Saturday, March 18
Jacksonville, FL
6 p.m.
Florida Gators
vs
Southeastern Conference Championships
The Gators cheer a floor routine at the 2017 Southeastern Conference Championships. Florida took second at 197.825.
Gators Second in SEC Championships
Saturday, March 18, 2017 | Gymnastics
Juniors Alex McMurtry and Kennedy Baker finish one-two in SEC all-around
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A one-two finish in the Southeastern Conference Championships' all-around wasn't enough for the Gator gymnastics team Saturday. The SEC Championships' team finishes followed the pre-meet seeds, as the LSU Tigers took the win, while Florida was second.
LSU made it a sweep of the 2017 SEC gymnastics titles Saturday with its win in front of 5,364 at the Veterans Memorial Arena. Earlier this month, LSU claimed the first-ever SEC regular-season title with a 7-0 league record. Tonight, LSU claimed its second SEC Championship – and first since 1981 – with a score of 198.075.
The Gators were second at 197.825 – its third-highest total of the season and road-high of 2017. The top two team totals rank among the all-time best in SEC Championships' history, as LSU's 198.075 is the third highest in the meet's 37-year history. Florida's 197.825 is its second-highest in SEC Championship action, just behind the previous SEC high of 198.00 set by the 2013 Gators.
The same two Gators that took the top two spots in the 2016 SEC all-around reversed order in the 2017 final standings. Alex McMurtry won the 2017 SEC title with a collegiate-best 39.70, while fellow junior Kennedy Baker was second at 39.65, also a collegiate best. It was the first all-around win for McMurtry of her Gator career.
Other team scores Saturday included Alabama (197.40), Georgia (196.70), Kentucky (196.625), Auburn (196.55), Missouri (195.825) and Arkansas (194.90).
Gators in the Meet:
Florida opened the meet on uneven bars. The last two Gators, Amelia Hundley and McMurtry, led the Gators on the event with a 9.90. That score shared third in the final bars standings. It was a good performance for UF on the event, but steps or hops on dismounts dinged the Gators score.
Balance beam was a solid rotation for the Gators, as Baker opened the set by equaling her collegiate-best of 9.925 to take fourth. Florida also got a pair of 9.9s from freshman Rachel Gowey and McMurtry, which shared fifth overall.
Florida's final three floor performers put up the meet's leading marks for the event. Baker and McMurtry's 9.95 were among a four-way tie for first in the final floor standings. Sophomore Alicia Boren's 9.925 was right behind to share fifth overall.
The Gators turned in their high event total of the meet (49.525) on vault, its finishing event. A trio of Gator juniors led UF on the event, as McMurtry and Rachel Slocum shared second overall at 9.95 and Baker was sixth at 9.925.
Four Gators competed as all-arounders, with all finishing in the top seven. After McMurtry and Baker's one-two finish, Boren was sixth at 39.475 and Hundley took seventh (39.45).
Gator Performance Notes:
SEC Honors
Six Gators earned All-SEC or SEC All-Freshman in Saturday's competition.
The All-SEC Team is comprised of the student-athletes with the top two event scores (including ties) in each session of the SEC Championships. The All-Freshman team is comprised of the freshmen student-athlete with the top score (including ties) on each event in each SEC Championships' session.
All-Around Strong:
McMurtry's all-around win Saturday gives Florida five all-around winners in 2017 – a school record. Each of the five who have competed as all-arounders in 2017 have won all-around titles – Baker (2), Boren (4), Gowey (1), Hundley (2) and McMurtry (1).
That is the largest variety of winners in the program's history. Florida set the previous largest number of all-around winners of four in a single season in 1987 and also had four in 2007, 2008 and 2017.
Quoting the Gators:
Florida's performance tonight:
"They put on an amazing show. They had a great time doing it and there was so much good tonight. We have to take a step back and say 'Wow' because it was an awesome night. We had a great time. Yes, there is room for improvement but that fuels the fire. We're going to get back in the gym and keep working hard." – Florida head coach Jenny Rowland.
On her all-around win:
"This was the first meet of the season that I've hit all four events. It seems like the right meet to do it and I'm really happy I took the all-around." – Florida junior All-American Alex McMurtry.
What type of things will the team work on as they prepare for Regionals?
"There are still some little things. I didn't stick my beam or bar dismount, which is kind of uncharacteristic for me. We all have little things we can touch up. That's what we'll be looking for – the little details."
"We brought the energy, so I don't think that's the problem. We just need to fight for those little details. We didn't give up, so really proud of this team. But every tenth counts, every half-tenth counts so that's what we need to work on." – Florida junior All-American Alex McMurtry
Team's performance tonight:
"Honestly, that was our best meet of the season. We went out there and competed to the best of our ability. Frustrated with the result, but I couldn't have asked for more from this team. I think we went out there and gave it our all."
