Florida Gators
Oregon State Quadrangular
No. 1 Florida Gymnasts Win Oregon State Quad Title
Saturday, January 14, 2006 | Gymnastics
The No. 1 University of Florida gymnastics team (4-0) picked up scoring power as it moved from event to event to claim first Friday at the Oregon State quadrangular in front of a Gill Coliseum crowd of 3,052. Florida turned in a total of 193.575, while No. 15 Oregon State was second a 192.20. Brigham Young (190.075) and Iowa (188.050) rounded out the team scoring Friday.
The Gator opened the meet on the balance beam. Although the first Gator on the event fell, the final five members of the lineup hit their routines. Scoring was tight on the event. Florida's team total of 47.60 certainly ranks among the team's all time lowest scores for an event that had no falls counted in the total. Freshman Corey Hartung won the event title with her score of 9.775. Samantha Lutz also provided UF with a beam mark of 9.55.
Florida scored better on their next event, the floor exercise, but a few low landings held the team score back to 48.30. Sophomore Tracey Rai earned the Gators' high score of 9.75 on the event, while junior Savannah Evans posted a 9.70. After two rotations, the Gators trailed Oregon State by .90 of a point.
On vault, the Gators looked strong, turning in the evening's high team total on the event of 48.75. Florida's first two competitors, Breanne King (9.65) and Rai (9.70) both stuck their landings to give the team a strong start on the event. Sophomores Ashley Reed and Tiffany Murry shared the meet's high score of 9.80. A pair of 9.725s were also turned in by sophomore Nicola Willis and Evans.
While the Gators were on vault, OSU was having problems on the balance beam, as three falls were computed toward their team total. UF headed into the final rotation with a 1.425 lead.
The uneven bars provided the Gators with their highest event score of the evening, 48.85, as every member of the UF lineup hit their routine. Senior Sherie Owens picked up her first collegiate uneven bars event title Friday, sharing the high score of 9.825 with OSU's Chrissy Lamun. Hartung took third with her mark of 9.80.
King placed third in the all-around at 38.35. Oregon State's Tasha Smith won the all-around at 38.80. Smith also won the evening's floor exercise title at 9.825.
“I thought we were a bit more conservative on beam than we were last week. When the first competitor fell, that put pressure on the remainder of the lineup. But I did see improvements in the performances – I thought Katie Rue's beam routine was the best of the season,” Faehn said. “The scoring was the most severe I've ever encountered, so those improvements may not show up on the score sheet.
“We had a tremendous performance on floor. Savannah Evans and Tracey Rai both had much better performances from last week,” she continued. “The vault definitely showed improvement from last week. It was good to get a couple of new faces in the lineup (King and Rai) from last week and they performed well. We finished strong on the bars. Sherie (Owens) nailed her dismount and I was so happy for her to get her first win.”
“We will continue with our plan to prep ourselves for the end of the season. The difficulty in our routines will remain, as we look to continue to improve on our execution. It is exciting to see how well this team is already performing.”
Florida continues road competition next Friday, Jan. 20 at No. 5 Alabama. The meet will bring awareness for breast cancer prevention and cures. Both teams will compete in pink leotards in next Friday's Drive 4 The Cure meet in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Meet time is set for 8:30 p.m. (ET) in the Coleman Coliseum.
| Final Team Standings | ||||||
| Oregon State Quadrangular – Jan. 13, 2006 – Gill Coliseum – Corvallis, Ore. | ||||||
|
| Team | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
| 1. | Florida | 48.750 | 48.850 | 47.600 | 48.375 | 193.575 |
| 2. | Oregon State | 48.175 | 48.650 | 46.475 | 48.90 | 192.200 |
| 3. | BYU | 48.225 | 48.200 | 46.375 | 47.275 | 190.075 |
| 4. | Iowa | 47.175 | 46.025 | 47.175 | 47.675 | 188.05 |
