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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2015 20:43:25 GMT -5
!!!!!!!!!!!!3PEAT, BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MEET STANDINGS
TEAM SCORE LEAD
1 Florida 197.850 2 Utah 197.800 -.050 3 Oklahoma 197.525 -.325 4 Alabama 197.275 -.575 5 Stanford 197.250 -.600 6 Auburn 195.625 -2.225
2015 Women's Gymnastics National Champion
Florida Gators
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Post by oujour76 on Apr 18, 2015 20:59:49 GMT -5
[quote author=" ETGator1" MEET STANDINGS TEAM SCORE LEAD 1 Florida 197.850 2 Utah 197.800 -.050 3 Oklahoma 197.525 -.325 4 Alabama 197.275 -.575 5 Stanford 197.250 -.600 6 Auburn 195.625 -2.225 [/quote] Good job by the Gators. OU men won the title this year and was hoping the women could pull off the double. Not to be I guess.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2015 21:00:22 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2015 21:05:30 GMT -5
[quote author=" ETGator1" MEET STANDINGS TEAM SCORE LEAD 1 Florida 197.850 2 Utah 197.800 -.050 3 Oklahoma 197.525 -.325 4 Alabama 197.275 -.575 5 Stanford 197.250 -.600 6 Auburn 195.625 -2.225 Good job by the Gators. OU men won the title this year and was hoping the women could pull off the double. Not to be I guess. [/quote] Thanks Harry. It was OU's only loss of the year so it was a tough loss.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2015 21:23:30 GMT -5
It didn't have to be quite as close as it turned out. Kitra Hunter was the dropped score on the bars at 9.825. She regularily scores around 9.950. The Gators should have been flirting with 198.000 instead of being in the need of great bar routines from Bridget Sloan and Alex McMurtry.
Bridget Sloan has a national championship ring for her first three years with UF. When interviewed after the meet, she said she is looking forward to coming back next season. After all of her adversity with her injured ankle, I can understand why.
Saturday April 18, 2015 THREE PEAT! Gators Sensational When it Matters Most ... Again
Chris Harry By Chris Harry GatorZone.com Senior Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Make room for more hardware in the Florida gymnastics trophy case, where three definitely will not be a crowd. The Gators needed two clutch bar routines in the last two turns of the night, and junior Bridget Sloan and freshman Alex McMurtry answered with back-to-back 9.95s that were enough to surge UF past Utah 197.850 to 197.800 for the title before a raucous crowd at the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena. In capturing the third straight NCAA championship, UF laid claim to dynasty status in the sport, with Coach Rhonda Faehn its reigning queen.
A day after Faehn described her team's performance in the NCAA semifinals as "good," Florida was great with its crown on the line. UF started with the nerve-racking beam, but worked through it pretty much cleanly, then was terrific on floor and especially on vault after Bridgette Caquatto stumbled to start off, meaning all five remaining Gators had to be near flawless.
They were. Kennedy Baker, Sloan and McMurtry hit 9.9s and senior Kytra Hunter a 9.925.
After a bye in the fifth round, Florida's first four turns on bars weren't great, but Sloan and McMurtry came to the rescue in pressure-packed style.
Throw in Hunter's all-around individual championship from Friday's semifinal session -- she shared the title with UCLA's Samantha Peszek with scores of 39.60 -- and the weekend was a smashing success for the Gators, with Sunday's individual competition still to come. Make that 34 all-time national championships for Florida, with gymnastics joining men's indoor track (2010-12) to win three in a row. Since the NCAA began sanctioning its championship gymnastic championship meet in 1982, only three teams have won at least three consecutive. Utah took the first five from 1982-86. Georgia won five straight from 2005-09. Now the Gators can stake a claim to immortality. After finishing second to Alabama in the 2012 national meet by .075th of a point, Florida won its inaugural crown in 2013, then shared the title with Oklahoma in ’14 and now has a triplet trophy to stand alongside the others.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2015 8:48:50 GMT -5
Saturday April 18, 2015
Back-to-Back-to-Back NCAA Champs! Gator gymnasts win NCAA Super Six team final
FORT WORTH, Texas – Make room for another trophy – the University of Florida gymnastics team won its third consecutive NCAA Championship Saturday evening in the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena.
Florida won the meet at 197.85, just edging Utah (197.80), who was looking for their 10th overall NCAA title and first since 1995.
Other team Super Six results included Oklahoma in third (197.525), followed by Alabama (197.275), Stanford (197.25) and Auburn (195.625).