"We lost because of little things. We are going to focus and fine-tune our skills as we prepare for Regionals." – junior All-American Kennedy Baker.
SEC EVENT CHAMPIONS:
National Rank:
Florida – Florida is No. 4 in the 10th Road to Nationals poll. The rankings now listed by regional qualifying average (top two road, home and then next two highest totals. The high is discarded, with the total of the remaining scores divided by five to compute RQS).
Four teams are ranked among the March 13 top 10 - No. 2 LSU, No. 6 Alabama, No. 8 Georgia.
Up Next:
Florida finds out the five other teams heading to Gainesville for NCAA Regional Championship action. The event is set for Saturday, April 1 at 4 p.m. in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
The announcement of the fields for 2017 NCAA Regional Championship action are revealed Monday, March 20 at 4 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
Each of the six regional sites will have six-team fields. The top two teams at each regional site advances to the NCAA Championships, which makes its first appearance at the Chaifetz Arena, April 14-15 in St. Louis, Mo.
LSU made it a sweep of the 2017 SEC gymnastics titles Saturday with its win in front of 5,364 at the Veterans Memorial Arena. Earlier this month, LSU claimed the first-ever SEC regular-season title with a 7-0 league record. Tonight, LSU claimed its second SEC Championship – and first since 1981 – with a score of 198.075.
The Gators were second at 197.825 – its third-highest total of the season and road-high of 2017. The top two team totals rank among the all-time best in SEC Championships' history, as LSU's 198.075 is the third highest in the meet's 37-year history. Florida's 197.825 is its second-highest in SEC Championship action, just behind the previous SEC high of 198.00 set by the 2013 Gators.
The same two Gators that took the top two spots in the 2016 SEC all-around reversed order in the 2017 final standings. Alex McMurtry won the 2017 SEC title with a collegiate-best 39.70, while fellow junior Kennedy Baker was second at 39.65, also a collegiate best. It was the first all-around win for McMurtry of her Gator career.
Other team scores Saturday included Alabama (197.40), Georgia (196.70), Kentucky (196.625), Auburn (196.55), Missouri (195.825) and Arkansas (194.90).
Gators in the Meet:
Florida opened the meet on uneven bars. The last two Gators, Amelia Hundley and McMurtry, led the Gators on the event with a 9.90. That score shared third in the final bars standings. It was a good performance for UF on the event, but steps or hops on dismounts dinged the Gators score.
Balance beam was a solid rotation for the Gators, as Baker opened the set by equaling her collegiate-best of 9.925 to take fourth. Florida also got a pair of 9.9s from freshman Rachel Gowey and McMurtry, which shared fifth overall.
Florida's final three floor performers put up the meet's leading marks for the event. Baker and McMurtry's 9.95 were among a four-way tie for first in the final floor standings. Sophomore Alicia Boren's 9.925 was right behind to share fifth overall.
The Gators turned in their high event total of the meet (49.525) on vault, its finishing event. A trio of Gator juniors led UF on the event, as McMurtry and Rachel Slocum shared second overall at 9.95 and Baker was sixth at 9.925.
Four Gators competed as all-arounders, with all finishing in the top seven. After McMurtry and Baker's one-two finish, Boren was sixth at 39.475 and Hundley took seventh (39.45).
Gator Performance Notes:
- A Gator has won the SEC all-around five of the last six years. McMurtry is the eighth different Gator to win the league's all-around.
- In Florida's 45-year history of gymnastics, 46 different gymnasts have won an all-around title. McMurtry is only to claim the SEC crown as her first collegiate all-around win.
- In the last 11 years, the SEC floor exercise title has gone to a Gator (or Gators) in in six meets. The last time a pair of Gators shared the SEC floor title was in 2013 when Gator Greats Kytra Hunter and Bridget Sloan tied for the title.
- McMurtry has won an SEC event title each season of her collegiate career – vault (2015), beam (2016) and all-around and floor (2017).
- Baker is now a three-time SEC event winner – all-around and vault (2016) and floor (2017).
- Baker made her first all-around appearance since the Feb. 3 at Alabama. She equaled a trio of collegiate-bests Saturday - vault (9.95), beam (9.925) and all-around (39.65).
- Slocum was one of three Gators to earn All-SEC honors on vault. She now has earned all-conference honors in two leagues as she was a 2016 All-Mid-American Conference selection on vault.
SEC Honors
Six Gators earned All-SEC or SEC All-Freshman in Saturday's competition.
