Florida Gymnasts Third at UCLA Invitational
Saturday, February 20, 1999 | Gymnastics
The No. University of Florida gymnastics team took third overall at the UCLA Invitational Saturday evening in front of a Pauley Pavilion crowd of 3,789. No. 11 UCLA claimed the team title with a total of 194.275, followed by Arizona (192.275), Florida (190.475) and Cal State Fullerton (187.375).
UCLA's Lena Degteva won the evening's all-around title with a 39.25. She also shared first on the uneven bars with teammate Kiralee Hayashi at 9.85 and claimed the evening's balance beam (9.775) and floor exercise crowns (9.825). UCLA completed the sweep of the evening's event titles when Bruins Luisa Portocarrero and Heidi Moneymaker took the vault title with a 9.85. Florida junior Chrissy Van Fleet was fourth in the all-around at 38.825.
The Gators struggled on the floor exercise, their opening event of the meet, as UF was forced to count two falls and a step out of bounds toward their season-low floor total of 46.80. Van Fleet led the Gators on the event with a mark of 9.65. Florida also struggled on its next event, the vault, where it posted another season-low of 47.60. Van Fleet again led the Gators with a vault mark of 9.70.
Florida turned in its best event score of the evening on the uneven bars, where it tallied a 48.15. Sophomore Betsy Hamm was UF's top bars performer, taking third overall with a mark of 9.80. The Gators finished the meet on the balance beam, where they were forced to count one fall toward their beam team total of 47.925. UF freshman Hilary Thompson and Van Fleet were among a five-way tie for third on the beam at 9.725.
“We just didn't have it tonight. UCLA did a great job and would have been difficult to beat, but we just made too many mistakes tonight,” UF Head Coach Judi Markell said. “We had some bright spots, but not nearly enough.”
The Gators continue their road trip with a meet at No. 4 Utah on Monday, Feb. 22. Meet time is set for 9 p.m. (ET) at the Huntsman Center.
Players Mentioned
