The University of Florida gymnastics team placed six gymnasts on the 2011 All-Southeastern Conference teams, the league office announced today. Florida’s All-SEC honorees are freshman Alaina Johnson, sophomores Ashanée Dickerson and Marissa King, junior Nicole Ellis, and seniors Alicia Goodwin and Maranda Smith.
The All-SEC first team is made up of the top three all-arounders and each event champion from the SEC Championships. The second team is made up of the No. 4-6 all-around finishers and event runner-ups.
In Saturday’s competition in Birmingham, Ala., Johnson finished second in the all-around competition (39.375) and tied for second on the uneven bars and third on the floor with scores of 9.90. She was also honored as the SEC Freshman of the Year in the post-meet award ceremony. She is the fifth Gator to earn the honor and it is the second consecutive year a Gator gymnast won the award (Dickerson/ 2010, Amanda Castillo/2007, Orley Szmuch/2002 and Betsy Hamm/1998). Johnson picked up five weekly SEC awards this season, as SEC Freshman Gymnast of the Week four times and SEC Gymnast of the Week once. Johnson is also part of the 2011 SEC All-Freshman Team.
Dickerson joins Johnson on the All-SEC first team with a first place finish in Saturday’s floor event (9.925). The win gave the Gators their first SEC floor title since Castillo claimed back-to-back wins in 2007 and 2008. Dickerson claimed a total of seven floor titles in 2011 and was named SEC Gymnast of the Week during Week 3 of this season. This is the second year she has been named to the All-SEC first team, following two runner-up finishes in last year’s SEC all-around and balance beam competitions.
King and Ellis were selected for the All-SEC second team as they shared runner-up honors on vault at 9.90. Ellis’ set a personal season-best with her score at the SEC Championships, and King earned her second consecutive 9.90 vault mark of the season.
Goodwin posted a collegiate-best 9.90 on the balance beam to share second in the final league standings. She joins fellow senior Smith, who tied for third with a 9.90 in the floor exercise to claim her second consecutive appearance on the All-SEC second team.
Florida’s Rhonda Faehn claimed her second consecutive SEC Coach of the Year honor. It is the fourth such honor for Faehn since the 2006 season. The Gators have held the No. 1 spot in every ranking of 2011 season.