To win the program’s third-straight NCAA title, Florida opened the meet on balance beam with a solid performance (49.30). Then the Gators were lights-out on floor exercise, posting a 49.625 – equaling the third-highest in NCAA Super Six history. The Gators turned in a strong 49.45 on vault and finished the meet on uneven bars.
Bars is the one event that Florida shared the top spot in the national rankings entering this weekend’s NCAA competition.
But Utah was finishing on vault and also topped the national rankings for that event. The Gators led the Utes by 0.15 heading into the final rotation and needed a strong performance to stay on top.
Vault traditionally is the quickest of the four events to complete and the Utes completed their lineup by putting up the meet-high total for the event at 49.55, giving them at final team total of 197.80.
Two competitors remained for the Gators after Utah finished. Florida needed big scores from both to pass the Utes final total.
And both came through.
First, junior Bridget Sloan scored a 9.95. And then, the focus was on freshman Alex McMurtry.
She hit her routine, stuck the dismount and then McMurtry held her landing pose for just an extra bit – showing she controlled her routine from start to finish. That performance was rewarded with a collegiate-best 9.95.
And better yet, that score gave McMurtry and her Gator teammates their third-consecutive NCAA title.
GATOR TITLE NOTES:
· This is the University of Florida’s 34th National Title (32 NCAA and 2 AIAW).
· Gymnastics joins men’s indoor track & field (2010, 2011, 2012) as the only Gator teams to win three consecutive NCAA titles.
· Florida is the first team to win its first three NCAA Championships in consecutive years since Utah claimed the first five NCAA titles (1982-86). Six teams have claimed national gymnastics team titles – Alabama, UCLA, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and Utah. That is the fewest number of different teams to claim the national crown among the 13 sports challenging for national titles since the NCAA began fielding women’s championships in the 1981-82 season.
· Florida topped the GymInfo preseason poll in 2014 and 2015. The last team to win the NCAA title after starting No. 1 on the preseason poll was Georgia in 2009.
OF COURSE IT WAS A 9.95
Florida’s final competitor for each of its NCAA Championship teams scored a 9.95 to help push the Gators to the win.
In 2013 and 2014, Florida trailed heading into the final rotation. It was then-junior Alaina Johnson who finished Florida’s bars set with a 9.95 to give the Gators their first title in 2013. Last year, then-sophomore Bridgette Caquatto turned in a crucial 9.95 floor exercise routine which moved Florida into a tie with Oklahoma for the 2014 title.
Tonight, it was freshman Alex McMurtry closing the Gators’ bars rotation with a 9.95 to keep Florida in the top spot.
QUOTES Alex McMurtry
On realizing they won:
“I think we were all a little hesitant to celebrate. You never want to go out there too early and throw up your ones. We were so excited, and when we found out that we actually did win the national championship, for me, being my first time and only a freshman, it was so exciting. I looked at my best friends and the freshman class and said ‘We did it!’ And we did it as a team, and I’m more than happy to be a part of it. Competing as a freshman, especially being able to anchor on bars, which I never thought was possible for me. It’s been more than an amazing experience.”
Kytra Hunter On what this championship means:
“For me, I would have to say this is the best feeling that I’ve had compared to the other two because of so much adversity, and like Bridget (Sloan) said. When she went down that first meet, I got shaken up because I knew she was a core to our team and I didn’t know what we were going to do without her. And ‘she needs to hurry up and get better because I don’t know what we’re going to do!’ I honestly was just; my heart was just sunk to my feet. I didn’t know what to think. We still had another rotation to go, and I was just so worried about what happened to Bridget. I think I probably annoyed her because I was always like, ‘Are you okay? What happened? When are you coming back?’ I knew from then, I had to be her best friend because I wanted her back there on the floor, and I needed to do anything I could because we needed her. The team, we got together and realized that anyone can put up Bridget’s score, because that’s what we came to the University of Florida for. That’s what the coaches recruited us for, and that’s what we all believe in and in each other. Tonight definitely showed that we have so much heart and so much drive and determination. “
Bridget Sloan On her focus going into bars:
“We have been focusing really hard on being confident on all of the apparatuses. Going into bars, personally, I knew that bars were one of our best events. Rhonda has done an incredible job of keeping us focused on what the job is. When we got to bars, it wasn’t a matter of ‘Oh my gosh, we have to do this, we have to do this ‘ it was a matter of ‘All right, let’s just go out there and do what we have been doing the last three months’.
