Weekend Open Thread: Florida baseball is back

The Florida Gators have quite a bit of athletic activities on deck this weekend, with the No. 1 Florida baseball team starting its season, both basketball teams playing Vanderbilt teams, softball hitting the road for a series, gymnastics facing rival Georgia, and swimming, tennis, and golf competing in tournament meets and matches.

Below you’ll find what is happening in Gator sports this weekend, as well as how to follow along.

Friday, February 16

Swimming and diving
SEC Championships, All day (Watch; Stats): Florida continues its week of competition at this year’s SEC Championships, which are being hosted by Texas A&M. Entering Friday’s competition, the Gator men were atop the rankings while the women were in eighth place. Thus far in competition, Florida picked up two medals on Wednesday and four on Thursday.

Track and field
UCS Invitational, All day (Stats): Some Gators will be in North Carolina to participate in this meet event, which will be held at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem.

Men’s tennis
Florida vs. Texas A&M, ITA National Indoor Championships, 3:00 p.m. (Watch; Stats): The Gator women had their turn at the National Team Indoor Championships last weekend and now it’s the men’s turn. The ITA Indoor Championships is a single elimination tournament, with each team being guaranteed at least three matches. Florida opens tournament play with the Aggies.

Baseball
Florida vs. Siena, 6:30 p.m. (SECN+/WatchESPN, Listen, Stats): The reigning national champion Gators (yes, I’m calling them reigning instead of defending, due to their insistence that they are not defending the title this season) open their 2018 season at home. To kick off the new season, there will be a special opening night presentation honoring the 2017 national championship team. Brady Singer will start on the mound.

Gymnastics
Florida vs. Georgia, 7:00 p.m. (SECN/WatchESPN, Stats): The No. 5 Gators hit the road to face the No. 14 Bulldogs. Each team has lost one meet this season - Florida to Alabama and Georgia to Oklahoma. The Bulldogs have a new head coach this season and are hosting UF after upsetting Kentucky and posting a season best score at Missouri.

Saturday, February 17

Men’s golf
SunTrust Gator Invitational, All Day (Stats): Florida hosts the 41st annual SunTrust Gator Invitational, being held at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville. Florida has not won the tournament since 2011, and is hosting a deep field of ranked teams.

Swimming and diving
SEC Championships, All day (Watch; Stats): Florida continues competition at the league championships in College Station. Competition continues through Sunday.

Lacrosse
Florida vs. Maryland, 12:00 p.m. (Watch, Listen, Stats): For their second game of the season, the Gators host the top-ranked defending national champion Terrapins. Florida is coming off of a season-opening home win over Colorado which saw eight different Gators score at least one goal, including four freshmen scoring their first points in Florida uniforms.

Baseball
Florida vs. Siena, 4:00 p.m. (SECN+/Watch, Listen, Stats): The No. 1 Gators continue their season opening weekend series against visiting Siena. This second home game is one of 34 contests that the Gators are guaranteed to play at McKethan this season. Jackson Kowar is this year’s Saturday starter.

Men’s basketball
Florida vs. Vanderbilt, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN2/Watch, Listen, Stats): I won’t rehash the results of the Gators’ heartbreaking Valentines Day debacle. Florida is on the road this weekend, attempting to rebound against the Commodores, who are tied for last place in the SEC standings.

Softball
Florida vs. Louisiana, 4:00 p.m. (Cox Sports/Watch, Listen, Stats): The third Florida team playing in the 4:00 p.m. Saturday slot, the undefeated Gators hit the road, heading to Lafayette to face the Ragin’ Cajuns.

Softball
Florida vs. Louisiana, 7:00 p.m. (Cox Sports/Watch, Listen, Stats): The Gators continue their Saturday double-header with the Cajuns, leaving the third game of the three-game series for Sunday.

Men’s tennis
ITA National Team Indoor Championships, Time and opponent to be determined (Watch, Stats): Times and opponents for the championship tournament are to be determined after Friday’s first round matches. Check the linked website for more information. The tournament is being hosted by the University of Washington.

Sunday, February 18

Men’s golf
SunTrust Gator Invitational, All Day (Stats): Florida concludes competition in the two-day 54-hole stroke play Gainesville-based tournament.

Swimming and diving
SEC Championships, All day (Watch; Stats): The Gators conclude their week at the SEC championships in Texas. Select final sessions will air on the SEC Network on Sunday evening at 7:00 p.m.

Women’s golf
AllState Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Golf Championship, All day: Florida travels to New Orleans for their third tournament of the spring season. The Gators finished second at the Allstate Sugar Bowl last season.

Baseball
Florida vs. Siena, 1:00 p.m. (SECN+/Watch, Listen, Stats): The Gators conclude their opening weekend of the 2018 season, finishing their three-game series with Siena on Sunday afternoon. Last year’s impressive freshman pitcher, Tyler Dyson, is the newly tabbed Sunday starter.

Women’s basketball
Florida vs. Vanderbilt, 1:00 p.m. (SECN/Watch, Listen, Stats): Finally ending its six-game streak against ranked opponents, the Gators return home to host the Commodores. The Gators are holding Senior Day and recognizing four seniors prior to tip-off.

Softball
Florida vs. Louisiana, 2:00 p.m. (Listen, Stats): The No. 2 Gators wraps up their weekend series with No. 16 Louisiana.

Men’s tennis
ITA National Team Indoor Championships, Time and opponent to be determined (Watch, Stats): Times and opponents for the championship tournament are to be determined after Friday’s first round matches. Check the linked website for more information.

And here are your schedule tables for this weekend’s events.