No. 3 Florida Gymnastics Opens Season Friday with No. 10 Oklahoma
Thursday, January 8, 2009 | Gymnastics
Less than 24 hours after their football programs met in the BCS Championship game, Florida and Oklahoma face each other again - this time in gymnastics - to open the 2009 season. The No. 3 University of Florida gymnastics team (0-0, 0-0 SEC) plays host to No. 10 Oklahoma (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) on Friday, Jan. 9. Meet time is set for 7 p.m. in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
A two-for-one admission coupon is available on the www.GatorZone.com pop-up window. Print out and present at Friday's ticket window for a complimentary admission to Friday's meet.
In 2008, Florida advanced to the NCAA Super Six (team final) for the third consecutive year, finishing fourth overall at the meet held in Athens, Ga. Florida tied for second in the SEC Championships, just .0.025 away from Georgia's winning total. That fraction is the smallest margin of victory allowed in the sport and in the meet's history. The Gators won their fourth consecutive NCAA Regional title and five Gators matched the school record for All-America honors in a single season (15). Three All-Americans return in 2009 - juniors Amanda Castillo and Melanie Sinclair plus senior Corey Hartung.
| Friday's Meet Info |
| Meet: No. 3 Florida (0-0, 0-0 SEC) versus No. 10 Oklahoma (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) Date: Friday, Jan, 9 @ 7 p.m. ET Television: None GatorVision: live, 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): UF leads Oklahoma 10-2 - last meeting, UF defeated OU 196.90-196.075 (4-24-08) Meet Promotions: Oaks Mall Purchase Promotion - Customers that purchase at least $75 in merchandise between Dec. 21- Jan. 8 receive a free pair of admission passes. Beat the Sooners Weekend 2-for-1 - Check out www.GatorZone.com for a post-it that when printed out, will admit one adult free to the UF-OU meet; Gator Friends Night – Season ticket holders and Gold Card holders will receive coupon passes for admission for two adults for a friend. Tickets: $4.00 for adults; children 17 & under and UF students with ID are admitted free. |
Florida opens the 2009 season ranked No. 3 on the GymInfo Preseason poll. This is the third consecutive year Florida has appeared among the top three teams in the preseason poll (2007: 3rd; 2008: 2nd). Florida has been ranked in the preseason top 10 each year since the poll's inception in 1992. Four-time defending NCAA champion Georgia holds the top spot with 26 first-place votes. Rounding out the preseason top five are No. 2 Utah, No. 4 UCLA and No. 5 Stanford. Every opponent on Florida's 2009 regular-season slate ranks among the nation's top-25 on the GymInfo Preseason rankings. UF is the only team in the nation that faces just preseason top-25 teams during the course of the 2009 regular season. Florida's first opponent – No. 10 Oklahoma – is one of six preseason top-10 opponents UF will meet this season.
Oklahoma also opens its 2009 season Friday. Last year, the Sooners won the Big 12 title and took eighth in NCAA Championships' competition. OU turned in a 2008 dual meet record of 28-8-1 and posted a season-high of 196.75 in consecutive weekends versus SEC opponents (March 7 vs. Auburn and March 15 at Arkansas). K.J. Kindler is beginning her third season leading the Sooners.
Florida is 40-8 in home openers. In Florida's previous 36 years of gymnastics, the Gators have opened the home campaign with a win in 26 seasons. Last season, UF posted a 197.125-187.825 win over Illinois-Chicago to open the 2008 campaign.
Tickets are $4.00 for adults, while children 17 and under plus UF students with identification are admitted free. Live, streaming video can be seen at www.GatorZone.com – just click on the GatorVision icon for more information. Kylee Small and Jared Spears will cover the action Friday.