“Going into bars, personally, I knew we could do it. It was just a matter of if everyone was behind me. Clearly they were. It’s been an incredible journey this year. I definitely had a little bit of a rocky start, but to come in here and perform tonight, it was absolutely incredible and it was exactly how I wanted to end my junior year.”
Rhonda Faehn Opening comment:
“I couldn’t be, it’s still really surreal of course. They competed tonight with so much heart and so much fight, and the gymnasts touched on so much of what we endured this season. It was an incredibly rocky season with so much adversity, but at the same time I really feel like that’s what helped prepare each and every one of them for a night like tonight. Everyone had to compete with so much fight and so much heart that we gained so much experience through the season leading up to this. Yesterday’s competition we knew was solid but still had room for improvement, so I was really proud of them tonight.
Starting on beam, I just kept telling them that we were going to start on it and knock it out and it’s going to be awesome because then that is done and we’re going to move on and be lights out. And that’s exactly what they did tonight. They came back from the bye after beam and the energy was incredible. That floor set was just right on par with the 2013 floor set that we did. It was just amazing. I was so proud of the way they carried that momentum over to vault and finished so strong on bars.
What I loved to is that they just never got distracted. They weren’t focused on the scores or what was going on around them. It was solely on, I kept telling them, there may be little issues or mistakes here or there, but it’s about the way you’re responding. We really wanted to make sure that if someone didn’t stick a perfect dismount that t was still the perfect routine and the enthusiasm of having the best routine. That’s what helps build up the next athlete that’s ready to go. I really felt like they zeroed in on that tonight and I’m really proud.”
On the floor rotation:
“We’re a really a strong floor team. My staff is just incredible. Adrian [Burde] is the floor coach, so he really just stayed calm and relaxed and was very energetic with all of the athletes. I think that helped build them up. The excitement was just really flowing throughout the whole corral. The key, of course, Claire [Boyce] started us out really strong. For her to go out…and she’s been battling a tear of the hip and groin…just battling through and pushing through…and then Kirsten [Wang] going that 9.9 second was huge for the momentum and the energy. Sloan, of course, correcting the mistake she had the day before. Her going up third and hitting and going 9.95 then it was just lights out because everybody was dialed in.”
WORTH NOTING
· Florida claims its third consecutive NCAA Gymnastics Championship. The Gators also claimed the final AIAW National Team title in 1982 (transition year between AIAW and NCAA competition for women’s athletics).
· The team starting NCAA Super Six competition on beam has now won the NCAA title three times (Georgia 2005, Florida 2013, 2015) in the 23-year history of the Super Six format.
· This is the fifth time the No. 2 seed won the title in the 34-year history of the NCAA Gymnastics Championships.
· This is the second consecutive year Florida has posted a 49.625 on floor exercise in NCAA Super Six competition. The Gators own three of the four highest floor totals in Super Six competition – No. 1 49.725 (2013), No. T3 49.625 (2014, 2015).
· Senior Kytra Hunter’s 9.975 tonight on floor was the highest mark among the Gators in 2015 NCAA Semifinal or Super Six competition. She is the only Gator to score the nearly-perfect mark in NCAA Championships’ floor competition, as she also turned in that mark in the 2013 Super Six.
UP NEXT:
NCAA Championships action finishes Sunday with the NCAA Individual Event finals, which begin at 3 p.m. ET. There will be Gator representation in each of the four apparatus finals – vault (Sloan), uneven bars (Sloan), balance beam (McMurtry, Hunter) and floor exercise (Kennedy Baker, Bridgette Caquatto, Hunter).
Sloan is the defending uneven bars champion.
Individual event finals action can be seen live on ESPN3.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2015 8:59:05 GMT -5
Saturday April 18, 2015
Sloan, McMurtry Deliver In the Clutch
Chris Harry By Chris Harry GatorZone.com Senior Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Of the entire 12-team field that came to the NCAA Championships this weekend, Florida was tied statistically for the best uneven bars rotation of any of them. So when the Gators emerged from a fifth-round bye and headed to the bars station for the final rotation of Saturday night’s Super Six they had to feel pretty good relative to their positioning against a very solid Utah team.
UF coach Rhonda Faehn, as is her way, refused to lock in any cumulative team standings, purposely positioning her back toward the scoreboard at the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena to focus on her athletes.
“I just knew we had to hit,” she said.
Even someone unfamiliar with gymnastics vernacular can figure out what “hit” means. If the Gators did what they normally did on bars they were going to be very good shape in their chase for a third consecutive national title. Championship shape.
