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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2016 9:31:38 GMT -5
Going For Four!
Preseason Top 3:
1. Oklahoma 2. Florida 3. Alabama
UF opened with a good performance in their meet opener and will take on preseason #6 UCLA next Friday. That meet can be seen on SEC Network streaming:
DENTON, Texas - The preseason No. 2 Florida gymnastics team opened the season and UF's Jenny Rowland's head coaching career with a win at Texas Woman's University.
Florida turned in a 196.825, the fourth-highest among the program's 44 season-opening performances. Texas Woman's University posted a 191.45. Florida Event Winners Friday Vault: Alex McMurtry 9.925 Uneven Bars: Bridget Sloan 9.875 Balance Beam: Alicia Boren 9.900 Ericha Fassbender 9.900 Floor Exercise Kennedy Baker 9.900 Bridget Sloan 9.900 All-Around Bridget Sloan 39.50 As expected with the first meet of the season, there were a few skills that will be sharpened in upcoming training sessions. But it was a solid effort, with four different freshmen contributing to the Gators final team tally.
The Gators swept the meet events, with senior All-American Bridget Sloan taking at least a share of three titles - all-around, uneven bars and shared the floor exercise win with sophomore Kennedy Baker. Sophomore Alex McMurtry continued her winning ways on vault, claiming her eighth title for the event with the meet's high mark of the evening (9.925).
Balance beam looked far past early season form, as the team total of 49.425 is second only the 2004 season-opening beam total of 49.45 at the 2004 Super Six Challenge. Two Gators shared their first collegiate balance beam win at 9.90 - sophomore Ericha Fassbender and freshman Alicia Boren. Everyone in the lineup scored a 9.85 or better, including a trio of 9.875s by Baker, McMurtry and freshman Peyton Ernst.
GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES:•Bridget Sloan's three titles (all-around, bars, floor) pushes her career total of event wins to 71. She is the fifth Gator to pass the 70-event wins threshold. •Sophomore Alex McMurtry won vault with a nearly-perfect 9.925. Seems a bit off a perfect mark? That's due to the vault McMurtry performed, a Yurchenko full, is now valued at 9.95. In previous seasons, the maximum value for the Yurchenko full was a 10.0. •Fassbender's 9.90 to share the beam win equaled her collegiate best set Feb. 13, 2015. •The Gators went one-two in the all-around. Baker's 39.40 is her second-highest all-around total of her collegiate career. •Sloan used UF's third-highest season-opening total (39.50) to win her 19th all-around title. Only four in UF history have won 20 or more all-around titles.
RECORDS: Florida (1-0, 0-0 SEC); Texas Woman's University (0-1, 0-0 Midwest Independent).
THE SERIES: Florida leads the series 2-0.
HEAR FROM COACH ROWLAND Thoughts on first meet with the Gators: "So incredibly proud of this team. We knew there would be mistakes, but that's ok because we don't need to be at our best right now. We came in and did what we needed to do."
The team finished strong on beam. Was that expected? "We've been working really hard in the gym. It's about showing your confidence in competition and really pleased they were able to execute that tonight."
What are some of the things the team is focusing on? "Our theme this year is to focus on the process and enjoy that journey. We aren't focusing on the destination. One other theme we have is "Designed to Go Far". It is just knowing that anything and everything that happens in our lives makes us the person we are. We want to build on that day after day."
Your highlight of the meet? "The highlight of the meet was the freshmen stepping in and filling some spots. We weren't expecting some to be in the lineup today but very proud of them. They did great today."
LONE STAR GATORS Texas is the home state for six Gators - junior Claire Boyce, sophomores Kennedy Baker, Ericha Fassbender and Grace McLaughlin plus freshmen Peyton Ernst and Ashley Hiller.
The Lone Star state is known for producing some of the nation's top gymnasts. In the 2015 NCAA Championships, 31 of the competitors across the 12 teams were from Texas. Of the preseason top 25 teams, all but five have at least one resident of Texas on their roster. The top two teams in the preseason poll - Oklahoma and Florida - lead with six Texas gymnasts each.
WORTH NOTING This was Florida's first visit to Texas for a dual meet since Feb. 14, 1981 when the Gators were in Austin to face the Longhorns...the Gators have opened the season with an all-around win in each of the past 11 seasons and a team win each of the past six years...four Gator freshmen made their collegiate debuts Friday - Alicia Boren, Amanda Cheney, Peyton Ernst and Ashley Hiller.
