Florida Gymnasts in NCAA Event Finals; Nicola Willis Takes Third on Floor and Ashley Reed Fourth on Beam

Saturday, April 26

Athens, GA

6:00 PM

Florida Gators

NCAA Individual Event Finals

Florida Gymnasts in NCAA Event Finals; Nicola Willis Takes Third on Floor and Ashley Reed Fourth on Beam

Sunday, April 27, 2008 | Gymnastics

University of Florida Nicola Willis' third-place floor exercise finish and Ashley Reed's fourth-place showing on balance beam led the Gators in Saturday's NCAA Gymnastics Championships individual event finals, held at the Stegeman Coliseum.

Five Gators appeared in Saturday's finals. All earned All-America first-team honors for advancing to the NCAA Individual Event finals.

Florida sent the most representatives of any school to the floor exercise final, with four advancing. Willis hit each of her passes, including sticking her double layout opening pass without even so much as a waver. She finished third at 9.9125 for Florida's top floor finish since Pam Titus was second in the 1991 NCAA Championships. The top three finishers in Saturday's floor final all had represented their country in the Olympics – champion Courtney McCool of Georgia (2004 U.S.), runner-up Tasha Schwikert of UCLA (2000 U.S.) and Willis (2004 Great Britain).

"I was so happy to be out there. I just wanted to show it off and do the best routine I've ever done," Willis said. "It was the best memory I could have asked for. I had so much fun out there and the team was there for me. It was so awesome."

Reed was the last performer in the balance beam final, earning a 9.8875 to take fourth. All of her skills were spot on Saturday and her double-twist dismount had just a tiny step. Before her beam routine, Reed had turned in a 9.875 to tie with teammate Amanda Castillo for eighth in the floor final.

"That was one of the best beam routines I've ever done. I couldn't have asked for a better routine to end my career on. Floor also went very well. I just went out there, had a lot of fun and gave it everything I had. I nailed all my landings and was just smiling through the whole thing because it was so much fun," Reed said. "I'm just really happy with how I did and how everything ended."

Sophomore Melanie Sinclair made her second consecutive appearance in the NCAA uneven bars and balance beam finals. Sinclair used a mark of 9.85 to tie for eighth in the bar final. She led off the beam final, earning a 9.825 to take ninth. Junior Corey Hartung advanced to her third consecutive floor exercise final. She took 11^th at 9.825.

UF Head Coach Rhonda Faehn was pleased with how the Gators performed tonight – especially with the senior's strong showing in their collegiate finales.

"The seniors did an amazing job. I was just extremely proud with not only the way they performed, but with the happiness they showed while performing. They were so proud of representing the University of Florida. They couldn't have gone out any better. We as a coaching staff are so excited that they could put it all together here tonight," Faehn said. "That was probably the best floor routine I've ever seen Nicola do. I was just so happy for her. I think Ashley's beam routine was one of her best as well. It was really exciting to be a part of that.

"Everybody else did a great job. Finals can be kind of difficult because you have to wait around so much to compete," she continued. "Melanie did a great job. She was first up on beam and that's a tough role. I thought she did a great job on bars too. Amanda and Corey each had little miscues here and there that cost them a few places. But it was an opportunity for them to gain experience for the years that lie ahead.

Georgia's Grace Taylor used a 9.95 to take the balance beam title. LSU's Susan Jackson winning average of 9.8563 gave her the vault title and Schwikert took the uneven bars crown at 9.9375.

NCAA Individual Event Final Results

Vault
Place	Name		School	Score	Place
1	Susan	Jackson	LSU		9.8563
2	Kristina	Baskett	Utah		9.8438
	Julie	Dwyer	Auburn		9.8438
4	Michelle	Stout	Arkansas		9.8
5	Kayla	Hoffman	Alabama		9.7625
6	Marcia	Newby	Georgia		9.7563
7	Yuki	Lamb	Oregon State		9.7375
8	Tasha	Schwikert	UCLA		9.5625
9	Kristina	Comforte	UCLA		9.45
10	Kyndal	Robarts	Utah		8.5375

Uneven Bars
Place	Name		School	Score
1	Tasha	Schwikert	UCLA	9.9375
2	Katie	Heenan	Georgia	9.9
	Kristina	Comforte	UCLA	9.9
4	Nikki	Childs	Georgia	9.8875
	Ashleigh	Clare-Kearney	LSU	9.8875
6	Kristina	Baskett	Utah	9.875
7	Elizabeth	Tricase	Stanford	9.8625
8	Melanie	Sinclair	Florida	9.85
	Kassi	Price	Alabama	9.85
	Kylee	Botterman	Michigan	9.85
	Grace	Taylor	Georgia	9.85
12	Desire'	Sniatynski	Nebraska	9.8375
	Becky	Bernard	Michigan	9.8375
14	Tiffany	Tolnay	Georgia	9.825
15	Anna	Li	UCLA	9.8125
16	Ashley	Postell	Utah	9.8
17	Summer	Hubbard	LSU	9.7625
	Tabitha	Yim	Stanford	9.7625

Balance Beam
Place	Name		School	Score
1	Grace	Taylor	Georgia	9.95
2	Ashley	Postell	Utah	9.9
	Emily	Parsons	Nebraska	9.9
4	Ashley	Reed	Florida	9.8875
5	Tabitha	Yim	Stanford	9.875
	Brandi	Personette	Penn State	9.875
7	Susan	Jackson	LSU	9.85
	Tiffany	Tolnay	Georgia	9.85
9	Melanie	Sinclair	Florida	9.825
10	Nicole	Ourada	Stanford	9.8
11	Katie	Heenan	Georgia	9.7875

Floor Exercise
Place	Name		School	Score
1	Courtney	McCool	Georgia	9.9625
2	Tasha	Schwikert	UCLA	9.95
3	Nicola	Willis	Florida	9.9125
4	Tiffany	Tolnay	Georgia	9.9
	Morgan	Dennis	Alabama	9.9
	Ashley	Postell	Utah	9.9
7	Cassidy	McComb	Georgia	9.8875
8	Ashley	Reed	Florida	9.875
	Amanda	Castillo	Florida	9.875
10	Susan	Jackson	LSU	9.8625
11	Corey	Hartung	Florida	9.825
12	Ashleigh	Clare-Kearney	LSU	9.7625
	Kiara	Sturms	Oklahoma	9.7625
DNF	Kristina	Baskett	Utah	2.55