Florida Gators

The No. 6 Florida gymnastics team used a score of 196.775 to win the NCAA North Central Region Championships Saturday evening in front of a Carver-Hawkeye Arena crowd of 1,740. The win gives Florida its fifth consecutive region title.

The win advances Florida to the NCAA Championships, set for April 16-18 in Lincoln, Neb. It will be Florida's 27th NCAA Championship appearance in the meet's 28-year history. No. 7 UCLA took the other advancing position at 196.625. Other team results Saturday included No. 23 Iowa State (195.65), No. 20 Denver (195.60), No. 18 Minnesota (193.775), and No. 28 Iowa (193.625).

The Gators placed four among the meet's top six all-arounders, with senior All-American Corey Hartung taking second with a season-best total of 39.525. Junior Maranda Smith was fourth at 39.325, followed by freshman Elizabeth Mahlich (5^th/39.20) and junior All-American Melanie Sinclair (6^th/39.175). Denver's Jessica Lopez claimed the all-around title at 39.60.

“The entire coaching staff is so proud of the athletes for once again showing their passion and their fight. They just fought for every little thing. This is a really tough competition because there is so much pressure to do well so that the team can advance to the NCAA Championships,” UF Head Coach Rhonda Faehn said. “They started out a little bit rough on floor and were forced to count a small mistake. But they didn't let that affect them and that was the true test. They did awesome on every other event and finished incredibly strong on beam. That is the best we've done all year on that event and that's when the most pressure was on. That just shows how tough they really are and how much heart they are putting into this season.

“We're excited,” she continued. “On to Nebraska!”

Florida's opening event total of 49.075 on floor was held back by some low landings. Hartung led the Gators on the event with a 9.925 to share the meet's floor title with Denver's Lopez. The win was Hartung's second regional floor title and the first since her freshman year. Junior Maranda Smith added a 9.90 to share third. Freshman Amy Ferguson posted a 9.85 – just off her collegiate-best of 9.875.

Vault was steady for the Gators, as UF used marks of 9.80 or above toward its team total of 49.225 – just a fraction away from its season-best of 49.275. Smith led UF on the event with her second 9.90 of the meet to share third overall. Sinclair posted a 9.875 and junior Courtney Gladys added a 9.85.

Three Gators – Smith, Sinclair and Hartung- led UF on the uneven bars with marks of 9.85. They finished in a five-way tie for second overall. Florida turned in a total of 49.15 on the event.

Heading into the final event, the Gators knew they needed a 49.20 to pass UCLA for the meet title. Florida also held a lead of just .80 over third-place Iowa State, a margin that could easily dissolve if the Gators had problems on the event.

“If they felt any pressure, they sure didn't show it,” Faehn said. “They were very relaxed, they were having fun and they were very confident.”

That confidence was reflected in their performance, as Florida went six-for-six on the event to post a season-best and the meet's high beam total of 49.325. Hartung turned in a stellar routine that was punctuated by a stuck two and a half twist dismount. She won the event title after matching her career-best beam mark of 9.95 for the second time this season. It was also the second regional beam win of her career. Sophomore Alicia Goodwin returned to the UF lineup Saturday after missing the Southeastern Conference Championships due to a knee sprain suffered the week of the event. She equaled her collegiate-best of 9.875 for the third consecutive outing to tie for second overall. Gladys and Sinclair shared fourth at 9.85.

“Corey's routine was just so wonderful to see. We were all shouting '10' when she was done because it was such a great routine. She just put together an absolutely perfect beam routine, right down to the landing,” Faehn said. “Alicia came back from an injury that we weren't even sure would allow her to compete for the rest of the season. She nailed both of her routines tonight and did a phenomenal job. That was really wonderful to see.”

In addition to the all-around, Denver's Lopez won the vault at 9.95. UCLA's Anna Li claimed the uneven bars title at 9.90.

Florida will await the NCAA's announcement to find out which team qualifying session it will compete in on April 16. The National Qualifying Score (NQS) determines the pairings for day one of the team competition at the NCAA Championships. The NQS is calculated by adding a team's regional qualifying score (RQS) and score from the regional meet. Teams will be ranked 1 to 12 based on the NQS. Teams 1, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 12 will be placed in Group A; and teams 2, 3, 6, 7, 10 and 11 placed in Group B. A random draw will be used to determine competition sessions since the University of Nebraska did not qualify.