Kennedy Baker’s 9.85, Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto’s 9.85, Kytra Hunter’s 9.825 and Bridgette Caquatto’s 9.850 were decent scores -- but they weren’t textbook “hits.”
The next two were.
Bridget Sloan: 9.95 Alex McMurtry: 9.95
They were the gymnastic equivalents of monster home runs -- 450-foot moon shots to dead center field -- and they propelled the Gators past the Utes to a stunning third-straight NCAA crown by the score of 197.850 to 197.800. In fact, it was McMurtry’s clutch meet-ending routine that provided the margin of victory.
“I didn’t necessarily know what score I had to get. That would have made it harder on me,” said McMurtry, the freshman from Midlothian, Virginia, who graduated high school a year early to come to UF and just turned 18 in December. “Going last, sometimes that’s a good position, sometimes bad. I just had to do my job and it all worked out for me.”
She smiled.
“That was one of the best routines of my career.”
Certainly, the most timely one, given the stakes.
The fact that it came on the heels of yet another gorgeous one from Sloan, a walking 9.95 in her own right, was a fitting ending to a season that’s been a testament to perseverance for this team. First, the grizzled and graceful veteran delivered. Then the rookie came through.
“I was just so happy for them,” said Hunter, the senior, who the night before won a share of the NCAA’s all-around individual championship and posted the highest score of any UF athlete in the two-day competition with a 9.975 on floor. “I’m speechless right now.”
It was Hunter’s final team meet. What a way to go out. Yet, it was only four months ago when an outcome like this seemed unlikely at best, unfathomable at worst.
On Jan. 11, Sloan badly sprained her right ankle during floor exercise at Ball State, an injury that -- the UF coaches feared -- might be season-ending. As it turned out, it cost Sloan five meets and forced her to inch her way back into action. How’s this for inching at Super Six, where’s she absolutely starred the last two seasons?
Beam: 9.85 Floor: 9.95 Vault: 9.90
And then came that spin on the uneven bars.
“This championship, obviously, means a lot. It’s our third in a row, but it means the most to me because I didn’t think I was going to be a part of it,” Sloan said. “I had an incredible competition for myself. Everybody did.”
It’s getting to be the norm with Faehn’s bunch. On the grandest stage, no less.
In 2013, when two athletes fell off the beam to open the meet, they needed to be as close to dead-solid perfect as humanly possible. They were. In 2014, the Gators and Oklahoma went back and forth with their hits and sticks and ended up sharing the title.
This time, UF opened on the beam, which oftentimes is just about survival. The Gators did well there, then crushed floor and vault, leaving them in prime position to cap their quest for a three-peat.
It came down to Sloan, who had been there before, and McMurtry, whose definitely going places. “It was the hardest championship of the three -- by far -- but the most meaningful,” Faehn said. “There were so many bumps in the road, but [the athletes] were really battle-tested. They were tough. They overcame all those obstacles and really helped them fight tonight.”
On the effort scale, give ‘em a 9.95.
On the achievement scale That's easy.
10!
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Post by mscott59 on Apr 19, 2015 11:08:27 GMT -5
[quote author=" ETGator1" MEET STANDINGS TEAM SCORE LEAD 1 Florida 197.850 2 Utah 197.800 -.050 3 Oklahoma 197.525 -.325 4 Alabama 197.275 -.575 5 Stanford 197.250 -.600 6 Auburn 195.625 -2.225 Good job by the Gators. OU men won the title this year and was hoping the women could pull off the double. Not to be I guess. [/quote] congrats to the uf girls and the ou boys. being a gymnast is one tough road. one of the highest injury rates of any collegiate sport. incredible combo of strength and flexibility and talent needed to excel in those events. well done.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2015 11:31:15 GMT -5
congrats to the uf girls and the ou boys. being a gymnast is one tough road. one of the highest injury rates of any collegiate sport. incredible combo of strength and flexibility and talent needed to excel in those events. well done.
mark scott tosu 81
Thank you Mark.
