Florida Gators

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A sweep of the individual event titles – all with marks of 9.925 or better – helped the Gator gymnastics team take the win at Arkansas. The Gators took a 197.125-195.20 win over the Razorback in front of 3,507 at the Barnhill Arena Friday evening.
 

Florida Event Winners Friday
Vault:	Alicia Boren	9.925
	Rachel Slocum	9.925
Bars:	Alex McMurtry	9.975
Beam:	Rachel Gowey	9.900
Floor:	Alicia Boren	9.950
All-Around:	Alicia Boren	39.50

Friday was the Razorback's Pink meet. Most of the SEC's gymnastics teams will have a pink meet this season, with the intention to help raise awareness about the fight against breast cancer. Florida wore pink for the third time this season, as UF played host to their 11^th annual Link to Pink meet on Jan. 27 and were at Alabama's Power of Pink meet on Feb. 3.
 
Florida opened the meet on uneven bars. The high score on any event of the evening was junior Alex McMurtry's winning mark of 9.975 – just a fraction away from the perfect 10.0 she posted a week ago versus Georgia.
 
The Gators' high event total of the evening, 49.40, came on vault – the event that they top the national rankings. A Florida duo shared the evening's vault title at 9.925 - junior Rachel Slocum and sophomore Alicia Boren.
 
Boren anchored Florida's floor lineup by matching her collegiate-best of 9.95 for the fourth time of 2017. It was her second consecutive win with her top floor mark.
 
Florida finished the meet on balance beam. The first Gator, Kennedy Baker, had a rare miss. The remainder of Florida's lineup, although not perfect, did not record a fall. Freshman Rachel Gowey took her second beam title of the season with a 9.90. 
 
Gators took the top two spots in the final all-around standings. Boren, the reigning Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Week, used a 39.50 to take her second consecutive all-around win. Freshman Amelia Hundley was just behind Boren, taking second at 39.45.
 
GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES:

• McMurtry's win on uneven bars was her fifth of 2017 and the 11^th of her career.
• Boren and Slocum shared the vault win at 9.925. It was Slocum's fourth vault win of 2017 and Boren's second. Both have been in each of Florida's seven vault lineups this season and each have turned in six vault marks of 9.9 or better.
• In each of Boren's three all-around wins this season, she's also used a 9.95 to win that meet's floor title.
• Boren has turned in a floor mark of 9.95 in four of the last five meets. The fifth mark was a 9.925
• Gowey was the only gymnast of the meet to post a 9.9 on balance beam. That mark was just off her collegiate best of 9.925 turned in twice in 2017.

HEAR FROM THE GATORS:
On the team's pressure beam set:
"You never anticipate or want a fall to happen. However, when it does, it really shows the grit the team had. They were able to perform under that pressure of knowing they had to hit. It is a situation we try to replicate in training as everyone makes mistakes and everyone's got each other's back. Hopefully this is something we'll learn from and carry forward for the rest of the season." – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland
 
Another all-around win for Alicia Boren. What did you think of her performance tonight?
"So very proud of Alicia. She's been dedicating herself in and out of the gym this season. She's been working hard, paying attention to details and doing whatever she can to get better. That is really showing out on the competition floor. It may have not been her best night, but I saw some really good things here and there that I haven't seen in the past. Expect that everything will come together and with the hard work and dedication she's put forth, it's going to pay off." – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland
 
On the team's performance Friday:
"Tonight I thought we gave it our all. There were some mistakes here and there, but I think it is better to have them now than later in the season." – sophomore All-American Alicia Boren
 
Another all-around win for you. How did tonight's performance go for you?
"It felt really good. It is exciting and it shows the hard work is paying off. However, I wish I could have done better. I had mistakes on bars and beam, but overall, I'm happy." – sophomore All-American Alicia Boren
 
How did you think the team reacted after the fall early in the beam lineup?
"I think we handled it really well. I do think we were a little tense knowing that the next five routines needed to be hit the best we could, but we'll get it next time." – sophomore All-American Alicia Boren
 
RECORDS: Florida (6-1, 4-1 SEC); Arkansas (2-5, 2-4 SEC).
 
THE SERIES: Florida leads the series 38-3.
 
National Rank:
Florida – Florida is No. 3 in the sixth Road to Nationals poll.
UA – The Razorbacks are No. 23 in the Road to National poll.
 
UP NEXT:
SEC dual meet action continues Feb. 24 as the Gators play host to No. 15 Missouri. Meet time is set for 6:45 p.m. ET in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
 
Here's what is planned for Friday:
Green Meet- Stop by the Office of Sustainability and We Are Neutral tables to learn more about sustainability on the UF Campus.
Giveaway - The first 1000 fans in attendance will receive "The Story Continues" notebooks.
Student Giveaway - The first 500 UF students in attendance receive a Gators Gymnastics t-shirt.
Student Tailgate - At Gate 3, free pizza for the first 300 UF students, orange and blue body paint station, cornhole, football toss, and other games!
Kid's Club Check-In: Kid's Club members can check in at Kid's Corner
Rowdy Reptile Check-In - Students can check in at the meet via the Rowdy Reptile app from 6-7PM to earn 3 points towards great prizes! Visit the app store to download the free app.
GIF Booth - Fans can create their very own custom GIF at the GIF Booth! It's just like a photo booth, but you can create GIFs to text, post, and share. And be sure to use #GoGators!
 
Friday's meet is also Florida's fifth of six consecutive dual meet appearances on the SEC Network. The announce team for the meet consists of Olympian Courtney Kupets, Holly Rowe and Lauren Sisler will announce from the sideline.
 
The meet will also stream on SEC Network +.
 
Visit the Gators ticket site for complete information about getting tickets for Friday's meet.
 

	Single Meet
Reserved Adult Tickets:	$8
Reserved Youth (12 & under)	$8
General Admission Adult	$5
General Admission Youth (12 & under)	Free
UF Students w/ Gator1 ID	Free

 

No. 3 Florida at No. 23 Arkansas Final Team Totals
Feb. 17, 2017 – Barnhill Arena (3,507)
Team	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
Florida	49.400	49.350	49.125	49.250	197.125
Arkansas	48.950	48.950	47.975	49.325	195.200

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