The All-SEC Team is comprised of the student-athletes with the top two event scores (including ties) in each session of the SEC Championships. The All-Freshman team is comprised of the freshmen student-athlete with the top score (including ties) on each event in each SEC Championships' session.
| Gator Gymnast | All-SEC (Qualifying Events) | SEC All-Freshman (Qualifying Events) |
| Kennedy Baker | All-Around, Vault, Beam, Floor | |
| Alicia Boren | Floor | |
| Rachel Gowey | Beam | |
| Amelia Hundley | Bars | Bars, Floor, All-Around |
| Alex McMurtry | All-Around, Vault, Bars, Floor | |
| Rachel Slocum | Vault |
All-Around Strong:
McMurtry's all-around win Saturday gives Florida five all-around winners in 2017 – a school record. Each of the five who have competed as all-arounders in 2017 have won all-around titles – Baker (2), Boren (4), Gowey (1), Hundley (2) and McMurtry (1).
That is the largest variety of winners in the program's history. Florida set the previous largest number of all-around winners of four in a single season in 1987 and also had four in 2007, 2008 and 2017.
Quoting the Gators:
Florida's performance tonight:
"They put on an amazing show. They had a great time doing it and there was so much good tonight. We have to take a step back and say 'Wow' because it was an awesome night. We had a great time. Yes, there is room for improvement but that fuels the fire. We're going to get back in the gym and keep working hard." – Florida head coach Jenny Rowland.
On her all-around win:
"This was the first meet of the season that I've hit all four events. It seems like the right meet to do it and I'm really happy I took the all-around." – Florida junior All-American Alex McMurtry.
What type of things will the team work on as they prepare for Regionals?
"There are still some little things. I didn't stick my beam or bar dismount, which is kind of uncharacteristic for me. We all have little things we can touch up. That's what we'll be looking for – the little details."
"We brought the energy, so I don't think that's the problem. We just need to fight for those little details. We didn't give up, so really proud of this team. But every tenth counts, every half-tenth counts so that's what we need to work on." – Florida junior All-American Alex McMurtry
Team's performance tonight:
"Honestly, that was our best meet of the season. We went out there and competed to the best of our ability. Frustrated with the result, but I couldn't have asked for more from this team. I think we went out there and gave it our all."
"We lost because of little things. We are going to focus and fine-tune our skills as we prepare for Regionals." – junior All-American Kennedy Baker.
SEC EVENT CHAMPIONS:
| All-Around | Alex McMurtry | Florida | 39.70 |
| Vault | Ashleigh Gnat | LSU | 10.0 |
| Bars | Katie Bailey | Alabama | 9.95 |
| Lexie Priessman | LSU | 9.95 | |
| Beam | Kiana Winston | Alabama | 9.95 |
| Alex Hyland | Kentucky | 9.95 | |
| Ashleigh Gnat | LSU | 9.95 | |
| Floor | Kennedy Baker | Florida | 9.95 |
| Alex McMurtry | Florida | 9.95 | |
| McKenna Kelley | LSU | 9.95 | |
| Ashleigh Gnat | LSU | 9.95 |
National Rank:
Florida – Florida is No. 4 in the 10th Road to Nationals poll. The rankings now listed by regional qualifying average (top two road, home and then next two highest totals. The high is discarded, with the total of the remaining scores divided by five to compute RQS).
Four teams are ranked among the March 13 top 10 - No. 2 LSU, No. 6 Alabama, No. 8 Georgia.
Up Next:
Florida finds out the five other teams heading to Gainesville for NCAA Regional Championship action. The event is set for Saturday, April 1 at 4 p.m. in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
The announcement of the fields for 2017 NCAA Regional Championship action are revealed Monday, March 20 at 4 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
Each of the six regional sites will have six-team fields. The top two teams at each regional site advances to the NCAA Championships, which makes its first appearance at the Chaifetz Arena, April 14-15 in St. Louis, Mo.
| No. 4 Florida at Southeastern Conference Championships Final Team Totals |
|||||
| March 18, 2017 – Veterans Memorial Arena (5,364) | |||||
| Team | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
| LSU | 49.575 | 49.450 | 49.500 | 49.550 | 198.075 |
| Florida | 49.525 | 49.375 | 49.450 | 49.475 | 197.825 |
| Alabama | 49.400 | 49.350 | 49.400 | 49.250 | 197.400 |
| Georgia | 49.125 | 49.250 | 49.275 | 49.050 | 196.700 |
| Kentucky | 49.100 | 49.200 | 49.325 | 49.000 | 196.625 |
| Auburn | 49.150 | 49.225 | 49.050 | 49.125 | 196.550 |
| Missouri | 49.075 | 48.750 | 49.100 | 48.900 | 195.825 |
| Arkansas | 48.925 | 48.825 | 48.525 | 48.625 | 194.900 |
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