Florida Gators

University of Florida junior Kristen Stucky's 22^nd birthday is especially memorable, thanks to her 10.0 mark on the balance beam Friday evening that set the school-record and helped lead the Gators (10-4, 3-3 SEC) to a 197.25-194.70 win over Kentucky (1-10, 0-6 SEC) in front of a Memorial Coliseum crowd of 2,053.

Stucky, who shared the previous school record of 9.975 with former Gator All-American Hilary Thompson, became the first Gator to earn a perfect 10.0 on beam in school history. She is the seventh Gator to earn the score during her collegiate career, joining other 10.0 scorers of Susan Hines (four times/vault), Erin Pendleton (one time/uneven bars), Kristen Guise (one time/bars), Amy Myerson (one time/bars), Pam Titus (one time/floor) and Chrissy Vogel (one time/floor).

"When it came up (the 10.0), it was so exciting. I was in shock," Stucky said. "The team gathered around me and congratulated me with hugs. It means a lot to me – it was really awesome.

Stucky is limited to bars and beam after undergoing anterior cruciate ligament surgery on both knees since arriving at Florida in the fall of 2000.

"I hope this shows how much I love this sport and want to do this for the Gators," Stucky continued. "To be able to fight back after all I've been through – I can't even comprehend what it all means to me."

Florida's team total of 197.25 Friday is the team's second-highest total of the 2004 season and moves into the No. 3 position on the Gator All-Time team scores chart. It is also the highest ever road score in school history. Three of the top-five all-time Florida team totals have been turned in this season.

"I think the most impressive thing about this evening is that we hit 27-for-27 because we even hit the exhibition routines as well. We were extremely consistent. The team had a calm confidence about them tonight. I know we could have stuck the landings a little bit better on vault and also on floor, but they performed amazingly once again. We still have a slightly different lineup with Orley (Szmuch) out on a couple of events and we were a bit watered down on some of our tumbling passes. But the most impressive tonight, obviously, was Kristen Stucky getting her 10.0. It was a great routine and I am very happy for her," UF Head Coach Rhonda Faehn said. "This meet was the perfect preparation for going into Nebraska on Sunday."

Florida opened the meet with a 49.375 on the uneven bars – its second-highest total for the event this season. Scores were very consistent for the Gators, as every member of the UF lineup turned in a bar mark of 9.85 or better. Stucky won her third consecutive uneven bars title with a 9.925. Orley Szmuch and Erinn Dooley each posted a 9.875 to share third in the final bars standings.

Florida also turned in its second-highest total of 2004 for the vault Friday with its 49.275. Freshman Katie Rue equaled her collegiate-best mark of 9.925 set a week ago to claim her second consecutive vault title. For the second consecutive week, freshman Savannah Evans reset her collegiate-best vault mark. This time, she shared third in the final vault standings with Szmuch at 9.85.

Florida tallied a 49.075 on the floor exercise. Dooley turned in the Gators' top floor mark with a 9.875 to take second in the final floor rankings. Freshman Breanne King shared third with UK's Julie Joy at 9.85.

The Gators finished the meet with a school-record balance beam team total of 49.525, thanks to marks of 9.85 or above from each of the Florida's five score contributors. The previous beam record of 49.50 was set in 2003 and matched earlier this season on Jan. 23. Stucky's 10.0 earned her the sixth beam crown of the season and 11^th of her collegiate-career. Rue matched her collegiate-best to share second with Dooley at 9.90.

Dooley claimed her second consecutive all-around title of the season with a 39.45 while King shared second with UK's Michelle Gales at 39.40. Gales also won Friday's floor title with a 9.90.

The Gators now head to Lincoln, Neb., where they will compete in the Master's Classic on Sunday, Feb. 29. The quad meet features No. 7 Nebraska, No. 26 Arizona State and Illinois. Meet time is set for 3:00 p.m. (ET) in the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Live scoring is available at http://www.huskers.com. Live streaming video of the Master's Classic is also available – log onto https://www.huskersnside.com// for more information.