The
No. 1 Florida gymnastics team closes out the regular season with a dual
meet against No. 7 Utah tonight at 7 in the O'Connell Center.
It
will be Senior Night for the Gators, who will be honoring Nicole Ellis,
Amy Ferguson and Elizabeth Mahlich in a post-meet ceremony. The senior
trio has been part of two NCAA Regional Championship squads as well as
the 2010 SEC Championship team.
“This
year I really challenged them, and they have become leaders,” UF coach
Rhonda Faehn said. “It's going to be a lot of fun, and it's going to be
great to be able to recognize them for how well they have represented
the University of Florida over their four years here.”
The
Gators (10-1, 5-1 SEC) come into tonight's meet following a week off
from competition that Faehn felt came along at just the right time.
“Last
week we had off, which I think was really great for our athletes
physically of course,” she said. “But mentally it gave them a little bit
of a breather and a chance for us to step back a little bit and work on
fine tuning some things.”
In their last action, the Gators picked up a come-from-behind, 196.95-196.825 road win, over No. 6 Nebraska on March 4.
The
Utes (7-2, 3-1 Pac-12), one of five teams to be ranked No. 1 at some
point this season, are one of the most tradition-laden programs in the
nation. They are coming off a 197.60-197.45 home loss to the same
Cornhuskers last Friday that ended a seven-meet winning streak.
This
marks the eighth straight season Florida and Utah have met in
regular-season action. The Gators have won five of the previous seven,
but the two programs are tied at 7-all overall (including postseason)
since 2005.
“It's going to be a great competition,” Faehn said. “They're a very strong team, and we're looking forward to them coming here.
"It's
our Senior Night, and we're going to be honoring three seniors who have
been tremendous for our program. Of course they're going to be stepping
out there and competing for the last time in the O'Connell Center, so
I'm sure it's going to be a little bit emotional for them, but exciting
at the same time.”
Student coach Kailey Tissue, a 2009 team member, also will be honored.
This
will be UF's last meet before the all-important postseason, which
begins next Saturday with the 2012 SEC Championships in Duluth, Ga.
NCAA Regionals are April 7 and the NCAA Championships are April 22-24 in Duluth, Ga.
“We're
focusing on the execution,” Faehn said. “The handstands, the stuck
landings, the height and distance on the vault — just the little
things.”.
