Florida Gators

The No. 6 University of Florida gymnastics team (5-2, 3-2 SEC) edged up its season-best total for the second time in a seven-day span to take the win over No. 8 Alabama (3-4, 2-4 SEC) Friday in front of a Stephen C. O'Connell Center crowd of 7,047 - the eighth-largest crowd in the program's history. The Gators added 0.025 to their season-high to post a 196.875-195.625 win over the Crimson Tide Friday.

Florida led the meet from the beginning, but the largest lead was just the 0.250 margin UF held heading into the final rotation. Alabama was forced to count a fall on beam, allowing Florida to expand its lead on the final rotation to give UF its largest dual meet margin of victory (1.25) in the series history since 1983.

Florida surpassed the 49.00 scoring mark for its team total on each event, marking the second consecutive time this season Florida has passed that scoring threshold. No falls were counted toward Florida's final total. The Gators had some breaks Friday, but were able to attack the next routine with confidence. What the Gators have been doing in the practice gym the last couple of weeks led to that boost in performance and confidence.

“Our workouts the past two weeks have led to these performances (at Michigan State on Feb. 14 and tonight). You can't just go out on the competition floor and do well - it comes from training hard and feeling confident,” UF junior Maranda Smith said. “This week in the gym we've just been training so hard, pushing for perfection and doing well in the gym builds our confidence.”

UF Head Coach Rhonda Faehn liked how her team competed tonight.

“I thought they were calm, yet they were really confident and aggressive in their performance and were just really supportive of one another. That was wonderful to see. We still had mistakes here and there. We're still not where we should be at the end of season, but we're getting there,” Faehn said. “What's nice to see is we're not reacting negatively to the small mistakes. We're not letting it affect the next performer. They are just really trying to make each routine the best that it can be and to stay positive. I think we accomplished that goal tonight. I was really proud of the athletes.”

The Gators claimed at least a share of four of the five event titles Friday. Junior All-American Melanie Sinclair claimed the all-around title with a Florida season-best total of 39.55. It matches the third-highest total of her Gator career. Smith, competing as an all-arounder for the third-consecutive meet, equaled her collegiate-best total to finish as runner-up with her all-around total of 39.35.

Sinclair opened the meet with a pair of event wins. She and Smith shared the evening's vault title with Alabama's Morgan Dennis and Kayla Hoffman, as all turned in marks of 9.90. An aggressive routine showcased by ruler-straight handstands gave Sinclair her fifth uneven bars title of the season. She received a 9.95 – matching the evening's high mark in any event. Smith raised her collegiate bars best for the second time this season, upping it to 9.925 to finish as runner-up.

Florida was just 0.05 away from its beam season-best Friday, turning in a 49.20. Senior All-American Corey Hartung's strong and steady routine was punctuated by a stuck round-off 2 1/2 twist dismount. Her 9.95 mark gave Hartung her third beam title of the season. It was the fourth consecutive meet that she has received a score of 9.90 or above for the event. Sinclair shared second overall at 9.85 with UA's Ricki Lebegern.

Alabama junior Morgan Dennis, the 2007 NCAA floor exercise champion, won that event title at 9.925. She was followed by Sinclair, who earned a 9.85. Four gymnasts shared third at 9.825 – UF's Amy Ferguson, Elizabeth Mahlich, Hartung and UA's Kassi Price.

Next up, Florida meets its second-consecutive top-10 opponent when it heads to Athens, Ga., to meet four-time defending NCAA champion Georgia (9-0, 5-0) for a Feb. 28th dual meet. Competition begins at 4 p.m. in the Stegeman Coliseum. ESPN2 will air the meet tape-delayed on March 8 at 3 p.m.