One of the nation’s top dual meets of the 2011 collegiate gymnastics season is set for this Friday when the No. 1 Florida Gators (5-0, 2-0 SEC) face the No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide (6-0, 1-0 SEC) in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Meet time is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 4.
| Friday’s Meet Info |
| No. 1 Florida (5-0, 2-0 SEC) versus No. 6 Alabama (6-0, 1-0 SEC) Date & Time: Feb. 4, 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: meets airs tape-delayed on ESPNU Thursday, Feb. 10 at 9 p.m. ET. Series Records (all-time): UA leads UF 62-31-1. Last meeting: Alabama took third in the 2010 NCAA Super Six at 197.225 and Florida finished fifth in 197.00. Internet: audio and streaming video for Florida-Alabama 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: Flying Biscuit/Moe’s/Heavenly Ham/Planet Smoothie Promotion – Fans can stop by these stores locations in Gainesville to pick-up a free admission pass to the meet; Light-up Pom Poms Giveaway – 1st 1,000 fans receive light-up pom poms; UF Faculty & Staff Night – UF Faculty & Staff receive free admission in the mailboxes the week of Jan. 17 for the meet; MBB-Vanderbilt Ticket Promotion – Present your MBB-Vanderbilt ticket stub and receive free admission into the meet; UF Student Night – First 200 students receive free Pizza Vito pizza starting at 6:15 p.m. UF students can sign-up to win prizes; KTK/Gainesville Sun Gator Kids Club Night – Kids Club members can RSVP for free admission for their parents/guardians at DanielF@gators.uaa.ufl.edu. First 100 kids club to sign-up will help create a fan tunnel for the team during introductions. For a complete list of promotions for Friday’s meet, check out the Gator Outlook. |
Fans can pick up complimentary passes for the Florida-Alabama meet any area The Flying Biscuit, Heavenly Ham, Moe’s or Planet Smoothie location. The first 1,000 fans at Friday’s meet receive free light-up pom poms.
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.
Both programs are coming off season-high team totals and those totals rank among the top three turned in among the nation’s teams in 2011. Florida’s 197.50 is the nation’s highest posted and Alabama’s 196.825 matches the third-highest total of 2011.
Last Friday, Florida posted the nation’s highest score this season with a 197.50 earned in its triangular win against NC State and Penn State for the Gators Link to Pink meet. Freshman Alaina Johnson used the nation’s top total of 2011 to claim her first collegiate all-around title at 39.60. Johnson set or matched her collegiate-bests to claim three of the Link to Pink apparatus titles –vault (9.95), uneven bars (9.95) and floor exercise (9.925). She picked up her third Southeastern Conference Freshman Gymnast of the Week honor on Wednesday after her performance in the Link to Pink meet.
Fellow freshman Mackenzie Caquatto made her floor debut last Friday, nabbing second place with a 9.90. She posted the same score on the balance beam and used a 9.925 on the uneven bars to finish with two more second-place honors.
Sophomore All-American Ashanée Dickerson used a 9.975 to claim her second balance beam title of the season. Her score is the nation’s highest beam mark turned in so far this season and it matches UF’s second-highest score ever on the event.
Three of the top five all-arounders in the latest Gym Info national rankings will be in action Friday in the O’Connell Center. Dickerson is ranked at No. 4 and Johnson is No. 5. Alabama junior Geralen Stack-Eaton holds the No. 2 position.
Alabama is also coming off of season-high totals. The Crimson Tide turned in its top two totals of the season in its last two meets, posting a 196.325 in its home win versus Boise State on Jan. 21 and taking the four-team Metroplex Challenge title in Fort Worth, Texas, on Jan. 29 with the nation’s third-highest total of 196.825. Senior Kayla Hoffman won the Metroplex Challenge all-around with a collegiate-best total of 39.525. Hoffman’s performance at the Metroplex Challenge earned her the SEC Gymnast of the Week award.
Friday’s competition is the 30th consecutive meeting between the two programs (dating back to the 2002 NCAA Championships) that both teams bring a top-10 ranking. Alabama leads UF 17-11-1 in that span, but since 2007, UF owns a slight 7-6-1 advantage.
Last year, the two programs met three times. Alabama took the win in the dual meet held in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and finished third in the 2010 NCAA Super Six team final while Florida took fifth. The Gators claimed their seventh SEC title in the 2010 meet held in Jacksonville and the Tide was second. Both teams entered the 2011 season among the nation’s top three in the Gym Info preseason rankings, with Alabama holding the No. 2 spot and Florida opening at No. 3.