Preseason National Rank: Florida - Florida is No. 2 in the Road to Nationals preseason poll. Florida has appeared among the preseason top four teams each of the last 10 years (2007: 3rd; 2008: 2nd; 2009: 3rd; 2010: 4th; 2011: 3rd; 2012: 3rd,2013: 3rd; 2014: 1st; 2015: 1st).
UP NEXT: The Gators' 2016 home opener brings preseason No. 6 UCLA to town on Friday, Jan. 15. Meet time is set for 6:45 p.m. in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Welcome the three-time NCAA champion Gators back to their home arena with some bling. Light-up national championship rings go to the first 1,000 at the O'Connell Center Friday. Come early to get your picture taken with Florida's three NCAA Championship trophies (Gate 4, beginning at 5:15 p.m.).
UCLA opens its season Sunday when preseason No. 3 Alabama visits Los Angeles.
Tickets for Friday's meet are $5 for adults, while children 17 and under and UF students with a Gator1 card are admitted free.
Still time for Florida fans to purchase 2016 season tickets to avoid the ticket lines and breeze into the O'Connell Center on meet nights. Visit the Gators ticket site for complete information.
A live stream of the UF-UCLA meet can be seen at the SEC Network for all SEC Network subscribers.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2016 15:45:18 GMT -5
Thankfully, I'll be able to watch UCLA at UF on SEC+:
This Week’s Event: No. 3 Florida (1-0, 0-0 SEC) versus No. 5 UCLA (1-0, 0-0 Pac 12) Date & Time: Friday, Jan. 15 at 6:45 p.m. ET Site: Stephen C. O’Connell Center (10,126); gates 1& 2 open at 5:30 p.m. Television: none Series Record (all-time): UCLA leads 12-25. Last meeting, Florida tied for first in 2015 NCAA Semifinal I (197.475) and UCLA was sixth (196.40) on April 17, 2015 Video Stream: live video stream available at SEC Network + Internet: live stats available on FloridaGymnastics.com
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2016 17:14:25 GMT -5
The Gators look great, again. They will likely get a shot at a 4-peat:
Special report on the Florida Gators gymnastics team:
No. 3 Gator Gymnasts Defeat No. 5 UCLA to Open Home Action
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The nation’s top dual of the weekend went to the Florida Gators in front of an enthusiastic Stephen C. O’Connell Center crowd of 6,511. The three-time defending NCAA champions opened home action with a 197.675 - 196.925 win over UCLA.
Florida Event Winners Friday
Vault:
Kennedy Baker
9.925
Alex McMurtry
9.925
Uneven Bars:
Bridget Sloan
9.975
Floor Exercise
Kennedy Baker
9.950
All-Around
Bridget Sloan
39.65
The Gators came into Friday’s meet looking for improvement from their season opener last week at Texas Woman’s University. In that meet, the Gators turned in a 196.825, the third-highest total of this young season. One area that was a focus in this week’s training was landings and the Gators did pick up valuable tenth this week in that area.
Two All-American sophomores - Kennedy Baker and Alex McMurtry - shared the vault title at 9.925. Baker used a 9.95 to claim her second consecutive floor exercise win.
In the opening weekend the 2016 season, senior All-American Bridget Sloan’s winning all-around total of 39.50 was the nation’s high. Tonight, three Gators bettered that total. Sloan took her second consecutive all-around title at 39.65. Tying for second at 39.575 was Baker and freshman Alicia Boren, who was making her all-around debut.
Sloan also turned in the meet’s high mark in any event with her 9.975 on uneven bars.
UCLA’s Danusia Francis anchored the Bruins balance beam set with a 9.95 to claim that event title.
GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES:
* Boren’s total of 39.575 equals the highest ever by a Gator making their all-around debut. Mackenzie Caquatto also tallied a 39.575 when she made her all-around debut in the fifth meet of the 2011 season.
* It was all-around win No. 20 for Sloan. She is one of five Gators to claim 20 or more all-around titles.
* The two sophomore used different vaults to reach the same score. Baker’s performed a Yurchenko with one and a half twist (10.0 value) and McMurtry competed a Yurchenko full (9.95 value). It was the second consecutive and ninth overall vault win for McMurtry.
* Baker now has four floor wins as a Gator.
RECORDS: Florida (2-0, 0-0 SEC); UCLA (1-1, 0-0 Pac 12).
