A challenging field of teams awaits the No. 5 seeded University of Florida gymnastics team (17-2, 5-1 SEC) at the NCAA Championship semifinal competition, set for Friday, April 15 at 6 p.m. (ET) in the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
| This Week’s Meet Info: |
| No. 5 seed Florida at NCAA Championships Date & Time: April 15-17, 2011 – NCAA Championships Site: Wolstein Center (13,610) in Cleveland, Ohio Friday, April 15 Team Semifinal Semifinal I – noon (ET) Arkansas, UCLA, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Oklahoma Semifinal II – 6 p.m. (ET) Alabama, Florida, Kent State, Nebraska, Oregon State, Utah Saturday, April 16 @ 4 p.m. ET NCAA Super Six (team final) Sunday, April 17 @ 1 p.m. (ET) Individual Event Finals Live Streaming Video: Live Stats: |
The NCAA Championships’ 12-team field is split into two six-team sessions for Friday’s semifinal round. The top three teams from each of Friday’s two sessions advance to the NCAA Super Six team final on Saturday, April 16 at 4 p.m. (ET). The winner of the Super Six is the national team champion.
Florida will compete in Semifinal II on Friday night. The teams in Semifinal II include No. 1 seed Alabama, No. 4 seed Oregon State, No. 8 seed Utah, No. 9 seed Nebraska and No. 12 seed Kent State. Competition will be stiff for each of the three advancing positions, as five of the Semifinal II teams have appeared among the nation’s top 10 during the course of the 2011 season. Alabama and Utah are half of the four schools that have ever won an NCAA Gymnastics title. UCLA and Georgia, who compete in Semifinal I, are the other two.
Semifinal I, which begins at noon on Friday, includes No. 2 seed and defending NCAA champion UCLA, No. 3 seed Oklahoma, No. 6 seed Michigan, No. 7 seed Georgia, No. 10 seed Arkansas and No. 11 seed Illinois.
“We appreciate the level of talent across the country and at this competition. Everyone has to bring their “A” game but that’s what makes it exciting,” UF Head Coach Rhonda Faehn said. “We’re not focusing on our entire season -- that’s in the past -- but going to focus on the practice and competing our hearts out. All the athletes are very excited. This is going to be a highly competitive meet and we’re going to put it all out there.”
This is Florida’s 29th appearance in the NCAA Championships” 30-year history, as the Gators missed only the 2000 meet. Last year, the championships were held in Gainesville at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Florida advanced to their fifth consecutive Super Six team final, where the Gators finished fifth.
The NCAA Super Six format began in 1993. Florida has advanced to the team final round nine times (2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004, 1997, 1998, 1994), recording its highest NCAA finish of second in 1998. Six of UF’s NCAA Super Six appearances have come since Rhonda Faehn took over the Gator program for the 2003 season.
The NCAA Individual Event finals will be held Sunday, April 17 at 1 p.m. To advance to the NCAA Individual Event finals, competitors must place in the top four (including ties) in their semifinal session. The NCAA all-around champion will be determined in Friday’s competition. A Gator has won NCAA individual titles on four occasions – Maria Anz (FX/1984), Betsy Hamm(BB/1998), Susan Hines (V/1997, ‘98).
The Gators punched their ticket to nationals with a second place finish (196.425) at the NCAA North Central Regional competition in Denver on April 2. Freshman Alaina Johnson led Florida with a 39.525 in the all-around and a 9.90 on the vault to nab first place in both events. Johnson shared her vault win with sophomore Ashanée Dickerson, and freshman Mackenzie Caquatto also claimed a first place title with a collegiate-best 9.95 on the uneven bars. Dickerson also picked up her second consecutive National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches (NACGC) Southeast Region Gymnast of the Year award. She is the only Gator gymnast to have ever received the honor. Faehn was named the Southeast Region’s Coach of the Year, and assistant coaches Adrian Burde and Robert Ladanyi were honored with Assistant Coach of the Year.
