Florida Gymnast Kytra Hunter is 2012 NCAA Vault Champion

University of Florida freshman Kytra Hunter collected her second event title of the NCAA Gymnastics Championships with her vault win Sunday in the individual event finals held in The Arena at Gwinnett Center. Hunter became the first Gator to win the NCAA all-around title on Friday evening and she is the only Gator to claim two event titles in a single year. In the 31-year history of the NCAA Gymnastics Championships, Hunter is the fifth to claim multiple NCAA titles as a freshman.

Did You Know…
Kytra Hunter is the fifth gymnast in the 31-year history of the NCAA Gymnastics Championships to win multiple NCAA event titles as a freshman.
Name	School	Year	NCAA Event Titles
Kytra Hunter	Florida	2012	AA, V
Courtney Kupets	Georgia	2006	AA, UB, BB
Kate Richardson	UCLA	2003	UB, BB
Theresa Kulikowski	Utah	1999	AA, BB
Hope Spivey	Georgia	1991	AA, V, FX

Her win keeps the vault title in Gainesville as junior Marissa King claimed the 2011 title in Cleveland, Ohio. This is the fourth time a Gator has picked up the vault title as Susan Hines was the 1997 and 1998 titlist.

Hunter was one of five Gators in Sunday’s event finals. She also tied for fourth in the floor exercise final with her mark of 9.925. King, appearing in her third consecutive NCAA vault final, took fifth with her average of 9.7875. Junior Ashanée Dickerson, making her second appearance in the NCAA floor final, shared sixth overall at 9.90. Sophomores Mackenzie Caquatto and Alaina Johnson each appeared in the NCAA uneven bars final. Caquatto tied for sixth at 9.825 and Johnson, after some trouble early in her routine, took eighth at 9.4875.

Both Hunter and King held an advantage over most of the 10 gymnasts entered Sunday’s event final. The format for the NCAA vault final requires the competitors to perform two different vaults. During the course of the regular season, the gymnasts perform only one vault so few train a second vault. A plus for both Gators in the vault competition was both could perform two different 10.0 value vaults.

Hunter, performing as the last competitor in the vault final, earned a 9.95 for the vault she competed all season, a Yurchenko one and a half. She earned a 9.80 for her Yurchenko full to give her the winning average of 9.875. Alabama’s Diandra Milliner was the vault runner-up at 9.825.

Florida’s five representatives in Sunday’s NCAA Individual Event Finals was the second-highest total among programs at the 2012 NCAA Championships. From left: Mackenzie Caquatto, Alaina Johnson, Marissa King, Ashanée Dickerson and Kytra Hunter.

One of just a handful of collegiate gymnasts regularly performing the considered more difficult Yurchenko one and a half vault, Hunter finds the more commonly seen Yurchenko full a bit unnerving.

“I don’t train it at all. But in the last week, we’ve been doing one or two in practice. I’m really scared of that vault (Yurchenko full). With the one and a half, I can spot my landing but that is harder for me to do with the full,” Hunter said. “I just went out there and did whatever I could. I’m honored that I can represent the University of Florida and bring back another title.”

Florida head coach Rhonda Faehn thought Hunter handled the two vault requirement very well.

“She was just amazing once again. She went out there and did exactly what she wanted to do in one vault. Her first vault was gorgeous once again and then for her to come out and do the second different vault pretty well is great because we just don’t train it all year long. For her to come away with the vault title is really something special for her to add to her all-around title.”

King was the only competitor Sunday performing Tsukahara vaults. King’s first vault — a Tsukahara one and a half — earned a 9.775 and her second – a Tsukahara full — earned a 9.80, to give her an average of 9.7875.

Earning a spot in the vault final was a credit to King’s ability on the event, as a groin pull limited King’s training following the team’s April 7 regional win. The first vaults King performed since regionals were during the team’s podium training on Thursday.

“It was a little bit tough today,” King said. “I landed a little bit low, but I had fun and it was great coming out here to compete today.”

Both Hunter and Dickerson turned in solid floor performances Sunday. Dickerson, who stuck her final two tumbling passes cold, said she had fun playing to the crowd and to her teammates Sunday.

“I felt like I had a good performance,” Dickerson said. “I had a lot of fun with the crowd and my teammates in the corner. They really boosted me.”

Caquatto made her first appearance in the NCAA event finals Sunday and said she enjoyed the experience. She said she could tell adrenaline was fueling the Gators’ performances on this final day of the meet.

Florida’s NCAA Event Champions
Name	Event	Year	Score
Kytra Hunter	All-Around	2012	39.725
	Vault	2012	9.8750
Marissa King	Vault	2011	9.8750
Betsy Hamm	Balance Beam	1998	9.8750
Susan Hines	Vault	1998	9.8625
	Vault	1997	9.8875
Maria Anz	Floor Exercise	1984	9.7000

 “I was pretty happy with my performance today. I went out there and did the best I could, so I don’t regret that,” Caquatto said. “I think everyone just had a lot of fun. It was our third day in a row competing so we were a little bit tired but everyone got their adrenaline going and did the best they could.”

Faehn thought the five Gator first-team All-Americans did well Sunday.

“All of our athletes did a great job today,” Faehn said. “It is exhausting and it is tough to do after two days of really rigorous competition. To come out on the third day and perform the way they did is a credit to them. They represented Florida extremely well.”

Georgia’s Kat Ding claimed her second consecutive NCAA uneven bars title at 9.9875 and also took the floor exercise win at 9.95. Alabama senior Geralen Stack-Eaton kept all the 2012 NCAA event titles in the Southeastern Conference with her balance beam win at 9.9375.