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Post by oujour76 on Apr 19, 2015 11:32:25 GMT -5
[quote author=" ETGator1" MEET STANDINGS TEAM SCORE LEAD 1 Florida 197.850 2 Utah 197.800 -.050 3 Oklahoma 197.525 -.325 4 Alabama 197.275 -.575 5 Stanford 197.250 -.600 6 Auburn 195.625 -2.225 Good job by the Gators. OU men won the title this year and was hoping the women could pull off the double. Not to be I guess. congrats to the uf girls and the ou boys. being a gymnast is one tough road. one of the highest injury rates of any collegiate sport. incredible combo of strength and flexibility and talent needed to excel in those events. well done. [/quote Yes, a very tough sport. I enjoy watching it. Many people are surprised to find out how big it is at OU. The men's team has more national titles than the football team does. Bart Conner put OU on the map back in the late 70's and after that, the program took off. Conner still lives there and he and his wife (Nadia Comaneci) have a gymnastics school with students from all over the world. I don't know which school would be considered to have the best overall program (both men and women) but I do know OU would be in the discussion. In the last 5 years the men have finished 1, 2, 2, 2 and 2 in the NCAA tournament. The women have finished 3,1,2,7 and 3. That is pretty damn good.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2015 12:16:12 GMT -5
Good job by the Gators. OU men won the title this year and was hoping the women could pull off the double. Not to be I guess. congrats to the uf girls and the ou boys. being a gymnast is one tough road. one of the highest injury rates of any collegiate sport. incredible combo of strength and flexibility and talent needed to excel in those events. well done. [/quote Yes, a very tough sport. I enjoy watching it. Many people are surprised to find out how big it is at OU. The men's team has more national titles than the football team does. Bart Conner put OU on the map back in the late 70's and after that, the program took off. Conner still lives there and he and his wife (Nadia Comaneci) have a gymnastics school with students from all over the world. I don't know which school would be considered to have the best overall program (both men and women) but I do know OU would be in the discussion. In the last 5 years the men have finished 1, 2, 2, 2 and 2 in the NCAA tournament. The women have finished 3,1,2,7 and 3. That is pretty damn good. It would take a few years to become competitive, but I'd like to see UF and the SEC take up men's gymnastics. It would for compliment the women gymnastics teams. UF participates as a Big East member in women's lacrosse. I don't see why UF can't do the same thing, not necessarily the Big East, if the rest of the SEC isn't interested in men's gymnastics. Having the women's gymnastic nationals in Texas, I learned something new this year. There are no gymnastics programs in the state of Texas. Given that Texas is a hotbed for producing gymnasts, it's surprising that universities in Texas don't participate in the sport.
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Post by mscott59 on Apr 19, 2015 17:38:03 GMT -5
Good job by the Gators. OU men won the title this year and was hoping the women could pull off the double. Not to be I guess. congrats to the uf girls and the ou boys. being a gymnast is one tough road. one of the highest injury rates of any collegiate sport. incredible combo of strength and flexibility and talent needed to excel in those events. well done. [/quote Yes, a very tough sport. I enjoy watching it. Many people are surprised to find out how big it is at OU. The men's team has more national titles than the football team does. Bart Conner put OU on the map back in the late 70's and after that, the program took off. Conner still lives there and he and his wife (Nadia Comaneci) have a gymnastics school with students from all over the world. I don't know which school would be considered to have the best overall program (both men and women) but I do know OU would be in the discussion. In the last 5 years the men have finished 1, 2, 2, 2 and 2 in the NCAA tournament. The women have finished 3,1,2,7 and 3. That is pretty damn good. so the '76 and '84 olympics turned out to be pretty good for ou gymnastics, it seems.
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Post by oujour76 on Apr 19, 2015 19:05:38 GMT -5
so the '76 and '84 olympics turned out to be pretty good for ou gymnastics, it seems. [/quote] Absolutely. Not sure how those 2 got together in the first place, but glad they did.
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Post by daleko on Apr 19, 2015 22:20:56 GMT -5
congrats to the uf girls and the ou boys. being a gymnast is one tough road. one of the highest injury rates of any collegiate sport. incredible combo of strength and flexibility and talent needed to excel in those events. well done. [/quote Yes, a very tough sport. I enjoy watching it. Many people are surprised to find out how big it is at OU. The men's team has more national titles than the football team does. Bart Conner put OU on the map back in the late 70's and after that, the program took off. Conner still lives there and he and his wife (Nadia Comaneci) have a gymnastics school with students from all over the world. I don't know which school would be considered to have the best overall program (both men and women) but I do know OU would be in the discussion. In the last 5 years the men have finished 1, 2, 2, 2 and 2 in the NCAA tournament. The women have finished 3,1,2,7 and 3. That is pretty damn good. It would take a few years to become competitive, but I'd like to see UF and the SEC take up men's gymnastics. It would for compliment the women gymnastics teams. UF participates as a Big East member in women's lacrosse. I don't see why UF can't do the same thing, not necessarily the Big East, if the rest of the SEC isn't interested in men's gymnastics. Having the women's gymnastic nationals in Texas, I learned something new this year. There are no gymnastics programs in the state of Texas. Given that Texas is a hotbed for producing gymnasts, it's surprising that universities in Texas don't participate in the sport. Title IX and $. Schools have to make choices to make the number equality & budget math work. Ex, OK doesn't having swimming, which for men, is on the wain because of Title IX. And neither, understandably, plays hockey. Title IX, which has grown women's sports to build up the numbers to mitigate FB and a budget to meet, means you have to pick and choose what and where. Many schools end up with club sports if there is enough interest and travel cost isn't prohibitive. A lot of it self supported if the U's student rec funding isn't strong. Congrats to both programs.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2015 8:19:30 GMT -5
Sunday April 19, 2015
Kytra Hunter wins NCAA floor exercise title
FORT WORTH, Texas – Make that three NCAA titles this weekend for Florida senior Kytra Hunter.
