The preseason No. 3 Florida gymnastics team (1-0, 0-0 SEC) opened the 2012 season Friday with a 196.025-194.675 win at North Carolina State (0-1, 0-0 EAGL). The Gators claimed at least a share of four of the evening’s five event titles, including freshman Kytra Hunter taking the all-around win.
| Last Five Gator All-Around Winners in First Collegiate Meet | ||
| Kytra Hunter is the fourth Gator freshman in the last 25 seasons to claim the all-around win in the season opener. The four have all come since Rhonda Faehn arrived for the 2003 season. The four wins all have come since 2006. Before that win in 2006, the last freshman season-opening all-around win came in 1986 – a 20-year gap. | ||
| | | |
| Kytra Hunter | 2011 @ NC St | 39.30 |
| Ashanée Dickerson | 2010 @ OU | 39.35 |
| Melanie Sinclair | 2007 @ Super 6 Challenge | 39.275 |
| Corey Hartung | 2006 vs. Illinois | 38.975 |
| Melissa Miller | 1986 vs. Oklahoma St | 36.05 |
Of the 2,512 in attendance Friday at the Reynolds Coliseum, more than 60 were from the Triangle Gator Club so the team saw some orange & blue as they performed in the season’s first meet.
It was the 2012 opener for both teams so the minor mistakes that appeared in the routines for the teams were expected. And Florida Head Coach Rhonda Faehn saw no red flags in the Gators’ performances.
“I think they did a great job. They did exactly what we were looking for. We want to start out a lot slower this year which is a little bit different strategy than last year. We wanted to compete a lot of different athletes tonight. Our freshmen did a really great job and were able to get their feet wet. We were able to rest some of upperclassmen,” Faehn said. “Overall, I was very pleased with their performance. It’s a starting point. We are working to pace our athletes so that we can peak at the end of the year.”
