GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Gators and rival Georgia Bulldogs have squared off twice in NCAA Super Region play. Both instances have come in the last nine years. Both instances played out at UF’s Pressly Stadium. 
 
Both worked out poorly for the home team. 
 
In 2016, the Gators were two-time defending national champions, a staggering 56-6 and the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed. Enter the Bulldogs, who won the opener of the best-of-three series 3-0 and put UF in an elimination situation. Florida had a 2-1 lead with two outs in the bottom of the seventh in Game 2 with unbeaten Aleshia Ocasio – with a sparkling 22-0 record – in the circle. UGA, with a runner on and down to its last strike, got a stunning two-run, walk-off homer from pinch-hitter Kaylee Puailoa to end UF’s title reign in gut-wrenching fashion. 
 
What transpired in 2021 was far more frustrating than heartbreaking. Georgia came to town and not only swept UF from the tournament, but did so with 4-0 and 6-0 shutouts, as the Gators managed just seven hits over the two days. 
 
So what does that tournament history have to do with these two Southeastern Conference rivals, the third-seeded Gators (46-14) and Bulldogs (34-21), being matched up again in the 2025 Gainesville Super Region, which begins Friday at KSP? The answer to the question is, well, obvious … but it was bound to come up. 
 
“Nope,” said UF coach Tim Walton, who had no interest in going there (and why would he?). “None of the players on this team, none of the players on that team.”
 
Both rosters have long turned over. That scoreless ’21 Florida team that hit .277, scored 284 runs and hit 54 homers on the season would look like a fall scrimmage opponent compared to the ’25 squad that is batting a collective 340, with 461 runs and 103 homers. The Gators put 30 runs in the three-game rampage of last weekend’s home regional, winning all three by the eight-run mercy rule. 

“This is a completely different team than what’s happened in the past,” senior centerfielder, first-team All-SEC selection and NCAA Player of the Year candidate Kendra Falby said. “It’s not like we’re going to put that on ourselves. Different group of girls. It doesn’t really matter. As long as we play like the Gators we’ll be fine.”
 
UF went 14-10 in the SEC this season, good enough for sixth place, against a schedule that featured series against four of the top five teams in the league. Georgia went 7-16 in conference play, finishing 13^th, and only faced two of the top five teams. UF and UGA did not play. 
 
“They’re here for a reason,” Walton said. 
 
They are. The Bulldogs – battle-tested enough via the SEC, apparently – went on the road in NCAA regional play last weekend and knocked 14^th-seed Duke out of the tournament, beating the Blue Devils twice to advance to their third straight Super. Georgia will try to get to its first Women’s College World Series since (yep) that 2021 season, which came at Florida’s expense. 
 
But that’s history. The Gators, meanwhile, will be seeking some history of their own. As in a second straight WCWS appearance for the first time since reaching three straight from ’17-19, as well as their 13^th trip to Oklahoma City since 2008. 
 
“We’ve put in a lot of work, we’ve put in a lot of preparation. Obviously, everybody loves postseason,” senior outfielder Korbe Otis said. “We talk about it all the time. We have to be where our feet are, so right now we’re totally focused on the Gators, this team and what we can do to help each other.” 
 
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu