Thursday, April 22
Salt Lake City, UT
12:00 AM
Florida Gators
at
NCAA Championships
Gator Gymnastics Team Finishes 10th at NCAA Championships
Thursday, April 22, 1999 | Gymnastics
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The University of Florida gymnastics team placed 10th overall at the NCAA Championships to finish its 1999 season. The Gators posted a team total of 194.00 to tie with Stanford for the 10th position. Florida finished sixth in the NCAA Championships' evening session of the team competition and did not advance to Friday's NCAA "Super Six", where the national team champion will be determined.
Georgia, the defending NCAA team champion, won the evening session with a total of 197.025. Also advancing to the Super Six from the evening session was Michigan (196.575) and Nebraska (196.225). The teams advancing to the Super Six from Thursday's afternoon session are UCLA (196.425), Alabama (194.95) and Arizona State (194.525). The other team scores from Thursday's competition include Utah in seventh place at 195.475, followed by Penn State (194.775), Louisiana State (194.475), Florida and Stanford (194.00) and West Virginia (191.85).
Florida junior Chrissy Van Fleet turned in a solid performance for the Gators Thursday, earning All-America second-team honors for taking ninth in the all-around with a total of 39.325. The NCAA all-around winner was Utah freshman Theresa Kulikowski, who turned in a total of 39.675, while Georgia senior Karin Lichey was runner-up at 39.575.
Florida was without one of its top all-arounders Thursday, as junior All-American Jaime Graziano was suspended from competition. Graziano owned a season-best all-around score of 39.175, set in March at Maryland. She was slated to perform as an all-arounder Thursday.
"We had a rough performance on the beam," UF Head Coach Judi Markell said. "The other three events were pretty solid for us, though. We just didn't quite have it tonight. We had such a small team (eight athletes), but we showed a lot of heart. Chrissy Van Fleet looked good on every event tonight. Teal (Chiabotti), who hasn't competed beam and floor since the end of February, really came through for us tonight. Hilary (Thompson) showed how tough she was tonight, as she competed in three events even after spraining an ankle last Friday.
"All season long we struggled with the lack of depth," Markell continued. "I think it will make us a better team for next year."
Florida opened the meet with a solid vault performance, posting a team score of 48.65. Van Fleet led the Gators on the event with a 9.85. The Gators then posted a 48.55 on the uneven bars – their lowest total by almost half a point in the last six meets. Although the Gators counted no falls in their bars team total, several stumbles and breaks counted toward the final total. Van Fleet again led UF on the event, posting a mark of 9.80.
The balance beam, which had been a strong event for the Gators in recent meets, was UF's downfall Thursday, as two falls were tallied into the team's beam score of 47.95. Included among the Gator gymnasts that suffered falls Thursday was sophomore Betsy Hamm, the defending NCAA beam champion. She posted a 9.25 and will not advance to Saturday's individual event finals to defend her title. Florida did get solid beam scores from the gymnasts that stayed on the apparatus, as Maryann Esposito turned in a collegiate-best 9.80, sophomore Teal Chiabotti posted a season-best 9.825 and Van Fleet led UF with a mark of 9.875.
Florida finished with a floor team score of 48.825. Chiabotti, who replaced Graziano in UF's floor lineup, led UF on the event with a collegiate-best mark of 9.85. Sophomore Gabby Fuchs and Van Fleet also turned in floor marks of 9.80 for the Gators.
No Gator gymnasts advanced to the NCAA Individual Event Finals, set for Saturday, April 24 at 9 p.m. (ET). Van Fleet did pick up All-America second team honors for the all-around, vault, uneven bars and balance beam. She now owns a total of 10 collegiate All-America honors.
Georgia, the defending NCAA team champion, won the evening session with a total of 197.025. Also advancing to the Super Six from the evening session was Michigan (196.575) and Nebraska (196.225). The teams advancing to the Super Six from Thursday's afternoon session are UCLA (196.425), Alabama (194.95) and Arizona State (194.525). The other team scores from Thursday's competition include Utah in seventh place at 195.475, followed by Penn State (194.775), Louisiana State (194.475), Florida and Stanford (194.00) and West Virginia (191.85).
Florida junior Chrissy Van Fleet turned in a solid performance for the Gators Thursday, earning All-America second-team honors for taking ninth in the all-around with a total of 39.325. The NCAA all-around winner was Utah freshman Theresa Kulikowski, who turned in a total of 39.675, while Georgia senior Karin Lichey was runner-up at 39.575.
Florida was without one of its top all-arounders Thursday, as junior All-American Jaime Graziano was suspended from competition. Graziano owned a season-best all-around score of 39.175, set in March at Maryland. She was slated to perform as an all-arounder Thursday.
"We had a rough performance on the beam," UF Head Coach Judi Markell said. "The other three events were pretty solid for us, though. We just didn't quite have it tonight. We had such a small team (eight athletes), but we showed a lot of heart. Chrissy Van Fleet looked good on every event tonight. Teal (Chiabotti), who hasn't competed beam and floor since the end of February, really came through for us tonight. Hilary (Thompson) showed how tough she was tonight, as she competed in three events even after spraining an ankle last Friday.
"All season long we struggled with the lack of depth," Markell continued. "I think it will make us a better team for next year."
Florida opened the meet with a solid vault performance, posting a team score of 48.65. Van Fleet led the Gators on the event with a 9.85. The Gators then posted a 48.55 on the uneven bars – their lowest total by almost half a point in the last six meets. Although the Gators counted no falls in their bars team total, several stumbles and breaks counted toward the final total. Van Fleet again led UF on the event, posting a mark of 9.80.
The balance beam, which had been a strong event for the Gators in recent meets, was UF's downfall Thursday, as two falls were tallied into the team's beam score of 47.95. Included among the Gator gymnasts that suffered falls Thursday was sophomore Betsy Hamm, the defending NCAA beam champion. She posted a 9.25 and will not advance to Saturday's individual event finals to defend her title. Florida did get solid beam scores from the gymnasts that stayed on the apparatus, as Maryann Esposito turned in a collegiate-best 9.80, sophomore Teal Chiabotti posted a season-best 9.825 and Van Fleet led UF with a mark of 9.875.
Florida finished with a floor team score of 48.825. Chiabotti, who replaced Graziano in UF's floor lineup, led UF on the event with a collegiate-best mark of 9.85. Sophomore Gabby Fuchs and Van Fleet also turned in floor marks of 9.80 for the Gators.
No Gator gymnasts advanced to the NCAA Individual Event Finals, set for Saturday, April 24 at 9 p.m. (ET). Van Fleet did pick up All-America second team honors for the all-around, vault, uneven bars and balance beam. She now owns a total of 10 collegiate All-America honors.
TEAM TOTALS * Session IIThursday, April 22, 1999 | |||||||
| Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | rank | Total | ||
| Georgia | 49.300 | 49.175 | 49.400 | 49.150 | 1 | 197.025 | |
| Michigan | 48.800 | 49.175 | 49.225 | 49.375 | 2 | 196.575 | |
| Nebraskaa | 48.925 | 48.950 | 49.075 | 49.275 | 3 | 196.225 | |
| Utah | 48.950 | 49.250 | 48.050 | 49.225 | 4 | 195.475 | |
| Penn State | 48.550 | 48.950 | 48.600 | 48.675 | 5 | 194.775 | |
| Floridaoda | 48.675 | 48.550 | 47.950 | 48.825 | 6 | 194.000 | |
Players Mentioned
V, BB, FX
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