Florida's Alaina Johnson named SEC Freshman Gymnast of the Week
Tuesday, March 8, 2011 | Gymnastics
University of Florida's Alaina Johnson (Tyler, Texas) is the Southeastern Conference Freshman Gymnast of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday. Kentucky's Andrea Mitchell is the SEC Gymnast of the Week.
Johnson has been honored five times by the SEC this season. This is her fourth SEC Freshman Gymnast of the Week recognition and she was named the SEC Gymnast of the Week on Feb. 15. A Gator has been honored as either the SEC Gymnast or Freshman Gymnast of the Week in seven of the league's nine 2011 releases.
| Florida SEC Honorees of 2011 | ||
| Week | Name | Honor |
| 1 | Alaina Johnson | SEC Freshman of the Week |
| 2 | Alaina Johnson | SEC Freshman of the Week |
| 3 | Ashan?e Dickerson | SEC Gymnast of the Week |
| 4 | Alaina Johnson | SEC Freshman of the Week |
| 5 | Mackenzie Caquatto | SEC Freshman of the Week |
| 6 | Alaina Johnson | SEC Gymnast of the Week |
| 9 | Alaina Johnson | SEC Freshman of the Week |
Last Friday at No. 5 Utah, Johnson was runner-up in the all-around (39.425) by the smallest margin possible as Utah's Stephanie McAllister won at 39.45. Johnson shared the vault win with sophomore teammates Ashan?e Dickerson and Marissa King at 9.90. She also tied for first on the uneven bars at 9.925 with fellow Gator freshman Mackenzie Caquatto and Utah's McAllister. The wins were Johnson's fifth of the season for bars and fourth for vault. Johnson has competed as an all-arounder in seven meets this season and has finished among the top two in five of those outings.
In the March 7 Gym Info national rankings, Johnson is No. 12 in the all-around (39.290 regional qualifying average), T5 in vault (9.905), T4 in uneven bars (9.905) and T15 in floor (9.870).
Next up, Florida begins the championship portion of its season. The Gators will look to defend their league title at the March 19 SEC Championships in Birmingham, Ala. The meet begins at 5 p.m. (ET) at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. Tickets are $16 for adults and $10 for children 10 and under. They can be purchased online here.
