The No. 16 University of Florida gymnastics team (11-9, 2-3 SEC) stood close to the No. 3 University of Utah (8-2) after three rotations, but trouble on the balance beam placed the Gators behind the Utes in the final standings. The Utes won the meet 196.75-195.25 in front of a Huntsman Center crowd of 9,419.
The Gators opened the meet with a strong uneven bars set, turning in a 49.15 – the third highest team total for the event this season. Four Florida gymnasts turned in marks of 9.825 or better Saturday and were led by freshman Orley Szmuch's 9.90, which took fourth overall. After the first rotation, the Gators trailed the Utes by just one tenth.
The Gators then rotated to the vault, where they turned in a 48.925 – also the team's third-highest total for the event in 2002. Junior Lindsey Miner won her first vault title of the season with a collegiate-best mark of 9.925. The Utes lead grew to .725 after turning in an exceptionally strong 49.55 on their second event, the uneven bars. Three Utes turned in marks of 9.925 or better on the bars Saturday evening, including 1999 NCAA all-around champion Theresa Kulikowski, who won the event with a 9.95.
The Utah lead narrowed to just .025 after the third rotation. The Gators turned in 49.175 on the floor exercise while the Utes struggled on the balance beam. The first three U beam competitor fell, forcing the Utes to count two falls toward their final beam total of 48.475. Three Gators posted floor marks of 9.85 or better Saturday – Miner (9.85), Szmuch (9.875) and Hilary Thompson (9.90). Thompson took third overall in the final floor standings.
On their final event, the balance beam, the Gators were forced to count a fall and a couple of major bobbles toward their team total of 48.00. The Utes expanded their lead to the final margin of 1.5 points after turning in a strong 49.475 on the floor exercise. Miner led UF on the beam with her fourth-place score of 9.80. Kulikowski claimed the beam title Saturday with a 9.95. The Utes' Shannon Bowles and Annabeth Eberle also used marks of 9.95 to share the floor title.
In the evening's all-around competition, Bowles took the title with a 39.425. Florida sophomore Kara Waterhouse shared third in the all-around with Veronique Leclerc at 38.975.
"Until we got to balance beam, I thought we were performing great. I would have liked to finish strong – that is something we need to improve on," UF Head Coach Judi Markell said. "Utah looked great – from what I saw, they looked very controlled and had great form."
The 22nd Annual Southeastern Conference Championships are next for the Gator gymnasts. The meet, which will include five of the nation's current top 25, is set for Saturday, March 23 at 7:00 p.m. CT in Birmingham's Bartow Arena.
Team Totals
| | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | rank | Total |
| Utah | 49.25 | 49.55 | 48.475 | 49.475 | 1 | 196.75 |
| Florida | 48.925 | 49.15 | 48.00 | 49.175 | 2 | 195.25 |
