No. 3 Florida Gymnasts Open Season Friday at North Carolina State
Thursday, January 5, 2012 | Gymnastics
No. 3 preseason Florida opens the program's 40th season with a dual meet at North Carolina State on Friday, Jan. 6. It is the second time Florida starts season action at NC State, as the Gators opened the 1997 campaign with a win in Raleigh, N.C. Meet time is set for 7 p.m. in the Reynolds Coliseum.
| Friday's Meet Info: |
| Preseason No. 3 seed Florida at North Carolina State
Date & Time: Friday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. Television: none Series Records (all-time): UF leads NC State 25-1. Last meeting, Florida defeated NC State 197.50-194.075 in the fifth annual Gators Link to Pink meet on Jan. 28, 2011 Internet: Video stream available on Wolfpack AllAcess; live stats available on www.GatorZone.com Twitter: Follow the Gators' results at Friday's meet via GatorZoneGym Tickets: $5 for adults and $3 for group or senior citizens. For more information, contact the NC State Ticket Office at 919-865-1515. |
This is the third consecutive season the Gators and the Wolfpack face each other in dual meet action. Florida claimed a 197.50-194.075 win in the fifth annual Gators Link to Pink meet held Jan. 28, 2011 in front of a Stephen C. O'Connell Center crowd of 8,272. In UF's last trip to Raleigh, N.C., the Gators took a 195.475-194.45 win on Feb. 5, 2010.
In 2011, Florida made its 29th appearance in the NCAA Championships, taking seventh overall. Current junior Marissa King claimed the 2011 NCAA vault title. She is the second Gator to win the NCAA vault crown (Susan Hines in 1997 and 1998) and the first Florida gymnast to win a NCAA individual title since 1998. The Gators return four gymnasts in 2011 (Ashan?e Dickerson, Alaina Johnson, King and Elizabeth Mahlich) who own a total of 15 All-America honors. The Gators took second in both 2011 Southeastern Conference and NCAA North Central Regional Championship action.
The Wolfpack used their highest team total in NCAA Regional action since 1999 to take fourth in the 2011 NCAA Southeast Regionals at 194.75. Then freshman Stephanie Ouellette advanced to Cleveland, Ohio, to compete as an individual all-arounder at the NCAA Championships, placing 28th overall at 38.775. NC State took sixth in 2011 East Atlantic Gymnastics League championship action.
Florida returns 21 of 24 routines performed in 2011 NCAA Championships' team qualifying action, while the Wolfpack also brings back 21 routines from the 2011 NCAA Southeast Regionals.
The Gators' 16-member roster includes five freshmen, including three who joined the team for the 2012 spring semester. The five freshmen are second only to the six incoming gymnasts for the 2005, 2004, 1991 and 1988 seasons. Kytra Hunter and Kiersten Wang trained with the Gators this fall. Hunter was a member of the 2009-10 and 2010-11 U.S. Senior National Team, taking fourth in all-around, balance beam and floor exercise in her last appearance at the Visa Championships in 2010. Wang took second on bars and seventh in all-around in 2011 Junior Olympic Level 10 – Senior D action. She also took eighth in the 2011 Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup all-around.
Rachel Spicer signed a national letter of intent in November, but elected to graduate early to join UF for the spring semester. Spicer won the 2010 JO Level 10 Junior C all-around title and was third in the 2011 Supergirl all-around. Jamie Shisler and Brittany Arlington also joined the team in January. Shisler advanced to the 2011 JO Level 10 – Senior C championships and was third in 2011 USAG Florida Level 10 floor competition. Arlington was sixth in 2011 USAG Florida Level 10 all-around and advanced to the Region 8 Championships.
