Florida Gators
Florida Quad
No. 7 UF Gymnastics Team Sets Records in Quad Meet
Saturday, February 1, 2003 | Gymnastics
Junior Erin Pendleton had a perfect uneven bars mark of 10.0 to lead the No. 7 Florida Gators gymnastics team in their victory over No. 10 University of Washington (194.65), George Washington University (190.45) and University of Rhode Island (188.575). The Gators turned in a 196.950 performance - third highest total in school history and the best Gator score in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center - in front of 2,611 fans Friday night
Pendleton (Chesapeake, Va.) became the third Gator to score a 10.0 on the uneven bars. Former Gator All-Americans Kristen Guise and Amy Myerson both scored a 10.0 March 22, 1996. It was the first time a Gator gymnast scored a 10.0 since Susan Hines' 10.0 vault April 17, 1998 at the NCAA Championships.
"You try to concentrate on one skill at a time and all I was thinking about was sticking that dismount," Pendleton said. "I was hoping (for a 10) after I stuck the dismount. I was very excited."
Florida set or matched two school team event records Friday evening. Florida, the nation's top-ranked bars team, swept the top three places on the uneven bars for the third consecutive week. The Gators turned in a school-record total of 49.675 in the uneven bars, bettering the previous record of 49.50, which was last equaled Feb. 15, 2002. Pendleton took first place, followed by Kristen Stucky's (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) career-high performance of 9.975. Sophomore Orley Szmuch (Los Angeles, Calif.) took third with a season-high 9.95.
Assistant coach Randy Lane, who handles the Gators' coaching duties on the uneven bars, was impressed with his team's performance on bars.
"I think they want to go out and be better each time, and they're showing that," Lane said. "It's really nice to see them continuing to succeed every time they go out. I think they've only gotten better as the year's gone one, and it's pretty gratifying for me, as a coach."
Stucky and redshirt sophomore Erinn Dooley (Gaithersburg, Md.) led the Gators on the balance beam, as the team matched a school-record total of 49.350. For the second consecutive week, Stucky won the event title, this time with a collegiate-best performance of 9.95. Stacy Wong of University of Washington tied with Stucky for top beam honors. Dooley took home third place with a collegiate-best 9.925.
Head coach Rhonda Faehn said the meet went great, but it's "still the tip of the iceberg" for this Florida team.
"It's an improvement from last week's meet," Faehn said. "It was great for them to see that they almost scored a 197 with room for improvement on vault and floor. I think it was exciting because they had this energy and fire throughout the entire meet, which was different than last week and that was exciting to see."
Florida turned in a season-best total of 48.975 in the vault competition. Senior Lindsey Miner had a season-best 9.90 to share her second event title on the vault this season with three Huskies – Kelly McDonald, Emily Pritchard and Stacy Wong. Freshman Amanda Stroud (Blue Springs, Mo.) set a new collegiate best with a 9.825. Stroud performed a Yurchenko half twist on, front pike off, a vault she began practicing Thursday.
"She tried it for the first time yesterday," Faehn said. "She did a couple of them yesterday, and today she made it. It's a testament to her talent level."
Miner won her third consecutive floor title with a 9.90. Senior Jenny Carow, Stroud, and Szmuch turned in a 9.80, which tied for fifth overall.
Pritchard finished first in the all-around competition with a 39.325. Miner placed second for the second consecutive meet with a 39.05. Washington's Kelly McDonald rounded out the top three with a 39.00.
Next up, Florida travels to Baton Rouge, La., Feb. 7 to face the No. 15 LSU Tigers.
| Team Results | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total | |
| 1 | University of Florida | 48.975 | 49.675 | 49.350 | 48.950 | 196.950 |
| 2 | University of Washington | 49.375 | 48.800 | 48.800 | 47.675 | 194.650 |
| 3 | George Washington | 48.200 | 47.525 | 46.025 | 48.700 | 190.450 |
| 4 | University of Rhode Island | 46.700 | 46.725 | 46.725 | 48.425 | 188.575 |
