Florida Gators

The No. 5 University of Florida gymnastics team (4-2, 1-0 SEC) won its first dual meet at Arkansas (0-2, 0-1 SEC) Friday evening in front of Barnhill Arena gymnastics record crowd of 5,427. The Gators turned in a 196.25, while No. 23 Arkansas tallied a 193.975. This is the first season for the Arkansas gymnastics program.

"We performed extremely well," UF Head Coach Rhonda Faehn said. "We put up different lineups on every event but floor and those competitors performed confidently. It's nice to know we have lots of options. We were testing out different competitors to see what types of scores they would received and how they would perform. It is crucial that we do this early in the season before the lineups get set.

"The crowd was phenomenal. They were very gracious and they appreciated all of our routines. It seems that Arkansas has gotten their gymnastics program off to a great start," she continued. "We are anticipating our first home competition next Friday. We look forward to presenting this team to the Gator fans."

The Gators swept the individual honors on every event Friday. Florida opened the meet with a solid set on the uneven bars, turning in a team score of 49.10 as the Gators took the top four individual spots. Junior Erin Pendleton led the Gators on the event for the second consecutive meet with her first-place mark of 9.90. Orley Szmuch and Kristen Stucky shared second at 9.825. Freshman Sherie Owens posted a 9.80 in her collegiate debut to take fourth overall.

Florida turned in a season-best 48.875 on the vault and owned a 97.975-96.625 led over the Lady Razorbacks at the midway point. Senior Lindsey Miner, a second-team All-American on the event, won the title with a Gator season-best mark of 9.875 for her handspring front pike with a half twist vault. Junior Kara Waterhouse took second with her collegiate-best mark of 9.85. Completing the UF sweep was Szmuch with her mark of 9.80.

The Gators posted a 49.30 on the floor exercise, just a fraction away from its season-best of 48.325 set at the Super Six Challenge. Two Gators used collegiate-best marks to share the evening's floor exercise title. Miner, who had matched her previous floor exercise best of 9.90 on eight occasions, upped that best to 9.925 to share the title with Szmuch. Waterhouse took third at 9.85 and Erinn Dooley completed the Gators sweep of the top four spots with a 9.825.

The Gators responded on the balance beam, as the Gators' final five competitors hit their routines after a fall from UF's first competitor. Waterhouse turned in her second collegiate-high mark of the night, winning the event with a 9.925. Stucky was second at 9.875, while Szmuch completed the Gator sweep with a 9.85.

Szmuch took the evening's all-around title with a 39.40, bumping Waterhouse to second at 39.35. The Lady Razorback's top all-arounder was Hannah McLeod, who finished third at 38.975.

"I think we performed extremely well, especially considering that we were coming off the Super Six Challenge," Szmuch said. "We had a few breaks, but we didn't have to count a fall, so we seemed to perform under the pressure.

"We are looking forward to competing on our home turf next weekend," she continued. "We are anxious to compete for our Gator fans."

Up next, the Gators will play host to Meet the Team Day on Sunday, Jan. 19 starting at 1:30 in the Ted Crom Gymnastics Studio, located in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Gator fans should enter at Gate 4. The event is free and the first 200 fans receive a sports watch, courtesy of Sunshine Network. The team and coaches will be available for autographs following the event.

Florida then plays host to the Dodge Premiere, its first home meet , on Friday, Jan. 24. The quad meet includes No. 12 Minnesota, No. 22 Kentucky, and No. 25 Bowling Green. Meet time is set for 7:00 p.m. in the O'Connell Center and admission is $4.00 for adults, while children and UF students with ID are admitted free.