Bowers named SEC Defensive Player of the Week

September 25th, 2006

University of Florida sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Bowers helped lead #10 Florida to a surge in blocking in a pair of wins last week and was named the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts as announced Monday.

Bowers averaged a robust 2.83 blocks per game in a pair of Florida sweeps of Auburn and Alabama last week - more than one block per game better than her seasonal average. On Wednesday against the Tigers, Bowers collected seven block assists in just three games of action. On Sunday, she upped her performance even more by becoming the first UF player in nearly two years to reach double figures in blocks when she collected thee solos and seven assists against the Crimson Tide.

In the first game against Alabama, Bowers became the first player at Florida since the advent of rally scoring in 2002 to register three solo blocks in one game and her total of five blocks in game one was just one shy of the UF record. Through 12 matches in the 2006 season, Bowers is averaging 1.67 blocks per game - a figure that would rank second in Florida history and eighth in the nation through matches played last week.

The honor is the first for Bowers in her career and she became the third UF player in 2006 to earn SEC recognition following junior Angie McGinnis (Player of the Week, 8-28-06) and freshman Elyse Cusack (Defensive Player of the Week, 9-6-06).

Bowers and the rest of the Gators will return to action this weekend when the Gators travel to Kentucky on Friday, Sept. 29 for an 8 p.m. (ET) contest before returning home to face #17 Tennessee at 1 p.m. (ET) on Sunday. The first 1,000 fans at the Tennessee match will receive a "Great to be a Gator" t-shirt.

Both matches this week will be carried live on WRUF-AM 850 and www.GatorZone.com. In addition, UF's match vs. Tennessee can be seen live via GatorVision Online.