TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – University of Florida senior
Chrissy Van Fleet collected her first all-around title of the season Friday, but the No. 22 Gator gymnastics team fell to No. 2 Alabama 196.125-192.775 Friday evening in front of a Coleman Coliseum crowd of 9,282. The win moves the Tide to 7-0 for the season, while Florida drops to 0-7.
Van Fleet posted a 39.325 to claim her first all-around crown of the 2000 season. Alabama junior Robin Hawkins was second with an all-around total of 39.20, while UF's
Hilary Thompson took third at 37.775. Van Fleet also collected the evening's balance beam title with a season-best score of 9.875.
The depth-shy Gators were even more short-handed than expected for Friday's meet. Junior
Gabby Fuchs was expected to return to the UF lineup Friday after missing the season's opening competitions recovering from ankle surgery she underwent last fall. But Fuchs jammed her left ankle practicing her floor routine on Wednesday and she was held out of Friday's meet.
"There were definitely some bright spots and we showed improvement," UF Head Coach Judi Markell said. "We had some new people in some of the lineup positions and they came through for us. We sure missed Gabby, but we felt it was better to rest her and not risk her for future meets. Chrissy did a great job tonight – to win the all-around against such a respected opponent is quite an accomplishment."
The Gators opened the meet with a season-best total of 48.40 for the uneven bars. Van Fleet, who tied for third overall by matching the Gators ' 2000 season-best mark of 9.85, led Florida on the event. Florida moved to the next rotation just .35 behind No. 2 Alabama, but with injuries limiting UF to just five vaulters, the Gators couldn't match the strong scores produced by the Tide on the uneven bars. The Tide matched its season-best bars total of 49.325, led by Andree Pickens' winning bars mark of 9.925. Van Fleet again led the Gators, posting a vault mark of 9.75.
Florida turned in a total of 48.575 for the floor exercise and was led by Van Fleet's mark of 9.85, which tied for third overall. On the Gators' final event, the balance beam, the three UF gymnasts that hit their routines were spectacular, but the team score on the event was forced to count two falls. UF did sweep the balance beam event, led by Van Fleet's 9.875, while freshman
Lindsey Miner was second at 9.85 and junior
Teal Chiabotti was third at 9.80.
Next up, the Gators play host to Penn State and Massachusetts for The Subway Challenge on Friday, Jan. 28. Meet time is set for 7 p.m. in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
All-Around
Vault
Uneven Bars
Balance Beam
Floor Exercise
