No. 3 Florida Plays Host to NCAA Southeast Region Championships Saturday in O'Connell Center
Friday, April 11, 2008 | Gymnastics
A competitive field awaits the No. 3 University of Florida gymnastics team (12-3-1, 4-2 SEC) at the NCAA Southeast Region Championships, set for April 12 at 7 p.m. in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. The six teams at the NCAA Southeast Regional are No. 3 Florida, No. 9 UCLA (18-6), No. 15 Nebraska (10-7), No. 21 North Carolina State (18-7), No. 25 West Virginia (23-8) and No. 34 North Carolina (17-8).
What the teams are vying for is a top-two finish to advance to the NCAA Championships, set for April 24-26 in Athens, Ga. Florida has advanced to the NCAA Championships 25 times in the meet's 26-year history, missing only the 2000 event.
| Florida's All-Time | |||
| Year | Region | UF Finish | Score |
| 2007 | Northeast | 1st | 197.325 |
| 2006 | South Central | 1st | 196.375 |
| 2005 | Southeast | 1st | 196.575 |
| 2004 | South Central | 2nd | 197.050 |
| 2003 | Southeast | 2nd | 194.950 |
| 2002 | Central | 2nd | 195.900 |
| 2001 | Southeast | 2nd | 196.650 |
| 2000 | Region V | 3rd | 195.875 |
| 1999 | Region II | 2nd | 195.225 |
| 1998 | Southeast | 2nd | 197.075 |
| 1997 | Southeast | 1st | 195.750 |
| 1996 | Southeast | 2nd | 195.375 |
| 1995 | Southeast | 2nd | 195.700 |
| 1994 | Southeast | 2nd | 192.550 |
| 1993 | Southeast | 2nd | 194.300 |
| 1992 | Southeast | 2nd | 191.475 |
| 1991 | Southeast | 2nd | 191.175 |
| 1990 | Southeast | 2nd | 190.425 |
| 1989 | Southeast | 2nd | 191.050 |
| 1988 | Southeast | 2nd | 189.100 |
| 1987 | Southeast | 1st | 187.900 |
| 1986 | Southeast | 2nd | 185.400 |
| 1985 | Southeast | 1st | 186.900 |
| 1984 | Southeast | 1st | 187.950 |
| 1983 | Southeast | 2nd | 184.650 |
| 1982 | Southeast | 1st | 145.450 |
Three teams that advanced to the 2007 NCAA Championships' Super Six team final are among Saturday's six-team field - no other 2008 NCAA Regional site has more than one 2007 NCAA Super Six team among its field. In 2007 NCAA Super Six competition, Florida took third (197.225), UCLA was fourth (196.925) and Nebraska took sixth (195.975). The Gators have advanced from the NCAA Championships team competition to the NCAA Super Six team final three of the last four years, while Nebraska has advanced to eight of the last nine NCAA Super Six competitions. The Bruins have missed only one NCAA Super Six appearance since the two-day format began in 1993. That stretch includes five NCAA titles, with the first coming at the 1997 NCAA Championships held in Gainesville, Fla.
A NCAA Regional win has advanced Florida to the NCAA Championships in each of the last three years. Florida began its string of NCAA Regional titles the last time UF played host to the event in 2005. The Gators also won the 2006 (NCAA Central/Fayetteville, Ark.) and 2007 (NCAA Northeast/Ann Arbor, Mich.) regional team titles.
Meet Information
Meet: No. 3 Florida (12-3-1, 4-2 SEC) plays host to the NCAA Southeast Region Championships
Date: Saturday, April 12 @ 7 p.m.
Television: none
GatorVision: live, complimentary streaming video of the meet is available on GatorVision. More information available at www.GatorZone.com
WWW: live scoring available at http://www.gatorzone.com
Series Records (all-time): UCLA leads UF 5-24 (last mtg: 197.225/UF- 196.925/UCLA-2007 NCAA Super Six); UF leads Nebraska 14-9 (last mtg: 197.225/UF-195.975-2007 NCAA Super Six); UF leads UNC 17-0 (last mtg: UF 196.65/UF-194.125/UNC - 2008 away dual); UF leads NC State 22-1 (last mtg: 197.45-194.075-2007 away dual); UF leads WVU 26-1 (last mtg: 196.95/UF-194.20/WVU - 2006 home quad)
Tickets: Reserved Level 1 - $10.00; General admission - adult $8.00, senior citizens and students $6.00 and children 12 and under $4.00. UF students with Gator One cards admitted free. Call the UF Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683, ext. 6800 or 1-800-344-2867, ext. 6800 (only from the state of Florida) for more information.
Parking: In addition to the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, fans can utilize the free parking shuttle that runs from the commuter lot located on Gale Lemerand Drive. The shuttle begins at 10 a.m. and will drop patrons at Gate 2 of the O'Connell Center.
