Florida Gators
Quad Meet
No. 3 Gymnasts Turn in a 197.225 to Win Quad Meet
Saturday, January 24, 2004 | Gymnastics
The No. 3 University of Florida gymnasts (8-1, 1-0 SEC) used the second-highest team score in school history of 197.225 to claim the team title at the quadrangular meet held Friday evening in front of a Stephen C. O'Connell Center crowd of 3,711. North Carolina State was second with a season-best total of 194.875, followed by Michigan State (194.475) and Illinois-Chicago (192.675). The Gators also swept the individual event titles Friday and matched Florida's team balance beam record.
Florida opened the meet with a season-best 49.25 team total on the vault. Every Gator turned in marks 9.80 or above Friday. Florida swept the event as junior Erinn Dooley used a season-best 9.875 to claim her first event title of the year. Three Gators crowded the runner-up spot on the awards stands with their vault marks of 9.85 - Orley Szmuch, Breanne King and Katie Rue.
Florida also turned in a 49.25 on the uneven bars, using marks of 9.825 or above toward the team tally. Senior Erin Pendleton shared her second consecutive bars title of the season with teammate Kristen Stucky, as each turned scores of 9.875. Szmuch was third at 9.85, while freshmen Samantha Lutz and King completed the Gator sweep of the top four bar positions with their identical marks of 9.825.
The Gators have been scoring well on the balance beam this season and Friday night was no exception, as the team matched the school beam record of 49.50 set on Feb. 14, 2003. Five Florida gymnasts stepped up on the awards stand Friday, led by junior Kristen Stucky. The All-American junior claimed her third consecutive beam title by matching her season-best mark of 9.95. Dooley matched her collegiate-best mark of 9.925 to take second, while Szmuch, King and Rue shared third at 9.875.
"In all honesty it isn't all that different from last year," UF Head Coach Rhonda Faehn said. "This year we have so much consistency and strength (on beam). Four out of our six competitors are upper classmen that have been there before. So if you take that and add in some excellent freshmen, that is a recipe for success."
Florida matched its season-best floor total of 49.225 for the second consecutive week. Szmuch used a 9.90 to claim her second consecutive floor crown. Dooley and Lutz shared second with NC State's Kylah Bachman at 9.85.
Friday's performance marked the second straight week the Gators had turned in one of the program's top scores. Last week vs. then No. 16 LSU, Florida turned in the then fifth-highest score in school history of 197.10. Faehn knew the Gators wanted to add to that success tonight.
"We had pushed all week that our focus was to compete against ourselves. We wanted to go in tonight and launch some new skills and some changes in the lineup," Faehn said. "We responded and performed very well."
Szmuch, the reigning Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Week, won her ninth career all-around title with her total of 39.475. King turned in a 39.375 for her second consecutive runner-up finish. Both Szmuch and King have finished among the top three all-arounders in every meet this season. Szmuch, who claimed her second consecutive all-around title of the season, was happy that her scores helped the Gators score well, but thinks the team can go even higher.
"I always want to win. I just try to focus on every event and get a good score for the team," Szmuch said. "I think we still have some room to improve. We are still working with the lineup so we can still get better."
Up next, the Gators travel to No. 2 Alabama for a SEC dual meet on Friday, Jan. 30. Meet time is set for 8:00 p.m. (ET) in the Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
| No. 3 Florida vs. Illinois-Chicago, Michigan State, NC State | ||||||
|
| Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | rank | Total |
| Florida | 49.250 | 49.250 | 49.500 | 49.225 | 1 | 197.225 |
| NC State | 48.725 | 48.325 | 48.900 | 48.925 | 2 | 194.875 |
| MSU | 48.475 | 48.075 | 48.900 | 49.025 | 3 | 194.475 |
| UIC | 48.300 | 47.700 | 47.725 | 48.950 | 4 | 192.675 |
