Florida Gators

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The Florida gymnastics team is off to the NCAA Championships after winning the NCAA Minneapolis Regional title, held Saturday in front of 2,981 at the University of Minnesota's Sports Pavilion. The win advances Florida to Fort Worth, Texas, where the Gators will look to defend their 2013, 2014 and 2015 NCAA team titles.
 

Florida Event Winners Saturday
Vault:	Alicia Boren	9.900
	Alex McMurtry	9.900
Uneven Bars:	Alex McMurtry	9.875
Balance Beam:	Bridget Sloan	9.950
All-Around:	Bridget Sloan	39.375

The Gators turned in a 196.725 Saturday for the team's fifth-straight NCAA Regional title. The top two teams in regional competition advance to the NCAA Championships. Minnesota claimed the other berth at 196.175. Missouri was third at 195.85, followed by Denver (195.70), Ohio State (194.775) and Brigham Young (194.075).
 
Scoring was tight for all teams Saturday as Florida was the only team to turn in event totals above 49.0 for each of the four events. Florida's event totals for vault (49.225), uneven bars (49.125) and balance beam (49.30) led all teams and the Gators' beam total was the top total on any event Saturday.
 
Senior All-American Bridget Sloan won her second consecutive regional all-around title, taking the win Saturday with a total of 39.375. She also claimed the balance beam title at 9.95.
 
Sophomore All-American Alex McMurtry claimed a share of both the vault and uneven bars wins. She shared the vault win with freshman teammate Alicia Boren and Iowa State's Meaghan Sievers at 9.90. McMurtry tied Minnesota's Lindsay Mable for the bars win at 9.875.
 
GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES:

• Tonight's titles for Sloan pushes her to a share of Florida Career Events Wins Record. Sloan and Elfi Schlegel (1983-86) share the top position with 90 event wins.
• That was all-around win No. 25 for Sloan, moving her into sole possession of second on Florida's Career All-Around wins chart. For this season, Sloan now has seven all-around victories.
• The regional all-around title has gone to a Gator each of the past seven seasons – Ashanée Dickerson (2010, 2012), Alaina Johnson (2011 & 2014), Kytra Hunter (2013) and Sloan (2015, 2016).
• McMurtry now has six vault and five bars wins this season.
• Boren picks up her fourth vault win as a Gators. She's turned in seven vault marks of 9.9 or better this season.
• The win ups Florida's regional team titles total to 16 (1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
• In the NCAA Championships' 35-year history, Florida has now advanced to the national championships 34 times, missing only the 2000 event.

 
NOW WHAT?
The 12-team field for the NCAA Championships is determined tonight, as the top two teams in each of the nation's six regional sites advance to Fort Worth, Texas, for the April 15-16 national championships.
 
The 12-team NCAA Championships' field competes on Tax Day in two semifinal sessions of six teams each. The top three teams in each session advance to the April 17 NCAA Super Six, where the team champion is determined.
 
The Gators have advanced from the NCAA Championships semifinal competition to the NCAA Super Six team final 10 of the last 12 years (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015). Florida won its first NCAA team title in 2013, shared the 2014 crown with Oklahoma and made it a three-peat in 2015.
 

2016 NACGC Southeast Region Gymnastics Awards

Gymnast of the Year: Bridget Sloan, Florida

Coach of the Year: Margie Cunningham, George Washington

Assistant Coach of the Year: Adrian Burde & Owen Field, Florida

Administrator of Year: Christie Purks, University of Georgia

GATORS EARNING ALL-REGION HONORS:
The National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC) announced NCAA All-Southeast Region honors Saturday. Florida's Sloan, the nation's top-ranked all-arounder, claims her second NACGC Southeast Region Gymnast of the Year honor. She is the third Gator to claim the honor since 2010. Other Gators to be named Regional Gymnast of the Year include Ashanée Dickerson (2010, 2011) and Kytra Hunter (2015).
 
Regional assistant coach of the year honors went to Florida's duo of Adrian Burde and Owen Field. This is the fourth time Burde has won the honor, also sharing the 2011, 2013 and 2014 awards. This is Field's first season with the Gators.
 
QUOTES
On Florida's performance Saturday:
"It was enough to get us through. It wasn't the prettiest meet by any means but you know what? This team rallied, they covered for each other and that's what this meet is all about. We got through it and are heading to Fort Worth. The team is very excited and I'm very happy for them." – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland

Talk about anchoring the beam lineup after a miss earlier in the lineup.
"Alicia [Boren] had a mistake on beam, which is very uncharacteristic for her. Everyone was able to have her back. I told her after beam 'You've had my back on beam how many times when I've fallen. It was time for me to have your back.' Hitting that beam routine under pressure was the focus for me tonight.
 
