No. 3 Florida Gymnastics Team Hands No. 2 Utah its First Loss of 2008; 197.70-196.875
Saturday, March 15, 2008 | Gymnastics
The No. 3 Florida gymnastics team (8-2, 4-2 SEC) finished its 2008 regular season slate with a 197.70-196.875 win over previously undefeated and No. 2 Utah (10-1) Friday evening in front of a Stephen C. O'Connell Center crowd of 4,274. Florida's score of 197.70 is its second-highest of 2008 and the fifth-highest in school history.
Florida relied heavily on its all-arounders Friday, as five competed in each of the four events. It was the first time since 1994 that Florida had as many all-arounders in a meet and the handful of competitors responded. The Gators took the top four spots in the all-around and four of UF's five all-arounders turned in collegiate- or season-best totals.
Sophomore All-American Amanda Castillo kept the Gators' all-around win streak current by picking up her second title of the season, raising her collegiate-best total for the second time in 2008 to a 39.625 Friday. A Gator has won the all-around in each of the team's 10 meets this season.
"Individually it means that I had a great performance but ultimately, my performance was for the team," Castillo said.
Sophomore All-American Melanie Sinclair upped her collegiate-best to 39.575 Friday to take second overall. She was followed by junior All-American Corey Hartung, who turned in her third-consecutive all-around total of 39.50, which placed her third. Senior All-American Ashley Reed was fourth with her season-best total of 39.45. Fellow senior Nicola Willis, competing as an all-arounder for only the fourth time of her UF career, equaled her collegiate-best total of 39.40 to take sixth. Utah senior Ashley Postell, the nation's No. 1 ranked all-arounder, was fifth at 39.425.
Three individual collegiate-best event marks were set or matched, giving UF a total of six collegiate-bests for the evening. Hartung and Castillo shared the floor exercise title as each matched their collegiate-best marks of 9.95. Sophomore Maranda Smith nailed her debut of her double front with a half twist dismount to earn a collegiate-best uneven bars mark of 9.85.
Friday's meet featuring No. 3 Florida versus No. 2 Utah was the sixth home competition between a pair of top-five teams since Rhonda Faehn arrived for the 2003 season. Florida is now 4-2 in home duals featuring top-five teams since 2003. | |||
Home Duals Featuring Top 5 Teams - Since 2003 | |||
Date | Opponent | UF Rank | Result |
3/14/08 | No. 2 Utah | No. 3 | W, 197.70-196.875 |
1/18/08 | No. 2 Georgia | No. 1 | L, 196.85-196.825 |
1/19/07 | No. 4 Alabama | No. 1 | W, 196.825-195.65 |
3/17/06 | No. 2 Utah | No. 3 | W, 197.325-196.675 |
1/27/06 | No. 1 Georgia | No. 5 | L, 197.025-196.60 |
1/28/05 | No. 4 Alabama | No. 5 | W, 196.55-196.35 |
Three shared first on the bars Friday at 9.90 – Castillo, Sinclair and Utah's Kristina Baskett. The balance beam title was shared by Castillo and Reed at 9.90. Postell took her seventh vault title of the season Friday at 9.95.
The Gators had a week off from competition, using the time to polish their routines to try to earn every tenth possible. Florida Head Coach Rhonda Faehn liked what she saw from the Gators.
"I don't know if we can do much better than we did tonight. They just put everything together," Faehn said. "That's really what we will be looking for as we continue on through the season. We looked fresh and sharp. We really were working on our landings, and I think that paid off tonight. We are excited by not only how well our team performed but with the positive way for our seniors to go out in the O'Connell Center."
Castillo said the extra time in the practice gym showed Friday.
"We had an excellent two weeks of practice, and we are just really confident in ourselves right now," Castillo said. "We were just having fun because it was Senior Night. I think if you are out there having fun – it's a lot less pressure on yourself because you are not really thinking about performing your best. You just want to have fun so the energy rubs off on everyone, and we just end up doing well."
Florida reduced its number of regular-season meets from 13 in 2007 to 10 in hopes of keeping the team fresh for the post-season push. That plan seems to be working, Hartung said.
"This year we are definitely on the right track," Hartung said. "We are feeling great and every meet we are just getting better and better."
Friday's meet marked the final regular-season home performance for the Gators' trio of seniors – Tiffany Murry, Reed and Willis. Performing well for its seniors was on the minds of the team.
"They are wonderful, all three of them. Every year it's sad to compete in the senior's last meet in the O'Dome," Hartung said. "They have contributed so much to this team, and they are great leaders in the gym and outside the gym. It's wonderful to have them, and at the same time, sad to see them go."
Florida's seniors will have a chance to compete once again in the O'Connell Center, as the team plays host to the NCAA Southeast Region Championship April 12.
Florida takes a week off from competition before heading to Duluth, Ga., for the Southeastern Conference Championships. The Gators are the defending SEC champions, winning their sixth team title last year in North Little Rock, Ark. The SEC Championships are set for March 29 and meet time is 4 p.m., at the Gwinnett Center. SUN Sports will air the meet tape-delayed April 7 at noon.
Final Team Standings | ||||||
No. 3 Florida vs. No. 2 Utah – March 14, 2008 – Stephen C. O'Connell Center (4,274) | ||||||
| Team | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
1. | Florida | 49.375 | 49.40 | 49.325 | 49.60 | 197.700 |
2. | Utah | 49.400 | 49.05 | 49.175 | 49.25 | 196.875 |
