is reflected in her resume as a coach, as well as a player. Before she took the helm of the Gators Lacrosse program that made it to the national semifinal in 2012, in only its third year of existence, the 2012 coach of the year by the women’s lacrosse website womenslax.com, was one of the best women’s lacrosse players of the 1980s. As a midfielder at Temple she was a two-time first team All-American and was the MVP of the 1988 NCAA championships. The Royersford, PA native said her experience as a midfielder helps her coach both offense and defense.

“As a former midfielder I understand what they’re going through and that they [the players] need to be proficient at both ends. We’ve had some great athletes that are able to play both ends and who are able to pull that off. I feel lucky that I’m able to coach people like that,” said O’Leary.

O’Leary, who was inducted into the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2005 and a part of Lacrosse Magazine’s All-Century Women’s Lacrosse team, coached at Yale for 14 seasons before being hired as the first-ever Florida Lacrosse coach in 2007. UF’s lacrosse program did not officially start competition until 2010, making O’Leary’s class of 2013 the first graduating class in Florida lacrosse history. O’Leary said she could not be more proud to be part of the inaugural class of University of Florida lacrosse. She added the program wouldn’t be where it is right now without her supportive players.

“It’s a dream come true for me, when I first got here, not only just the support of the administration with the resources that were afforded, to be able to coach these players I have to credit a lot to them as well,” said O’Leary.

In addition to being a coach, O’Leary believes it’s important to support her players after their college careers and build a support system for them as they move forward in life.

“I want my legacy to be, regardless of winning championships, that when my players walk across that graduation stage, they can hug me and look and me and say ‘these were the best four years of my life,’ and if they can say that, I think I’ve done my job,” said O’Leary.

O’Leary and Gators fans both hope they can watch the players walk across the stage with national championship rings on their fingers. Until then, it’s hard to argue that O’Leary has been a fantastic fit for Florida Lacrosse.

 

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Caroline Hitimana: First Gator Women’s Tennis Player From Belgium

By Julian Hernandez on April 16th, 2013
Caroline Hitimana
Credit: Julian Hernandez

As a senior on the University of Florida Women’s tennis team, Caroline Hitimana has been a contributor to the Gators recent success. In 2011, together with Alexandra Cercone, Hitimana clinched the point to claim the NCAA title for the Gators.

That same year in singles play, she clinched the SEC title for UF defeating Georgia’s Georgia’s Alina Jerjomina in three sets. Hitimana won 17 matches in a row on her way to a 21-4 overall record her junior year. One of the reasons she came to Florida was to win titles.

“When I came here, I came to win national championships,” Hitimana said. “I came here to make friends too and improve my tennis and then I ended up coming here and got more than I expected.”

Hitimana arrived at the University of Florida from Belgium  in the fall of 2009, enrolling as  a finance major. Hitimana is the first player from Belgium to suit up for the Orange and Blue, but it was not an easy transition at first to the United States.

“I was leaving home, my family and friends. My freshman year was up and down, but I met so many people here, so many nice people, that were so welcoming, that made it so much easier,” said Hitimana.

The Belgian native helped bring home a title for her team, became the 44th Gator to win over one hundred combined singles and doubles matches and made the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2011 and 2012. Now in her senior season, Htimana is one of the leaders of the team along with  the other senior on the team, Lauren Embree.

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Caquatto Ready to Take the Next Step

By Bobby Scheppske on March 25th, 2013
Bridgette Caquatto
Credit: Gatorzone

Although Gators freshmen gymnast Bridgette Caquatto may be far from her hometown of Naperville, Ill., she is fitting right in at the University of Florida. Caquatto, who goes by Bridgey to her friends and family, hasn’t experienced some of the difficulties other  freshmen face  when they head off to college far from their home.

Instead, the gymnast from Naperville Central High School can look across the practice facility to see some familiar faces. Caquatto is practices with Pan American Games teammate Bridget Sloan and her older sister Mackenzie Caquatto.

The Caquatto sisters have been on the same team for most of their lives. In the 2011 Pan American Games, the two helped the U.S. National team achieve gold. Bridgette Caquatto placed gold in the uneven bars and all-around during the tournament.

Caquatto says having these relationships in place “puts myself in a little comfort area” and being with her sister and a previous teammate in Sloan “was another great benefit in coming to Florida.”

Although Caquatto is enjoying her time at Florida, she hasn’t been able to compete while recovering from injuries. She had multiple surgeries on her knee last year and surgery on her torn rotator cuff last summer which required physical therapy. All of the injuries and rehab  have forced her to find ways to still get in work to prepare to compete for the Gators.

“I would try to work every muscle I could that didn’t affect my knee and my shoulder,” said Caquatto. “It was a challenge every day.”

But, Caquatto’s physical therapy  is beginning to pay off and she was able to do  a floor and uneven bars exhibition against Arkansas  on Feb.25th . However, Caquatto still feels the lingering effects from the injuries.

“It didn’t hurt while I was doing stuff, but I have limited motion which affects my gymnastics a little bit and I’m trying to do as much as I can to deal with it,” said Caquatto.

While Caquatto awaits her return to competitive gymnastics, Florida Gymnastics Head Coach Rhonda Faehn compared the younger Caquatto sister to a turtle.

“Bridgey may not want to be compared to this, but in the end the turtle always wins the race and at the end she may be even further along then the rest of the freshmen,” said Faehn.

Caquatto continues to recover with the hope that soon the turtle will compete as a Gator.

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Gators Volleyball’s Madison Monserez’s Journey To Florida And Expectations For 2013

By Morgan Moriarty on March 20th, 2013

Madison Monserez did not always have the intention to play volleyball at the University of Florida. In fact, there was a time where she thought she wanted to go anywhere but UF.

“It was pretty funny; I actually never really wanted to go here. I just wanted my own kind of thing, I told my parents ‘I want to do my own thing, I want to go out of state, and I want to be away from home,” said Monserez.

But, Florida began to grow on her. Madison walked onto the volleyball team in the fall of 2011, and saw action in 71 sets as a freshman.

“It was funny because the more I looked at UF, the  more appealing it was as far as sports and academics, and it kind of was just the perfect fit with everything I thought I was trying to get away from, it really just worked out…The academics are amazing and the athletics are just the best of all,” said Monserez.

Monserez went to high school in Orlando, Florida at Bishop Moore Catholic High School which made it to the State semifinals with Monserez on the team as a senior in 2010. Her volleyball club program, Orlando Volleyball Academy, has many players who go on to play collegiate volleyball.

Being part of such high-level programs made her decision to play at Florida easier.

“I played on a pretty competitive club team, so a lot of my teammates went to a lot of top schools. Our team in high school was always competing for Varsity championships, so I really liked the fact that they [Florida] really emphasize winning at a high level all the time,” said Monserez.

When she arrived at Florida as a freshman walk-on, Monserez knew she was going to have to work hard to get on the court.

“I knew I was going to have to fight regardless of where I went, so I just came with the mindset of wherever I go I’m going to play as hard as I can and if that’s enough then I’ll play, and if not I’ll just have to keep working harder,” said Monserez.

Her hard work paid off. She played in every set for the Gators in the 2012 season, and was third on the team in digs, averaging two per set, and was one of just four teammates who played in all 110 sets.

The 2012 season ended with a loss to Texas in three sets in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but Monserez says the loss motivated the team during off-season workouts.

Monserez believes hard work in the off-season on the fundamentals, and motivation from the loss to Texas, will be important to the team’s success in 2013.

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