House Bill 9047

    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HR 9047

        By Representative Bilirakis






  1                         House Resolution

  2         A resolution in recognition of Becky Burleigh,

  3         Head Coach of the University of Florida soccer

  4         team.

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  6         WHEREAS, in just four seasons at the helm of the

  7  University of Florida soccer team, Head Coach Becky Burleigh

  8  has led the University of Florida to a spot among the nation's

  9  premier collegiate soccer programs, and

10         WHEREAS, during her short time at the University of

11  Florida, Burleigh has led the Gators to three NCAA Tournament

12  berths and three Southeastern Conference Tournament titles,

13  with the Gators finishing the last three seasons by reaching

14  at least the NCAA round of 16, including winning this season's

15  NCAA title, and

16         WHEREAS, after joining the Gator program in June 1994,

17  Burleigh had over a year to put together the first Florida

18  soccer team and on September 2, 1995, she introduced a team

19  that proved itself to be ready to step into the challenges of

20  NCAA Division I soccer competition, and

21         WHEREAS, the 1995 Gator team put together a record of

22  14-4-2, finishing runner-up in the SEC Eastern Division, and

23         WHEREAS, Burleigh's second Gator team made it known

24  early that it was ready to take a spot among the nation's

25  elite, jumping quickly into the top 10 of every national poll,

26  a position it would hold throughout the 1996 season, and

27         WHEREAS, Burleigh was named the 1996 SEC Coach of the

28  Year after the Gators swept through the Southeastern

29  Conference season and tournament undefeated, collecting the

30  program's first league crown, and

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HR 9047

    715-111A-99






  1         WHEREAS, as a second-year program, Florida was the

  2  youngest program in the 32-team field of the 1996 NCAA

  3  Tournament, reaching the NCAA quarterfinal and finishing the

  4  season ranked in the nation's top 10, posting a

  5  then-program-best record of 22-3, and

  6         WHEREAS, the 1997 Florida team defeated three top-25

  7  teams en route to reaching the 20-win marker for the second

  8  consecutive year, as the Gators strung together a 20-3-1

  9  record, and

10         WHEREAS, the Gators finished second in the SEC Eastern

11  Division, and received a bid to its second consecutive NCAA

12  Tournament in 1997, reaching the second round of the

13  tournament, and

14         WHEREAS, in 1998, Burleigh led the Gators to their best

15  season ever in the program's four-year history, and

16         WHEREAS, besides claiming the program's first NCAA

17  title, Florida set season marks for best record (26-1),

18  highest national ranking (No. 3), and highest NCAA Tournament

19  seeding (No. 2), and

20         WHEREAS, Florida captured its third straight SEC

21  Tournament title and advanced to its first-ever NCAA Final

22  Four, and

23         WHEREAS, by taking the University of Florida to the

24  Final Four, Becky Burleigh became only the second female

25  soccer coach to lead her team to the NCAA semifinals and the

26  first to win the NCAA crown, and

27         WHEREAS, in nine seasons of coaching, Becky Burleigh

28  has compiled an overall record of 164-34-9, for an overall

29  winning percentage of .792, and

30         WHEREAS, Becky Burleigh's 24 wins in 1998 mark a career

31  high in single season wins, and

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HR 9047

    715-111A-99






  1         WHEREAS, Becky Burleigh has also received the

  2  NSCAA/Adidas, College Soccer Weekly, and Soccer Buzz National

  3  Coach of the Year awards, NOW, THEREFORE,

  4

  5  Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of

  6  Florida:

  7

  8         That the House of Representatives of the State of

  9  Florida hereby recognizes Becky Burleigh for her tremendous

10  success and her many accomplishments as the head coach of the

11  University of Florida soccer team.

12         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution

13  be presented to Becky Burleigh, head coach of the University

14  of Florida soccer team, as a tangible token of the sentiments

15  expressed herein.

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