She opened NCAA Championship action Friday by tying with UCLA’s Samantha Peszek for the NCAA all-around title. Then Saturday, she helped the Gators win their third consecutive NCAA team title. She finished the weekend – and her collegiate career – with a stellar routine Sunday to claim the NCAA floor exercise crown.
It was quite a weekend for Hunter and her Gator teammates, as the 2015 NCAA Championships came to a close Sunday at the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena.
Hunter’s winning mark of 9.9625 gives Florida its second NCAA floor champion. It was the Gators’ first since Maria Anz won Florida’s first NCAA title in any event when she claimed the 1985 NCAA floor title.
Junior teammate Bridget Sloan just missed stepping to the top of the podium in the two events she performed Sunday. Sloan was second in both the vault (9.925) and uneven bars (9.95) final standings.
Hunter and freshman Alex McMurtry also made their first appearances in the NCAA balance beam final. Hunter was fifth (9.875) and McMurtry tied for eighth (9.825.).
Joining Hunter in Sunday’s floor final was freshman Kennedy Baker and junior Bridgette Caquatto. Both had a miscue during their routines, as Baker took 12th (9.775) and Caquatto (9.3375).
GATOR NOTES:
· With her floor exercise title today, Hunter is now the Gators’ career leader in NCAA individual event titles with four. She also won the 2012 all-around and vault titles.
· With Hunter’s win, the Gators have claimed at least one NCAA event title every season since 2011.
QUOTES:
On today’s performance by the Gators:
“For Kytra - Wow! She was just a complete model of consistency and it was so amazing to see her enjoy every moment out there today. She’s the first Gator since Maria Anz in 1985 to win a floor title. I think that’s extra special. She’s always been known for her explosive power and her tumbling, but she’s really worked hard over the last four years on showcasing, performing and showing the dance. It all came together for her today. I couldn’t be more proud. She’s represented Florida with such class and integrity. She will certainly be missed.
“Bridget [Sloan] did great on the two events she qualified for. She has said many times that she didn’t even expect to be here. Such strong performances for her on both events.
“Bridgey (Caquatto) - she performed the heck out that routine. I’m proud of her for qualifying into the event finals and becoming an All-American. Often times there are mistakes on finals day because the athletes are so tired, but I commend her for everything she’s done up to this point. Through the championship weekend, she did a great job.
“What a huge learning experience for our freshmen Kennedy [Baker] and Alex [McMurtry]. This is their first opportunity to be a part of this. To make event finals is really special. I thought they, along with everyone else, did great.” ”– Florida head coach Rhonda Faehn
On closing her career:
“It’s always definitely bittersweet. It’s definitely an exclamation point on my ending of my collegiate career. Honestly…I mean I couldn’t be any prouder of myself just because I have worked so hard to keep my team together and I have tried to step out of my boundaries and show a different leadership role. At the beginning of the season, we did lose Bridget Sloan and she is the core of our team. I know I keep talking about that, but honestly it made me realize and it made me mature a lot more. It made me able to grow up and bring a team together and just be a different kind of leader. I think that, of course, all of our hard work has definitely paid off. I’m just really excited.” – senior All-American Kytra Hunter
On if there is an element of pride for winning a championship all four years:
“It definitely shows a little bit of pride and I do feel pride too. Also being able to have the opportunity to do gymnastics for the University of Florida is what I definitely cherish the most. I’m just really excited that I was recruited and I was able to be a part of a prestigious university. It honestly means a lot to me and to be able to come close with my teammates and my coaches. It’s definitely a home away from home. Just having that comfort and knowing what I do is for the Gators and that I’m contributing to that success.” – senior All-American Kytra Hunter
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