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By JOANNE KORTH
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 14, 2001
GAINESVILLE -- When Brent Wright and Teddy Dupay returned sooner than expected from January surgeries, No. 11 Florida thought the hard times were over.
They're back.
The Gators were without Wright for Tuesday night's game at LSU after the senior forward had surgery Tuesday morning to insert two screws in his broken right thumb.
Wright, who is right-handed, will wear a protective splint for 3-4 weeks but might still play depending on pain and swelling. He is questionable for Saturday's game at No. 15 Tennessee and will be evaluated Saturday morning.
Wright missed four games in January because of a fractured foot. Dupay, a junior shooting guard, missed five games with a herniated disc. Sophomore guard Justin Hamilton tore his anterior cruciate ligament Jan. 17 and is out for the season.
UF was 1-3 without Wright, losing in the final minute against South Carolina, Georgia and Vanderbilt. Since his return, UF is 5-1. Wright, who returned to the starting lineup against Arkansas, averages 13.6 points and 6.6 rebounds.
"We had some close games when Brent was out before," UF coach Billy Donovan said. "We were there. We just have to get over the hump with regards to playing without him. Hopefully we can take advantage of the fact that we have had to play some games without him already."
HIGH MARKS: Freshman Kara Waterhouse won four of five events to claim her first collegiate all-around title as the Gators gymnastics team, ranked No. 7 by GymInfo, beat No. 9 Oklahoma 195.95-192.60 at the O'Connell Center on Friday.
Waterhouse won the uneven bars (9.850) and beam (9.90), tied for first in the vault (9.825) and tied for third in floor exercise (9.80). Her total of 39.375 matched UF's best all-around score of the season, set by junior Hillary Thompson.
The team victory was ninth-year coach Judi Markell's 100th at UF.
TURNSTILE TIDBIT: Sunday's crowd of 12,222 for the women's basketball game against Tennessee was the fifth-largest at the O'Connell Center and the biggest this season. The high had been 12,048 on Jan. 30, when the men played Tennessee.
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: Florida's 103-73 loss to the Vols didn't leave the Gators much reason to celebrate, but junior guard Brandi McCain became the 16th UF player to score 1,000 career points. Her 17 points gave her 1,002. Merlakia Jones (1992-95) is the school's all-time leader with 2,001.
SOFTBALL HONOR: Sophomore third baseman Jenn Mossadeghi was named SEC Player of the Week after batting .600 as Florida swept the five-game GRU Classic in Gainesville. Mossadeghi was 9-for-15 with 4 runs, 5 RBI and 2 stolen bases.
The Gators (5-0) beat South Florida 2-1 in the championship game Sunday. They will host the University Centre Hotel Invitational featuring Baylor, Belmont and Chattanooga on Friday-Sunday at the softball stadium.
MARK THOSE CALENDARS: Spring football practice starts March 13, with the Orange and Blue intrasquad game scheduled for April 7.
- Joanne Korth covers University of Florida athletics. She can be reached at 800-333-7505, ext.7306, or by e-mail at Korth@sptimes.com.