The No. 1 seed Florida gymnastics team (15-2,
6-1 SEC) wants to bring back a golden souvenir from its West Coast trip this
weekend. The Gators look to become the fifth team to claim the NCAA
Championship at the 2013 competition which begins Friday in the New Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.
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NCAA Championships Meet Info:
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No. 1 Florida (15-2, 6-1 SEC) at NCAA
Championships
Friday,
April 19
Team
Semifinal
Semifinal
I – 3 p.m. (ET)
Florida, Georgia, Illinois,
LSU, Minnesota, Stanford
Semifinal
II – 9 p.m. (ET)
Alabama,
Arkansas, UCLA, Michigan, Oklahoma, Utah
Saturday,
April 20 at 7 p.m. (ET)
NCAA
Super Six (team final)
Sunday,
April 21 at 4 p.m. (ET)
Individual
Event Finals
Television: Meet airs
tape-delayed on ESPNU April 30 at 8 p.m. ET
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To move ahead to Saturday’s Super Six final where
the national team champion is determined, the Gators need to be among the top
three teams in its semifinal session on Friday. Florida starts Semifinal I
competition on the floor exercise. Start time for Semifinal I is set for 3 p.m.
ET.
Florida has qualified for the NCAA
Championships 31 times, missing only the 2000 event. The Gators advanced to the
2013 national stage by winning the Gainesville Regional, held April 6 in the
Stephen C. O’Connell Center. This is the third time Florida entered the NCAA
Championships as No. 1, as UF was the top seed in 2012 and shared the No. 1
seed with Utah in 2007.
In the tightest NCAA Super Six between the
top three teams in the meet’s history, Florida was runner-up in 2012 at
197.775. Alabama claimed its second consecutive title at 197.85 and UCLA was
third at 197.75. The runner-up finish equals UF’s 1998 placing as the program’s
highest ever in NCAA competition. The NCAA Super Six format began in 1993 and
Florida's advanced to the team final round 10 times. Seven of UF’s NCAA Super
Six appearances have come since Rhonda Faehn took over the Gator program
for the 2003 season.
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NCAA
Championships Field
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Seed
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School
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Region
Score
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RQS
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NQS
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Region
Result
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1
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Florida
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198.400
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197.840
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396.240
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Gainesville champ
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2
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Oklahoma
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197.375
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197.570
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394.945
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Norman
champ
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3
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Alabama
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197.400
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197.415
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394.815
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Tuscaloosa
champ
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4
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Georgia
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197.425
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197.260
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394.685
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Corvallis
champ
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5
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LSU
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197.275
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197.180
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394.455
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Columbus
champ
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6
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UCLA
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196.950
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197.200
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394.150
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Columbus
runner-up
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7
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Michigan
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196.725
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197.235
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393.960
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Morgantown
champ
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8
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Minnesota
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197.100
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196.615
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393.715
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Gainesville
runner-up
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9
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Stanford
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196.800
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196.710
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393.510
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Norman
runner-up
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10
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Utah
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196.400
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197.105
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393.505
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Tuscaloosa
runner-up
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11
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Arkansas
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196.950
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196.435
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393.385
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Corvallis
runner-up
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12
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Illinois
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196.025
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196.210
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392.235
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Morgantown
runner-up
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Shading
denotes teams in Florida’s semifinal session (April 19 – Semifinal I)
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Some notes about the Gators’ 2013
season:
►Florida is the NCAA Championships’
top-seed for the second consecutive year after winning the NCAA Gainesville Regional
with the nation’s leading regional total of 198.40. That total also ranks
behind 1998 Georgia’s 198.575 as the second-highest ever in NCAA Regional
action.
►Of the nation’s top eight team totals
of 2013, five were turned in by the Gators in their last seven meets. Those
totals include No. 1 198.425 (3-1-13), No. 2 198.40 (4-6-13), No. 5 198.10
(2-8-13), No. 6 (198.00 (3-23-13) and No. T7 197.875 (3-16-13).
►Twenty-nine times this season, a
nation’s gymnast has posted an all-around total of 39.65 or better. Twelve of
those marks, or 41 percent, came from a Gator. Defending NCAA all-around
champion sophomore Kytra Hunter has won half of her eight
all-around competitions. Her winning totals rank No. 1 (39.80), No. 2 (39.775),
No. T8 (39.70) and No. T12 (39.675) among the nation’s gymnasts. She also
posted a 39.65 which shares No. 19 nationally. Freshman Bridget Sloan’s SEC winning total of
39.75 (which she has achieved twice in March) is No. T3. She also has totals
ranking No. T8 (39.70) and No. T12 (39.675 2x). Seniors Ashanée Dickerson and Marissa King share No. 19 (39.65) on
the list.
►Florida returns five gymnasts with a
total of 29 All-America honors. Hunter and Johnson were the only gymnasts in
2012 NCAA Championships’ competition to earn the maximum of five All-America
honors. Other returning All-Americans include Mackenzie Caquatto, Dickerson and King.
► Florida led all programs with five
gymnasts earning a total of 13 honors on the first-ever National Association of
Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC) All-America list. All-Americans are
determined by their final RQS standings in the GymInfo rankings entering NCAA
Regional competition. Florida’s All-Americans include Mackenzie Caquatto (2
honors), Dickerson (2x), Hunter (4x), King (1x) and Sloan (4x).
