A perfect 10.0 on uneven bars for junior All-American Mackenzie
Caquatto highlighted No. T3 Florida gymnastics’ (2-1, 1-1 SEC) win Friday
in front of a Stephen C. O’Connell Center crowd of 5,753. The Gators turned in
a season-best 197.30 while Missouri also posted a season-high total 194.625.
Florida’s
Event Winners
|
||
Event
|
Name
|
Score
|
Vault
|
Ashanée
Dickerson
|
9.975
|
Uneven Bars
|
Mackenzie
Caquatto
|
10.0
|
Balance
Beam
|
Bridget
Sloan
|
9.90
|
Floor
Exercise
|
Ashanée
Dickerson
|
9.90
|
All-Around
|
Ashanée
Dickerson
|
39.575
|
Tonight’s meet will air tape-delayed on SUN Sports Jan. 27 at
9:30 a.m.
There were plenty of highlights Friday, as senior
All-American Ashanée Dickerson, on her way to the 15th
all-around win of her career at 39.575, came oh-so-close to the perfect mark
with her collegiate vault best of 9.975. But on the next rotation, Dickerson
said afterward, “I saw something I’ve never seen a teammate do before.”
That something was a perfect 10.0.
Mackenzie Caquatto’s 10.0 punctuated a stellar Gators’ bar set, as Florida’s
total of 49.60 matches the fifth-highest total in the program’s history. Two
other All-American teammates completed Florida’s sweep of the bars with Kytra
Hunter’s collegiate-best 9.925 and Alaina Johnson’s 9.95.
Caquatto is the fifth Gator to earn the perfect mark on bars
and the first since All-American Melanie Sinclair earned her third 10.0
in 2009.
The team’s positive mood, which started during warm-ups,
helped Mackenzie control her nerves Friday.
“Tonight was really exciting. I think it
all started from warm-ups because the whole team had a ton of energy. Everyone
was goofing around and staying positive, which helped with the nerves,” she
said. “Through the meet we kept up the energy. I think it helped everyone on
everything and this was our best meet of the season.”
The routine is one she’ll have etched in
her memory.
“That was a really great feeling. I was
actually surprised. When I stuck the dismount, I knew it was one of the best
routines I did and was happy I could contribute to the team,” she said. “It was
a good moment and I will never forget it.”
For Florida Head Coach Rhonda Faehn, it was a delight
to see Mackenzie have such success after her opening two seasons which often
saw her fighting back from injuries.
“It’s
really amazing because Macko is such a huge talent. It was almost
excruciatingly painful as a coach to watch her with her frustrations and her
struggle with her injuries that were significant and knowing that she’s capable
of so much more,” Faehn said. “I think it’s going to continue to help motivate
her and give her confidence.”
Florida freshman Bridget Sloan picked up her first
collegiate balance beam title Friday with her season-high mark of 9.90.
She had a miss on bars tonight, but kept Faehn’s words in
mind to put the mistake behind before heading to the next event.
“Winning the beam felt really good
especially when bars did not go as planned. Everyone makes mistakes and it was
definitely not a mistake I wanted to make,” Sloan said. “I knew that when I
came to beam my team was depending on me.”
“It was nice to have Rhonda’s assurance
that things do happen, but making that comeback is really what it is all about
and not letting your whole meet fall apart.”
Mackenzie Caquatto and Dickerson followed Sloan with marks of
9.85 to share second in the final beam standings.
Dickerson anchored Florida’s floor set with a 9.90 to take
her first floor win of the season and the 15th of her career. With
her three wins tonight, Dickerson now owns a total of 63 event titles which
stands fifth on Florida’s all-time career list. She needs three more to move
into a tie with Gator Athletics Hall of Fame member Ann Woods (1980-82) at
66.
Dickerson’s face showed the fun she was having on floor
tonight. The exuberant Gator crowd and the off-the-mat boost from Sloan put her
in that mindset.
“It
was a lot of fun; I heard the crowd and they were really loud and that just made
me want to dance even more,” Dickerson said. “And having Bridget (Sloan) in the
corner with me dancing just helps me for my first pass and then seeing my
teammates and the rest of the crowd going crazy is just exciting.”
Johnson
was second on floor at 9.875 and senior All-America Marissa King took
third at 9.85.
The
Gators were coming off a loss last weekend at LSU. Dickerson said the team had
some definite areas that needed improvement and tonight was a step in the right
direction.
“We
fought through everything. Coach Faehn told us that last week we didn’t fight
as much and this week I felt that we fought a lot more for landings and trying
not to make many mistakes and it just worked out,” Dickerson said. “We went out
there and had fun. Because of the loss last week, we knew that if we just went
out there and had fun then we could do our best.”
Faehn
liked the way the Gators approached tonight’s competition.
“It
was a really great night. I love that they took last week’s competition and
turned it around in the training and had a different attitude of fight tonight,”
Faehn said. “There were mistakes here and there, there were inconstancies,
wobbles, but nobody really let it just completely affect their overall performance.
Their energy stayed up.”