Gator Gymnastics team advances to Super Six; Kytra Hunter first Gator to win NCAA all-around

Friday, April 20

Duluth, GA

6:00 PM

Florida Gators

NCAA Championships - Semifinal II

Gator Gymnastics team advances to Super Six; Kytra Hunter first Gator to win NCAA all-around

Saturday, April 21, 2012 | Gymnastics

The No. 1 seeded Florida gymnastics team moves ahead to Saturday's NCAA Super Six team final after taking second in Friday's second semifinal session. Florida was just edged for the session's top position by defending NCAA champion Alabama, 197.675-197.650.

SEC All-Around Strong
Half of the 2012 NCAA Super Six field will be teams from the Southeastern Conference. In addition, all of the top eight all-around finishers Friday came from the league.
Place	Name	School	Score
1	Kytra Hunter	Florida	39.725
2	Kat Ding	Georgia	39.650
3	Jaime Pisani	Arkansas	39.625
4	Alaina Johnson	Florida	39.600
	Geralen Stack-Eaton	Alabama	39.600
6	Ashan?e Dickerson	Florida	39.500
7	Ashley Priess	Alabama	39.475
	Rheagan Courville	LSU	39.475

The other advancing team also comes from the Southeastern Conference, as Arkansas makes its second Super Six appearance after taking third at 197.15.

Rounding out Session II team results were Ohio State (196.525), Georgia (196.50) and Oregon State (196.475).

Saturday will be a SEC vs. Pac-12 event. The top three teams from Session I (UCLA/197.40, Utah/197.20 and 197.125) face the three SEC teams on Saturday to crown the national champion in the NCAA Super Six at 4 p.m. (ET) in The Arena at Gwinnett Center. Saturday's competition will be streamed live on ESPN3.

Friday's mission for Florida was simple. To advance to the program's 10^th NCAA Super Six appearance and the Gators completed that goal with Florida's highest total ever in NCAA Championships competition.

There is only one NCAA title determined in NCAA semifinal competition – the all-around- and that crown went to Gator freshman Kytra Hunter. She used a collegiate-best total of 39.725 to become the first Gator to win the NCAA all-around.

Hunter is now two-for-two for all-around competitions in The Arena at Gwinnett Center, as she also claimed the Southeastern Conference title on March 24.

Keeping things light with her team helped Hunter tonight.

“I am really honored to get the all-around title. I went to each event as a new event. I just stayed in my bubble and the team's bubble and we just had fun,” Hunter said. “Tomorrow is a new day and I am just honored to be in the Super Six with my team.”

Hunter equaled her collegiate-best of 9.975 on vault to open competition, and added marks of 9.90 on bars and beam and posted a 9.95 as the Gators' final competitor of the evening on floor exercise.

Florida head coach Rhonda Faehn said Hunter's focus is always on the team.

“So far, as a freshman, to win the SEC and the NCAA all-around title is absolutely incredible. It also shows her work ethic,” Faehn said. “She's so incredibly humble and all she thinks and cares about is what she's doing for the team. It's never about herself, and that's why it's so exciting for her to achieve these results. She just wants what's best for Florida and for the program. I know there's going to be even greater things for her to come.”

Hunter and sophomore Alaina Johnson both picked up the maximum number of All-America honors available in a season – five – on Friday, making them just the second and third Gators to post the tally. Kristen Guise, who was just inducted into the Gator Athletics Hall of Fame on April 6, was the first in 1996. Johnson tied for fourth overall in the Friday's all-around action at 39.60 while Ashan?e Dickerson was sixth (39.50).

On Friday, the Gators opened up on vault with their highest total ever – 49.575 – in NCAA competition. The final four competitors each turned in marks of 9.90 or better – Ashan?e Dickerson and Alaina Johnson (9.90), Marissa King (9.95) and Hunter (9.975).

Florida also performed well on bars, with three Gators posting scores of 9.9 or higher. Johnson anchored the lineup by matching her season-best of 9.95, while sophomore Mackenzie Caquatto turned in a 9.925 and Hunter's posted a 9.90.

The Gators were steady on the balance beam, with all six competitors earning marks of 9.825 or higher as they turned in a total of 49.35. Hunter and Johnson led the Gators on the event with identical marks of 9.90.

Florida finished on floor exercise and two step-outs held UF's team total back to a 49.275. Hunter's 9.95 led all semifinal II floor competitors. Dickerson earned a 9.875 while Johnson and senior Amy Ferguson posted 9.85s.

For Faehn, now the focus fixes on Saturday's NCAA Super Six, where the Gators will seek their first NCAA team title.

“I was really proud of the way they performed. They come out with such fight and were really aggressive, which I liked. We just need a little bit more control with that tomorrow,” Faehn said. “I thought the whole team just stayed really close in our bubble and didn't get caught up in anything, which was great. We really just need to get back, get caught up, get rested, rehab and refocus for tomorrow. It's going to be really exciting.”

