The No. 1 Florida Gators return home to face No. 13 NC State and No. 23 Penn State in the fifth annual Gators Link to Pink Meet, presented by UnitedHealthcare. Meet time is set for 7 p.m. (ET) on Friday, Jan. 28 in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
| Friday’s Meet Info: |
| No. 1 Florida (3-0, 2-0 SEC) versus No. 13 NC State (1-1) and No. 23 Penn State (1-3, 0-2 Big 10) Date & Time: Jan. 28, 2011 @ 7 p.m. ET Site: Stephen C. O’Connell Center (11,120) Parking: In addition to parking in O’Connell Center lot, there is a parking shuttle running from commuter lot on Gale Lemerand Drive to O’Connell Center. More information can be found here. Television: none Series Records (all-time): UF leads NC State 23-1. Last meeting: Florida won the 2008 NCAA Southeast Regional at 197.525 and NC State was fifth at 193.825. UF leads Penn State 27-13. Last meeting: Florida was runner-up in 2009 Semifinal I at 196.375 and Penn State was fourth at 196.10. Internet: audio and streaming video for Gators Link to Pink meet available on www.GatorVision.tv; live stats available on www.GatorZone.com Tickets: $4 for adults; children 17 & under and UF students with Gator 1 cards are admitted free. For more information, contact the UAA Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683, ext. 6800 or 1-800-34GATOR, ext. 6800 (state of Florida only) and on-line.. Promotions: T-Shirt Giveaway – The first 1,000 fans receive a free Link 2 pink t-shirt courtesy of United Healthcare; Poster Giveaway – The first 500 fans will receive a Link to Pink poster; Gator Cheerleading Clinic – UF Cheerleaders will host a clinic for girls 12 and under and they will perform prior to the meet. |
The Link to Pink meet is part of a Southeastern Conference initiative to raise awareness about breast cancer prevention and treatment. Each of the league’s teams will participate in a “pink” meet this season, with each team wearing its own shade of pink. More than 9,000 fans turned out in support of last year’s meet at the O’Connell Center.
The first 1,000 fans will receive a Gators Link to Pink T-Shirt, courtesy of UnitedHealthcare, and a Link to Pink poster will be available to the first 500 fans. Complimentary admission passes can be picked up at any local Chick-fil-A restaurant.
Fans are encouraged to take the parking shuttle from the Lemerand Drive Commuter Lot on Friday. The bus will drop fans off at gate 2 of the O'Connell Center, with both gates 1 and 2 available for entry into the meet. The shuttle starts at 5:30 p.m. and will run until a half hour after the conclusion of the meet.
Florida is back from its first road meet in Baton Rouge, La., where the team picked up a 196.425-194.00 win against SEC rival LSU. Florida holds the No. 1 ranking (based on total season average) in the Jan. 24 Gym Info national rankings. The Gators have posted three of the nation’s top five totals through the first three weekends of the 2011 season.
All-American Ashanée Dickerson, ranked as the nation’s No. 3 all-arounder, claimed a share of each of the evening’s five event titles, which includes collecting her 10th all-around title. After her performance at LSU, Dickerson was named the SEC Gymnast of the Week – her second such honor of her career and her first of 2011.
Dickerson is the first Gator to sweep a meet’s event titles since former All-American Chrissy Van Fleet in 2000. The sophomore claimed sole possession of the balance beam (9.825), vault (9.90) and floor exercise (9.95) titles and shared the uneven bars win (9.80) with teammates Nicole Ellis, Alicia Goodwin and Elizabeth Mahlich and LSU’s Sarie Morrison.
NC State nabbed its first win of the season against then-No. 18 West Virginia last Friday in Raleigh, N.C. The Wolfpack’s Assistant Coach Colleen Johnson was an All-American during her Gator career (1992-95). Penn State also comes into Friday’s meet after claiming its first win of 2011 in its home opener, taking a 195.275-194.475 victory over New Hampshire. Penn State is led by Jeff Thompson, who is in his first year with the Nittany Lion program after leading Auburn for 11 years.
