CLEVELAND — Florida sophomore Marissa King claimed the 2011 NCAA vault title Sunday in the NCAA Gymnastics Championships’ Individual Event finals held in the Wolstein Center.
Her win returns the vault title to Florida for the first time since 1998. That season was the last time a Gator stepped to the top of the NCAA Championships’ awards stand, as Betsy Hamm and Susan Hines claimed a share of the balance beam and vault titles, respectively. For Hines, it was her second consecutive NCAA vault title and before Sunday, she was the only Gator to claim the NCAA vault crown.
King was one of three Gators in Sunday’s event finals. Senior Maranda Smith shared second in the floor exercise final at 9.90. Freshman Alaina Johnson advanced to three finals. She tied for fifth on floor (9.8875), tied for sixth for the bars (9.85) and shared ninth for vault (9.7875). King also competed in the floor final, sharing ninth at 9.85.
“I still can’t really believe I’m national champion. Going into the vault final, I knew that I had a chance but I didn’t focus on the general outcome. I just went out and did my two vaults just like I do in practice. It was great going into the competition confident with both vaults. I was very pleased with the one and a half vault. I did it exactly as I wanted to and have been doing it through the season,” King said. “It was great accomplishment. It will take a while to sink in and I can’t wait to be with my team.”
