Florida Sweeps SEC Gymnast of the Week Honors
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 | Gymnastics
A pair of University of Florida freshmen gymnasts swept the Southeastern Conference weekly honors, the league office announced Tuesday. Ashan?e Dickerson (Ah-ZHAH-nay) is the Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Week and Marissa King is the SEC Freshman Gymnast of the Week. This is the first sweep of the weekly awards by a SEC gymnastics program since the league began the SEC Freshman of the Week honor for the 2009 season. Dickerson has picked up the SEC Freshman of the Week honor three times earlier this season.
Last Friday versus five-time defending NCAA champion Georgia, the Gators needed a floor exercise mark of 9.85 or above from Dickerson to give the Gators their first home dual meet win over the Gym Dogs in 20 years. Dickerson's floor mark of 9.925 was her third collegiate-best event score set or matched that evening. She also set her collegiate-best total of 39.625 to claim her fourth all-around title of the season. That total is the highest ever by a Gator freshman and shares the fifth-highest total among the nation's all-arounders this season. Dickerson picked up her fourth vault win of the season with her collegiate-best of 9.95 and also claimed her third floor win. She also was runner-up in the evening's balance beam competition with her collegiate-best mark of 9.95.
| Florida's SEC Gymnasts of the Week | |
| Name | Date |
| Ashan?e Dickerson | Feb. 23, 2010 |
| Melanie Sinclair | Feb. 24, 2009 |
| Amanda Castillo | March 18, 2008 |
| Amanda Castillo | Feb. 19, 2008 |
| Melanie Sinclair | Jan. 15, 2008 |
| Melanie Sinclair | March 20, 2007 |
| Amanda Castillo | Feb. 27, 2007 |
| Ashley Reed | Feb. 6, 2007 |
| Corey Hartung | Feb. 7, 2006 |
| Ashley Reed | March 1, 2005 |
| Savannah Evans | Feb. 1, 2005 |
| Erinn Dooley | March 16, 2004 |
| Erinn Dooley | March 2, 2004 |
| Orley Szmuch | Jan. 20, 2004 |
| Orley Szmuch | Feb. 11, 2003 |
| Orley Szmuch | Jan. 29, 2002 |
| Hilary Thompson | Jan. 30, 2001 |
| Chrissy Van Fleet | Feb. 22, 2000 |
| Chrissy Van Fleet | Feb. 15, 2000 |
| UF's SEC Freshman of the Week^ | |
| Marissa King | Feb. 23, 2010 |
| Ashan?e Dickerson | Feb. 2, 2010 |
| Ashan?e Dickerson | Jan. 26, 2010 |
| Ashan?e Dickerson | Jan. 19, 2010 |
| ^started in the 2009 season | |
Dickerson's three event titles Friday brings her season total to 12, which is the most by a Gator freshman since Corey Hartung turned in nine wins through the first seven meets of the 2006 season. She is ranked No. 3 in the nation in all-around for regional qualifying average (39.375). Dickerson also holds top-20 rankings for three events – No. T5 vault (9.895 RQS), No. T19 beam (9.825) and No. T4 floor (9.890).
King set or matched every collegiate-best mark last Friday. She set her collegiate-best for the uneven bars to share that event title at 9.875 with Georgia's Kat Ding. King equaled her top vault mark (9.875) for the second consecutive meet to share third overall. She also turned in a collegiate-best of 9.825 on beam and equaled her floor best of 9.85. Those marks led to a collegiate-best all-around total of 39.425, which took second in the meet.
In the Feb. 22 GymInfo national all-around rankings, King holds the No. 16 position with her regional qualifying average of 39.070.
Next up, No. 4 Florida (5-2, 4-1 SEC) finishes its 2010 SEC regular season slate with a dual meet at No. 16 Auburn (2-4, 2-3 SEC). Every opponent Florida has faced this season has ranked among the nation's top 25. The meet airs tape-delayed on SUN Sports March 6 @ 10 p.m.