"I was proud of how Alicia was able to turn it around and do a great job on floor and vault. That's something we've got to do as gymnasts after a mistake is made. We've got to turn it around because we're not done [with the meet] yet." – senior All-American Bridget Sloan
 
Tonight's meet format is the same for the rest of the season. Does having this format tonight help prepare the team for the NCAA Championships?
"This is first time we've had byes this season, which is something the freshmen need to get used to. But the biggest thing is keeping the energy up. Yes, you have to rest your body, but you have to keep your mind in it and keep the energy up. That's what we do in the locker room – dance around and have fun. I think it was a good learning experience." – sophomore All-American Alex McMurtry
 
Regionals is a stressful meet, as only two teams advance.
"It is always a mystery. When we come to Regionals, we are never a shoo-in. Last year at West Virginia, it was a close competition. That's what makes it exciting. Tonight we just wanted to come out here and hit our routines the best we could and then move on the NCAA Championships. We are pretty excited, but we know we have things to work on." – senior All-American Bridget Sloan
 
Coach Rowland said your warm-up was a bit rough, but you competed well, winning two events.
"Warm-up is just to get warm. You have to forget about it. When you salute, you salute and then it's your show time. I'm really happy things turnaround for me.
 
"It is a tough meet. We had so much energy. The hard part is keeping it up for this marathon of a meet. So overall, we did really well. But warm-up was a little rough." – sophomore All-American Alex McMurtry
 
Amanda Cheney stepped into the vault lineup and scored a collegiate-best 9.75. What led to her appearing in the lineup tonight?
"I'm so proud of Amanda [Cheney], I can't say it enough. Kennedy [Baker] tweaked her ankle a bit on floor and it wasn't worth putting her in the vault lineup. We told Amanda she's up and she came up with a counting score for us on vault. It was great for her to step up in the last minute as a freshman in her first NCAA Regionals and do a great job." – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland
 
FLORIDA IN THE RANKINGS:
Florida is No. 2 in the final regular-season Road to Nationals rankings.
 
NCAA MINNEAPOLIS REGION EVENT CHAMPIONS:

All-Around	Bridget Sloan	Florida	39.375
Vault	Alicia Boren	Florida	9.900
	Alex McMurtry	Florida	9.900
	Meaghan Sievers	Iowa State	9.900
Bars	Alex McMurtry	Florida	9.875
	Lindsay Mable	Minnesota	9.875
Beam	Bridget Sloan	Florida	9.950
Floor	Nina McGee	Denver	9.950

 
UP NEXT: Selection information for the 12-team field and individual event competitors will be available on NCAA.com by noon ET on Monday, April 4. Those teams and individuals advance to Fort Worth, Texas, to compete in April 15 NCAA semifinal competition. The top three teams in each of the semifinal sessions compete in the NCAA Super Six on April 19 where the team champion is determined.
 
The NCAA Individual Event Finals were discontinued after the 2015 season. NCAA event champions will be based on scores in April 15 semifinal action. 

 

2016 NCAA Gymnastics Championships – April 15-16
Fort Worth Convention Center • Fort Worth, Texas
Date	Competition	Time (ET)
Friday, April 15	Semifinal I	2 p.m. on ESPNU
	Semifinal II	8 p.m. on ESPNU
Saturday, April 16	Super Six Team Final	9 p.m. on ESNPU

 

No. 2 Florida at NCAA Minneapolis Region Championships Final Team Totals
April 2, 2016 - Sports Pavilion (2,981)
Team		Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
Florida		49.225	49.125	49.300	49.075	196.725
Minnesota		49.175	48.950	49.150	48.900	196.175
Missouri		49.050	48.950	48.975	48.875	195.850
Denver		49.175	48.750	48.525	49.250	195.700
Ohio State		49.000	48.700	48.200	48.825	194.725
BYU		48.825	48.525	47.650	49.075	194.075

 

2016 NCAA Regional Results

Seed	School	Regional Total	Region
1	Oklahoma	197.575	Iowa City
2	Florida	196.725	Minneapolis
3	LSU	197.300	Athens
4	Alabama	197.125	Tuscaloosa
5	Utah	197.125	Salt Lake City
6	Auburn	196.525	Ann Arbor
8	UCLA	196.375	Salt Lake City
9	Georgia	196.850	Athens
10	California	195.925	Tuscaloosa
12	Nebraska	196.550	Iowa City
16	Minnesota	196.175	Minneapolis
18	Stanford	196.525	Ann Arbor

 

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