(c) Erin Long
No. 1 Florida gymnastics team (6-1, 5-1 SEC) faces No. 23 Kentucky (5-3-1, 3-2-1 SEC) Friday for the final league meet on both teams regular-season schedule. Meet time is set for 7 p.m. in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
Florida claimed a 197.30-196.175 win at No. 9 Georgia in front of a sold-out Stegeman Coliseum crowd the afternoon of Feb. 16. The Gators trailed the GymDogs after each of the opening two rotations and the GymDogs owned a 0.150 lead at the midway point. A solid, but not spectacular, Gator performance in the floor exercise coupled with GymDogs troubles on the balance beam put Florida ahead for good. The Gators needed a clean performance on its closing event, balance beam, to claim its first consecutive dual meet wins at Georgia since UF took wins in the 1974 and 1975 seasons. Consistent scores ranging from 9.825 to 9.875 gave UF its third-highest beam total of the season of 49.30 to seal the win.
(c) Erin Long
Freshman Bridget Sloan claimed her third-consecutive all-around title with a total of 39.60, which equals the highest posted in the nation last weekend. Florida’s All-American pair of sophomore Kytra Hunter and senior Ashanée Dickerson were behind her with totals of 39.45 and 39.40, respectively. Sloan also equaled her collegiate-best of 9.95 on uneven bars for the second consecutive week to share that event title.
Since 1992, Florida is the only team to bring the nation’s No. 1 ranking into Stegeman Coliseum and take the win. No. 1 Florida took a 197.725-196.60 win in 2011 and tied Georgia at 197.25 in 2007. The 2013 Gators are the sixth team to come to Georgia’s home arena ranked No. 1.
Florida has at least one gymnast among the nation’s top 10 in each of the five events. Sloan is No. 2 in the all-around (39.563) and No. 9 in vault (9.90). Dickerson is No. 6 in all-around (39.433), No.T3 in vault (9.925) and No. 4 in floor exercise (9.90). Hunter is No. 2 in vault (9.930), No.5 in floor (9.90) and No. 10 all-around (39.356). In the uneven bars rankings, Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto is No. 2 (9.888). Junior Mackenzie Caquatto holds the No. 1 position in the balance beam rankings (9.893).
(c) Erin Long
Kentucky heads to Gainesville after three consecutive home meets versus league rivals. The Wildcats lost 195.875-195.25 to then No. 6 LSU on Feb. 1, registered the first tie at 195.825 in the all-time series history with then No. 8 Georgia on Feb. 8 and won its “Pink Meet” versus Missouri on Feb. 15 by a score of 195.25-194.925. Junior Audrey Harrison, who has won the all-around title in each of the last three meets, has matched her collegiate-best of 39.30 the last two weekends. Tim Garrison is in his second season as the Wildcats’ head coach after spending five seasons as a Nebraska assistant coach.