Four
different Gators picked up apparatus victories Friday, as the preseason No. 3
Florida gymnastics team (2-0, 0-0 SEC) opened the 2012 home season with a 196.175-191.875
win over Illinois-Chicago (1-0) in front of a Stephen C. O’Connell Center
crowd of 4,796.
Tonight’s
meet will air on SUN Sports Jan. 22 at 10:30 a.m. and re-airs on Feb. 5 at 9:30
a.m.
|
Gator Event Winners Friday
|
||
|
Name
|
Event
|
Score
|
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Ashanée
Dickerson
|
Vault
|
9.90
|
|
Alaina
Johnson
|
Bars
|
9.90
|
|
Marissa
King
|
Beam
|
9.925
|
|
Kytra
Hunter
|
Floor
|
9.925
|
|
Kytra
Hunter
|
All-Around
|
38.925
|
Last
week in the Gators’ season-opening win at North Carolina State, only freshman Kytra
Hunter posted a mark of 9.90, which she used to pick up her first floor
title. Tonight, each of the Gator event winners used marks of 9.90 or better to
claim their event wins.
Florida
opened the meet with solid team totals of 49.20 for both vault and uneven bars.
Junior All-American Ashanée Dickerson pushed her collegiate total for
vault wins to an even dozen with her season-best mark of 9.90. UF also received
marks of 9.85 or better on the event from Nicole Ellis (9.85) and Hunter
(9.875) as they rounded out the top three vault performances of the meet.
Sophomore
All-American Alaina Johnson anchored the Gator lineup with her
season-best of 9.90 to claim her second consecutive uneven bars title. Hunter
was runner-up at 9.85, while Dickerson and Marissa King shared third at
9.825.
Florida
used marks of 9.80 or better toward their balance beam total of 49.25 Friday.
King was steady and solid in her anchor performance Friday, posting a
collegiate-best 9.925 to take her second consecutive title on the event.
Johnson and Dickerson shared second at 9.85.
A
bruised heel kept King from showing the consistency she wanted on beam a year
ago. Tonight, with the pressure of competing after a fall, King’s performance
showed the results of her hard work in the gym.
“I’m
really, really pleased with my beam. I was disappointed last year because of my
injury, which affected me on the beam. I really trained hard this preseason
because I want to be in the beam lineup. I want to be consistent and I want the
girls to trust me and have confidence in me to hit my routine. Today showed
that,” King said. “I’m really proud of myself for going out there and hitting
that routine even with the pressure of having a fall before me.”
Although
it is only the second competition of the season, Florida’s beam total of 49.25
Friday was bettered only three times during the entire course of last season.
UF Head Coach Rhonda Faehn liked what she saw from the lineup tonight,
especially King’s rock-solid performance to end the lineup.
“On
beam, I was thrilled with the way they performed,” she said. “I loved seeing
that Marissa just attacked the beam after having an athlete fall. I could see
it in her eyes before she went up – she knew she was going to hit and I knew
she was going to hit. I had complete confidence in her.”
Hunter
wowed the O’Connell Center crowd with her spectacular tumbling, as she picked
up her second straight floor exercise win with her collegiate-best mark of
9.925. Johnson made her season debut on the event, taking second at 9.85 while
junior Randy Stageberg was third with a 9.775.
The
Gators were forced to count a fall toward their floor total for the first time
since 2008, as the team tallied a 48.525.
Hunter
was the only Gator entered in the all-around and she picked up her second
straight win with a total of 38.925. Illinois-Chicago’s Rachel Montoya was
runner-up at 38.65.
The
heralded Florida freshmen class was excited to perform for the first time in
front of the O’Connell Center crowd. Hunter got involved early, as she joined
King in running out with the final two letters for the F-L-O-R-I-D-A flags to
start the pre-meet introductions. She is starting to get the feel for
collegiate competition and some of those adjustments came through in her floor.
“I
showed off my routine more than I did at NC State. My landings were more
controlled and I threw my head back (on finishes),” Hunter said. “I just went
out there and had fun.”
Hunter
likes the supportive atmosphere of collegiate competition.
“The
cheering and going out there and having fun with your team are what I like,”
Hunter said. “It’s not relaxing but it feels great to have a family behind
you.”
Although
the season is only two meets old, Faehn is already looking to keep the Gators
fresh throughout the four-month season. Floor is the event where the gymnasts undergo
the most pounding so that lineup will often have planned changes in personnel
to give gymnasts opportunities to perform and to keep others in the best
possible health. Tonight two All-American floor performers – Dickerson and King
– did not compete on that event.
“We
could easily go out there and compete with our strongest athletes and blow it
out, but that’s not what we’re trying to do,” Faehn said. “It’s hard, and it’s
frustrating for the athletes too, but we have to stick with the plan and make
sure they are paced.
“It’s
early – it’s the second meet – so there are going to be falls and mistakes, but
it’s something we have to learn from,” she continued. “We’re trying to get
everyone out there to gain experience and compete as much as possible.”
