Florida's Amanda Castillo Named SEC Gymnast of the Week
Tuesday, February 19, 2008 | Gymnastics
University of Florida sophomore Amanda Castillo (Sanford, Fla.) is the Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday. This is the second SEC Gymnast of the Week honor of her career and she is the second Gator to pick up the honor in 2008. Melanie Sinclair was named the SEC Gymnast of the Week after the 2008 season opener.
Castillo was awarded the SEC Gymnast of the Week after she used a collegiate-best all-around total of 39.575 to win her first title of the season and the third of her Gator career. Castillo also used collegiate-best marks to collect two other event titles Friday versus then No. 6 LSU. She picked up her fifth floor title of 2008 by equaling her collegiate-best of 9.95 for the first time this season. She upped her uneven bars best to 9.95 to share that title with teammates Nicola Willis and Sinclair. In addition, Castillo tied for second overall in the UF-LSU balance beam competition at 9.875.
| Florida's SEC Gymnasts of the Week | |
| Name | Date |
| Amanda Castillo | Feb. 19, 2008 |
| Melanie Sinclair | Jan. 15, 2008 |
| Melanie Sinclair | March 20, 2007 |
| Amanda Castillo | Feb. 27, 2007 |
| Ashley Reed | Feb. 6, 2007 |
| Corey Hartung | Feb. 7, 2006 |
| Ashley Reed | March 1, 2005 |
| Savannah Evans | Feb. 1, 2005 |
| Erinn Dooley | March 16, 2004 |
| Erinn Dooley | March 2, 2004 |
| Orley Szmuch | Jan. 20, 2004 |
| Orley Szmuch | Feb. 11, 2003 |
| Orley Szmuch | Jan. 29, 2002 |
| Hilary Thompson | Jan. 30, 2001 |
| Chrissy Van Fleet | Feb. 22, 2000 |
| Chrissy Van Fleet | Feb. 15, 2000 |
Castillo is second among the 2008 Gators with 11 event titles. In the Feb. 18 national rankings, Castillo is tied for second on the balance beam (regional qualifying score: 9.855) and fourth on floor (RQS: 9.885). As a freshman in 2007, Castillo earned four All-America honors.
Castillo and the rest of the No. 3 Gator gymnastics team travels to Chapel Hill, N.C., to meet North Carolina for a Feb. 22 dual meet. Meet time is set for 7 p.m. in the Carmichael Arena.