Florida in NCAA Championships ● Semifinal II Final Team Totals
April 20, 2012 ● The Arena at Gwinnett Center
*Team*	*Vault*	*Bars*	*Beam*	*Floor*	*Total*
Alabama	49.400	49.400	49.600	49.275	197.675
Florida	49.575	49.450	49.350	49.275	197.650
Arkansas	49.275	49.275	49.450	49.150	197.150
Ohio State	49.175	48.975	49.225	49.150	196.525
Georgia	49.600	49.400	48.275	49.225	196.500
Oregon State	49.050	49.150	49.300	48.975	196.475
NCAA Championships ● Semifinal I Final Team Totals
UCLA	49.275	49.450	49.325	49.350	197.400
Utah	49.525	49.225	49.175	49.275	197.200
Stanford	49.300	49.300	49.375	49.150	197.125
Oklahoma	49.125	49.225	49.325	49.250	196.925
Nebraska	49.225	49.150	49.000	49.250	196.625
LSU	49.250	48.950	49.250	49.100	196.550

2012 NCAA Championships

Competition Rotations

Super Six – Saturday, April 21 @ 4 (ET)

Rot.	Vault	Bye	Bars	Beam	Bye	Floor
I	Florida	Stanford	Arkansas	Utah	Alabama	UCLA
II	UCLA	Florida	Stanford	Arkansas	Utah	Alabama
III	Alabama	UCLA	Florida	Stanford	Arkansas	Utah
IV	Utah	Alabama	UCLA	Florida	Stanford	Arkansas
V	Arkansas	Utah	Alabama	UCLA	Florida	Stanford
VI	Stanford	Arkansas	Utah	Alabama	UCLA	Florida

Gator Notes:

● Florida advances to its 10^th NCAA Super Six team final (1994, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012). The Gators' top Super Six finish is second in 1998.

● Florida has advanced to the NCAA Super Six seven of the 10 seasons under Rhonda Faehn.

● Kytra Hunter wins NCAA all-around title with a collegiate-best 39.725. She is the first Gator to win the all-around (previous high: 2^nd by Kristen Guise in 1996. Ninth freshman to win NCAA all-around title in meet history.

● Florida's vault total of 49.575 is UF's highest event total ever in NCAA Championships' competition. Also ranks No. 3 among all teams in NCAA Semifinal vault competition (third to Georgia's 49.60 in 2012 & 1995).

● Kytra Hunter scores a 9.975 for vault for the second time in The Arena at Gwinnett Center. She first posted her nearly perfect collegiate-best vault mark on March 24 to win the event title at the Southeastern Conference Championships.

● Gators' uneven bars total of 49.45 highest ever for UF in NCAA competition. Also stands No. T-9 among all teams in NCAA Semifinal action

● Alaina Johnson's 9.95 on uneven bars equals her season-best which she earned March 16 versus Utah.

● Beam total of 49.35 is Florida's second-highest in NCAA Championships' competition (second to 49.425 in 2007 NCAA semifinal action)

● Six Gators picked up a school record total of 16 All-America honors (previous high was 15 in 2007 and 2008)

2012 Gator All-Americans
Name	Event	Session iI Score	All-America team
Mackenzie Caquatto	Bars	9.925	First
Ashan?e Dickerson	Vault	9.900	Second
	Floor	9.875	First
	AA	39.500	Second
Amy Ferguson	Floor	9.850	Second
Kytra Hunter	Vault	9.975	First
	Bars	9.900	Second
	Beam	9.900	Second
	Floor	9.950	First
	AA	39.725	First
Alaina Johnson	Vault	9.900	Second
	Bars	9.95	First
	Beam	9.900	Second
	Floor	9.850	Second
	AA	39.600	First
Marissa King	Vault	9.950	First
Blue denotes gymnasts advancing to April 22 NCAA Individual Event Finals

NCAA Individual Event Finals Draw – April 22, 2012 @ 1 p.m. (ET)
Vault			Balance Beam
Order	Name	School	Order	Name	School
1	Rheagan Courville	LSU	1	Sara Stone	Oklahoma
2	Lindsey Cheek	Georgia	2	Samantha Peszek	UCLA
3	Marissa Gutierrez	Alabama	3	Katherine Grable	Arkansas
4	Kailah Delaney	Utah	4	Geralen Stack-Eaton	Alabama
5	Marissa King	Florida	5	Emily Wong	Nebraska
6	Janelle Giblin	Nebraska	6	Ashley Priess	Alabama
7	Kat Ding	Georgia	7	Megan Ferguson	Oklahoma
8	Georgia Dabritz	Utah	8	Ivana Hong	Stanford
9	Diandra Milliner	Alabama	9	Jaime Pisani	Arkansas
10	Kytra Hunter	Florida	10	Katie Matusik	Arizona
			11	Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs	UCLA
			12	Amanda Spinner	Stanford

Uneven Bars			Floor Exercise
Order	Name	School	Order	Name	School
1	Vanessa Zamarripa	UCLA	1	Megan Ferguson	Oklahoma
2	Brie Olson	Oklahoma	2	Kytra Hunter	Florida
3	Olivia Courtney	UCLA	3	Rachel Updike	Missour
4	Kat Ding	Georgia	4	Jaime Pisani	Arkansas
5	Chelsea Davis	Georgia	5	Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs	UCLA
6	Mackenzie Caquatto	Florida	6	Kat Ding	Georgia
7	Sami Shapiro	Stanford	7	Ashan?e Dickerson	Florida
8	Alisha Gerber	UCLA	8	Melanie Jones	Oregon State
9	Alaina Johnson	Florida	9	Vanessa Zamarripa	UCLA
			10	Geralen Stack-Eaton	Alabama
			11	Jessie DeZiel	Nebraska