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No. 1 Florida Gymnasts Earn Narrow Win at No. 9 LSU
Saturday, February 24, 2007 | Gymnastics
The No. 1 University of Florida (11-0-1, 5-0-1 SEC) gymnastics team earned a narrow 197.20-197.05 win at No. 9 LSU (7-5, 3-2 SEC) Friday evening in front of a Pete Maravich Assembly Center crowd of 3,320.
The narrow margin of victory is nothing new in the UF-LSU series. This was the 13th time in the last 25 meetings a contest between the two teams was decided by half a point or less.
Florida owned a .175 lead after three events, but a Gator win looked iffy on the last rotation when senior Katie Rue fell twice to start off UF's balance beam set. The falls were highly unusual for Rue, who hasn't had a miss on the event since Feb. 20, 2004 of her freshman season. But five hit routines by the remainder of the Gator beam lineup gave UF the win. Freshman Amanda Castillo anchored the beam lineup with a collegiate-best 9.925 to take her second beam title of the last three meets. She also won her second collegiate all-around title with her total of 39.40.
“Of course I felt a little pressure because our first person up is usually the most consistent. So we knew that since Katie didn't hit, we all needed to perform well,” Castillo said. “It was a little nerve wracking. I just took it one skill at a time. There is nothing else really you can do. Just do what you do in the gym and take it one skill at a time.”
Friday's pressure situation showed UF Head Coach Rhonda Faehn a trait she likes in this year's Gator team.
“It was not the situation we wanted to be in whatsoever, but what we were excited to see was the way this team fought,” Faehn said. “It was totally uncharacteristic of Katie tonight – she hasn't fallen on any event in two years. But for the gymnasts to get up there and hit, hit, hit right after that was great. Amanda (Castillo) hit the beam routine of her life and stuck her double pike (dismount).
“It just shows this is a different team; a fighting team that is much stronger mentally than in years past,” Faehn continued. “I'm just really proud of them.”
The lead was exchanged between the two meets during the evening. The Tigers roared out to a .075 lead after the opening rotation. LSU, the nation's No. 2 team on the vault, posted a 49.35 on the event. The nation's top-ranked vaulter is LSU's Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, who won Friday's event at 9.95. The Gators posted a 49.275 on the uneven bars and were led by junior Ashley Reed, who picked up her first uneven bars title of the season with her mark of 9.90. Melanie Sinclair shared second in the final bars standings with LSU's Summer Hubbard and Susan Jackson at 9.875.
On vault, Florida tied its second-highest total of the season at 49.30. Castillo turned in her collegiate-best mark of 9.90 for her Yurchenko layout with one and a half twist to tie for second overall with LSU's Nicki Butler. Reed earned a 9.875, while UF also got vault marks of 9.85 from both Savannah Evans and Breanne King.
Florida's final three floor performers (Castillo, Corey Hartung and Sinclair) all turned in marks of 9.90, which tied for second overall. The Gators tallied a 49.35 on the event.
Hartung, appearing in her first all-around competition of the season, tied for second overall with LSU's Kelly Phelan at 39.375. LSU's Clare-Kearney won Friday's floor title at 9.925. Reed tied for third with LSU's Phelan in the final beam standings at 9.875.
Next up, the Gators return home to play host to No. 21 North Carolina State (10-7) on Friday, March 2 in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. It is Chipotle Night and the first 1,000 fans will receive free burrito bucks courtesy of Chipotle. It is also Alumni Night and former Gator gymnasts and the 1982 AIAW National Championship team will be recognized. Admission is $4.00 for adults, while youth 17 and under and UF students with identification are admitted free.
No. 1 Florida versus No. 9 LSU | ||||||
| Pete Maravich Assembly Center (3,320) – Baton Rouge, La. – Feb. 23, 2007 | ||||||
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| Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Rank | Total |
| Florida | 49.300 | 49.275 | 49.275 | 49.350 | 1 | 197.200 |
| LSU | 49.350 | 49.125 | 49.275 | 49.300 | 2 | 197.050 |
