Florida Gators

The No. 5 Florida gymnastics team (6-4, 3-3 SEC) finished its 2009 regular-season schedule with a 197.075-196.00 loss at No. 2 Utah (11-1) Friday evening in front of a Jon M. Huntsman Center crowd of 15,082.

Although it was a loss, UF Head Coach Rhonda Faehn was pleased with the fight the Gators showed Friday.

“It was amazing tonight. I was so proud of the team by how they competed and performed,”Faehn said. “Despite everything that was thrown at us, they just kept fighting. We started off on bars where we did a great job, but it seemed the scores were not indicative of how they performed. Amanda (Castillo), Maranda (Smith) and Melanie (Sinclair) did a great job. But the team didn't let that affect them, continuing to fight through on vault and on floor. Amanda just stung her ankle during her floor routine and wasn't able to go on beam tonight. We were going to go with five on beam, but Ashley Kerr said 'Put me in.' That was wonderful to see – the few bodies that we have left are willing to do whatever it takes to help the team. We went six-for-six on beam to finish out strong.”

It was the Utes' Senior Night and their pair of senior All-Americans led the team. Kristina Baskett won the all-around (39.675), uneven bars (9.975) and floor exercise (9.925). Nina Kim claimed the balance beam title at 9.95 and was runner-up in the all-around at 39.60. Annie DiLuzio claimed the evening's vault title at 9.95.

In the first rotation, Florida was led on the uneven bars by Melanie Sinclair's 9.825, which placed third overall. On the next event, junior Courtney Gladys stuck her vault landing to earn a mark of 9.925. She took second overall Friday and the mark also sets her collegiate-best for the event.

Florida's final two floor competitors, Sinclair and Maranda Smith, turned in marks of 9.875 and 9.90, respectively, to lead UF on the event. Smith shared second on floor with Utah's Nina Kim. During her floor routine Friday, Castillo aggravated her left ankle. The bursitis in her left ankle has kept her out of the all-around lineup for most of the 2009 season. She will be examined by team doctors when she returns to Gainesville this weekend.

The team, already short-handed due to injuries, took Castillo out of the lineup for the team's final event, the balance beam. Only five Gators at the meet had experience as part of a Florida beam lineup during their collegiate careers, but junior Ashley Kerr approached the UF coaches and said she was ready. All six Gators hit their beam routines Friday and sophomore Alicia Goodwin led UF for the second consecutive meet on the event, matching her collegiate-best mark of 9.875 to share third overall with Utah's Baskett.

Senior All-American Corey Hartung did not compete again Friday evening due to the third-degree strain of her soleus muscle in her left calf. The team hopes to have her back on perhaps two events for next week's Southeastern Conference Championships.

“We know we are going to get Corey (Hartung) back and we need to have Amanda rest a little bit. We are going to be ok,” Faehn said. “But for what they experienced tonight and to battle through, I thought they did a great job.”

2008 Olympic all-around champion Nastia Liukin watched Friday's meet from her courtside seat. Also in attendance Friday was University of Florida president Dr. Bernie Machen, who was able to catch the contest between his present and prior schools while he was in town.

Next up, Florida heads to Nashville, Tenn., for the 28th edition of the SEC Championships. Meet time is set for 5 p.m. ET in the Sommet Center on Saturday, March 21. The meet airs tape-delayed on March 29 at noon on SUN Sports.