University of Florida - Tower / Seminole Yearbook (Gainesville, FL)

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Above: Senior forward Merlakia Jones tries to steal the ball. Far Left: Senior Takilya Davis looks to line up ker free th row. Below: Merlakia Jones is trying to steal the ball from the Lady Wolfpack from North Carolina State. • • • • • • • 306 Sports

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For the past six or seven years the Gator Gals have been the official of the men ' s basketball team. Their job is to promote and support the Gator ' s. This job includes marketing the team, passingout promotionals before the game, announcing at fraternities on game days, attending all in-state games and helping in the basketball office when needed. This group of 29 ladies also works with the Tip-Off Club, which is the Alumni support group for the team. The Gator Gals do not choose to take on this job to have something on their resume, or to get anything out of it except the pleasure of being involved with a sport they enjoy. Each Gator Gal works 10 to 12 hours a week to promote the team. The Gator Gals do it because they are all pure sports fanatics, said senior Gator Gal, Gidget Grubbs. Being involved (with the team) makes you feel more a part of the program. I ' ve enjoyed watching the program build to where it is today, I ' ve had a direct hand in it ' s growth. said Grubbs. Members of the 1994-95 Gator Gals are Erryn Boedy, Layla Brock, Stephaney Davis, Marisa D ' Adamo, Chriss Downes, Jen Eddinger, Susan Ellisor, Mary Ann Garbowski, Andrea Garner, Marissa Gonzales, Gidget Grubbs, Freda Jenkins, Marilyn Jo- seph, Lauren Kapinos, Katy Kemmer, Sarah Lindsay, Caroline Lister, Carol Mangum, Danielle Miles, Amy Pryor, Gina Scott, Caren Skversky, Tracie Underwood, Trina Wagnac, Michelle Walton, Angela Heitmeyer, Bibi Sy, Jenna Wiedemann and Jennifer Wilkinson. Mary Jane McGregor is the sponsor of the Gator Gals. By: Michele Huber Above: As part of tradition the Gator Gals escorted the basketball team in the Homecoming parade. Right: The Gator Gals set up a basketball goal outside Turlington on game days for students to try out thier luck. At the booth Gator Tony Mickens tries to win a mini-basketball. Sports 305

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The 1994-95 Lady Gator Basketball Team opened the season a number 14 ranking in the AP poll and some very high expectations after coming off of their best season in 1993-94. Coach Ross returned All-American guard Merlakia Jones and sophomore sensation DeLisha Milton. The Gators were looking to promising newcomers Danella Liles, Muriel Page and Dana Smith to help the team strongly challenge the Lady Vols for the conference title. The Lady Gators opened the season strongly, losing only to defending National Champions North Carolina. The Ladies won the Dial Soap Florida Challenge title with victories over FSU and Miami. The Gators returned home to the friendly confines of the O ' Dome and took care of the Bethune-Cookman College Wildcats. The Lady Vols of the University of Tenneessee came to town and Gators home The Lady Vols team to defeat O ' Dome. The r had not lost to the : their last 19 had no intentions now. The Lady hard and lost in of the game 76- to conference foes Arkansas to lose to the Georgia Bulldogs Lady Gators : ' by beating the in what was a key season. Jones became scoring leader when she scored point number 1, 896 against FSU. The Lady Gators then proceeded to defeat Lynn University by 69 points and LSU by 42 points, giving them some momentum going into the SEC Tournament. The Lady Gators would go on the defeat LSU once again in the opening round but lost to Georgia in the second round. The Lady Gators had their best season ever going 23-8 and for the third year earned an NCAA Regional berth, this time in Virginia. The Lady Gators beat Radford University by 40 points in the first round. The next Lady Gator opponent was the Lady of the University of Virginia. The team fought long and hard but as the final buzzer sounded the Lady Gators were down by five. The loss was the final game for seniors Takilya Davis, Merlaia Jones, and Carla Johnson. The loss was not a fitting ending to a great season, but Gator fans can look forward to the 1995-96 season. The lady Gators will return a lot of experience and have signed a good freshman class. The future of Coach Ross, her coaching staff and the Lady Gator Basketball team is certainly bright. Gator Fans everywhere just may get to see that a sport other than football can have the letters NC shouted at a game and that NC means more than No Class, today . By John Mac Donald snapped the winning streak. were the last the Gators in the Lady Vols also Lady Gators in meetings and of losing to them Gators fought the last minutes 69. Gators then lost Vanderbilt and were predicted tenth ranked in Athens. The prised everyone Lady Bulldogs victory for the Merlakia the all-time spots Sports 307