Florida top seed for Southeastern Conference Gymnastics Championships
Tuesday, March 19, 2013 | Gymnastics
Defending champion and current No. 1 Florida is the top seed for the 2013 Southeastern Conference Gymnastics Championships, set for Saturday, March 23 at the Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Ark. This morning, the league office announced the seedings and rotation orders for Saturday's meet.
The Gators picked up their eighth league crown in Duluth, Ga., on March 24, 2012, edging Alabama 197.15-196.775.
The addition of Missouri and Texas A&M this past summer brings the total number of SEC schools to 14. It also boosted the number of SEC program's offering gymnastics by one, as Missouri become the league's eighth gymnastics program. With eight teams now in the league, the format for the 2013 SEC Championships will be two four-team sessions. SEC teams ranked No. 5-8 by NCAA regional qualifying score compete in the afternoon session and the 1-4 teams are in the evening session. Results from both sessions are combined to determine final team and individual standings.
Among the current national rankings, four league teams are among the nation's top 10 – No. 1 Florida, No. 3 Alabama, No. 5 Georgia and No. 6 LSU. The top seed in each session will compete the Olympic rotation (vault-bars-beam-floor). Florida opens competition on vault in Saturday's second session.
Fans and media can attend an open practice session on Friday, March 22. Auburn, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Missouri will practice from 2:00 until 3:48 p.m. ET. Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and LSU will practice from 4:22 until 6:10 p.m. ET. Additionally, the SEC will announce its regular season awards including gymnast of the year, freshman of the year, coach of the year, and scholar athlete of the year in between the two practice sessions at 3:55 p.m. ET. The practice sessions and regular season award ceremony are both open free to all fans.
Ticket prices range from $4 to $25. Visit the SEC Championships Ticket site for further information.
The SEC Gymnastics Championships airs tape-delayed on ESPNU March 28 at 5:30 p.m. ET and ESPN March 30 at 7 p.m. ET.
2013 SEC Championships' Schedule
March 23, 2013
Verizon Arena – North Little Rock, Ark.
Session I – 3 p.m. ET
Seeds 5-6-7-8 (seeds based on March 18 RQS)
| Rotation | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor |
| I | Auburn | Arkansas | Kentucky | Missouri |
| II | Missouri | Auburn | Arkansas | Kentucky |
| III | Kentucky | Missouri | Auburn | Arkansas |
| IV | Arkansas | Kentucky | Missouri | Auburn |
Session II – 7 p.m. ET
Seeds 1-2-3-4 (seeds based on March 18 RQS)
| Rotation | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor |
| I | Florida | Alabama | Georgia | LSU |
| II | LSU | Florida | Alabama | Georgia |
| III | Georgia | LSU | Florida | Alabama |
| IV | Alabama | Georgia | LSU | Florida |
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