No. 5 Florida Plays Host to No. 9 Utah for Senior Night
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 | Gymnastics
After having a week off, the No. 5 University of Florida gymnastics team (8-2, 5-1 SEC) returns to action to close out the regular season versus No. 9 Utah (10-2) on Friday, March 19. Meet time is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Be sure to go to the UF Athletics Facebook page to find a 2-for-1 admission coupon to the meet. Also, local-area Dominos are distributing free admission passes to the meet with delivery orders. The first 500 children (ages 12 & under) at the meet will receive a free bookmark. Be sure to stay around after the meet, as Florida's five-member senior class will be honored with a post-meet ceremony.
| Florida vs. Utah Meet Info: |
| Meet: No. 5 Florida (8-2, 5-1 SEC) versus No. 9 Utah (7-2) Date: Friday, March 19 @ 7 p.m. (ET) Site: Stephen C. O'Connell Center (11,120) Television: airs tape-delayed on SUN Sports March 28 @ 9 a.m. Streaming Video: live streaming video of the meet is available on GatorVision. More information available at www.GatorZone.com WWW: live scoring available at www.GatorZone.com Series Records (all-time): Utah leads UF 29-7 - last meeting, Utah took third in 2009 NCAA Super Six team final competition (197.425) and Florida was fourth (196.725) Tickets: $4.00 for adults; children 17 & under and UF students with ID are admitted free. Contact UAA Ticket Office for further information. Meet Promotions: Senior Night – Florida's five-member senior class will be honored in a post-meet ceremony; Facebook Passes – Check out UF Athletics FaceBook page to find a 2-for-1 admission coupon; Bookmark – first 500 children (12 & under) receive a free bookmark; Domino's Ticket Promotion – area Dominos will distribute free admission passes with delivery orders. For a complete list of promotions for Friday's meet, please check out the promotion schedule here. |
Fans are encouraged to take the parking shuttle from the Lemerand Drive Commuter Lot on Friday. The bus will drop fans off at gate 2 of the O'Connell Center, with both gates 1 and 2 available for entry into the meet. The shuttle starts at 5:30 p.m. and will run until a half hour after the conclusion of the meet.
Utah is the fifth top-10 team faced by Florida this season (Jan. 8. 196.25-195.275 loss versus then No. 9 Oklahoma; Jan. 15, 196.575-195.925 win versus then No. 7 Arkansas; Feb. 12, 197.425-196.60 loss at then No. 2 Alabama; Feb. 19, 197.25-197.15 win versus then No. 7 Georgia) and is also the fifth 2010 opponent that advanced to the 2009 NCAA Super Six team championship. Only Florida and Georgia face each of the other five teams in the 2009 NCAA Super Six field during the course of the 2010 season. In the all-time series between the two teams, Utah leads 29-7 with the Utes taking third in 2009 NCAA Super Six team final competition (197.425) and Florida taking fourth (196.725).
Florida is coming off of a bye week, with their last action being their March 5 victory over North Carolina (194.225) and Ball State (191.35). In the meet, Florida turned in their season-best team total of 197.55. All of the meet's event titles were picked up by Gators, including Florida's freshman duo of Ashan?e Dickerson and Marissa King sharing the all-around win at 39.475. The total was a collegiate-best for King and her first all-around win as a Gator, earning her SEC Freshman of the Week honors. For Dickerson, the win was her sixth, making her just the third Gator in the program's 38-year history to claim six or more all-around wins as a freshman. Dickerson added her fifth wins of the season for both vault (9.95) and floor exercise, which was a four-way tie at 9.875 with King, Liz Green, and Randy Stageberg. On balance beam, senior Rebekah Zaiser claimed her first win since 2008 with her collegiate-best of 9.95, while senior All-Americans Amanda Castillo and Maranda Smith shared the bar win with a 9.90. A total of 11 collegiate-best marks were set or matched by the Gators in the triangular.
Florida will be the fourth top-10 opponent faced by Utah in 2010 (Jan. 9 loss at No. 5 UCLA, 196.60-195.125; Jan. 22 win versus then No. 10 Georgia, 196.55-196.50; March 12 win versus No. 8 Oregon State, 196.975-196.65). Utah comes into Friday's meet after posting its season-best score of 196.975 to win a home quad meet versus three other top-25 teams – No. 8 Oregon State (196.65), No. 18 Penn State (195.70) and No. 21 Southern Utah (196.025). In their win last week, senior Daria Bijak and junior Kyndal Robarts each turned in their season-best all-around totals. Bijak won her fifth all-around title of 2010 with a 39.575 while Robarts took third at 39.45. In their programs history, the Utes have collected nine NCAA team titles, with the last coming in 1995. Utah coach Greg Marsden is in his 35th year with the Utes.
Tickets are $4.00 for adults, while children 17 and under plus UF students with Gator1 cards are admitted free. Live streaming video and scoring can be found at www.GatorZone.com and live meet updates can be viewed at www.Twitter.com/GatorZoneGym. Friday's meet airs tape-delayed on SUN Sports on March 28 at 9:00 a.m.