THE SERIES: UCLA leads the series 25-13.
Florida has met UCLA in home regular season four times in the program’s 44-year history. The only other regular-season home win over the Bruins was in 1986.
HEAR FROM THE GATORS
Opening Statement:
“My first meet in the O’Connell Center was definitely a memorable evening. The team told me yesterday that there was no place like competing in the O’Dome in front of Gator Nation and they are absolutely right. I had a great evening. I had a lot of fun, the team had a lot of fun, I’m very proud of the team. We took a good step forward after our first away meet and I think the future is looking good for the Florida Gators.” - Florida head coach Jenny Rowland
On improvements from last week’s meet: “We were just looking to improve upon landings. We had missed over a point in landings (against TWU) and I think the girls did a great job of paying attention to some of the little details. We still have work to do, we will always have work to do but it was a great improvement from last week.” - Florida head coach Jenny Rowland
On improving from the last meet: “Tonight was an incredible home-opener for us. We have a very young and small team, so the better we get each meet is really going to add up for post-season. Jenny [Rowland] really emphasizes on us not being perfect, she really just tells us to go out there and have fun. We really focused on landings this week, a bunch of little things and they really add up. We were able to come out with an incredible home-opening score. I think each meet is going to get better and better and that’s how it’s supposed to be. You’re not going to peak in the month of January. I think we’re on track to do great things in the future.” - senior All-American Bridget Sloan
On the freshman class: “As a senior, I wasn’t prepared on what to do, so I’m just going to do what I’ve always done and see if they jump on my train and they did. It was incredible in the gym to see them grow as athletes. They’re able to have fun in practice now. We’re not just the upperclassmen, we’re their teammates and their friends. It’s awesome to see that because that’s what you need in a team. You need people to look up to, but you also need those people you can turn to. They don’t look at me as their leader, they look at me as a friend and a teammate, and that’s what it’s supposed to be about.” - senior All-American Bridget Sloan
On competing all-around for the first time at her first home meet: "The experience was amazing. They tried to prepare us for it, but they said that it was not going to be anything like they said and you can only feel it when you actually experience it. It was so fun, and I didn't even know I was competing all-around until yesterday. I was so excited." - freshman Alicia Boren
On floor performance tonight performing in front of a home crowd: “I think it happened my sophomore year, I kind of had the same experience where the crowd went crazy before I even stepped on the floor. It almost gave me goosebumps because this is what I live for. I wake up in the mornings and go to practice, just waiting to perform on Fridays. It’s now that time. We told the freshman, you’ll never forget your first meet. When the crowd went crazy tonight before I even was announced, it makes you feel appreciated.
“We’ve always said Gator fans are the best, but they are hands down the best. They appreciate good gymnastics. The support they give us, you can’t even describe it. It was incredible to have that tonight at our home-opener, and I definitely wasn’t expecting it. It something I will always remember.” - senior All-American Bridget Sloan
On joining a team that's won three straight national championships: "They have such an amazing past that I didn't know how I was going to come into it and how I was going to change it because you come in and you see all these amazing girls. They say you're going to compete all-around, but you've got to figure it out as you go. I feel like it's motivated me so much because they've won three, but I haven't added to any of that, and I wanted to be able to add to another one for them." - freshman Alicia Boren
National Rank: Florida - Florida is No. 3 in the Jan. 10 Road to Nationals<http://roadtonationals.com/results/standings.php#pages/national.php?nat=1> rankings. UCLA - Bruins No. 5 in Jan. 10 rankings
UP NEXT: The Gators start 2016 SEC action next Friday at No. T-7 Auburn. Meet time is set for 8:30 p.m. ET in the Auburn Arena.
Auburn opened SEC action Friday with a 196.275-195.175 home win over No. 21 Kentucky.
Friday’s meet marks the Gators’ 2016 debut on the SEC Network. The meet will also stream on SEC Network +.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2016 13:21:31 GMT -5
No. 1 Gator Gymnasts Open SEC Action with Win at No. 8 Auburn
By Florida Athletics Communications | Friday, January 22, 2016
AUBURN, Ala. - For the second straight weekend, the University of Florida gymnastics team took the win versus a top-10 team. This time the win came on the road, as Florida opened Southeastern Conference action with a 197.075 - 195.90 win at Auburn.
Florida Event Winners Friday:
Vault: Alex McMurtry 9.900 Uneven Bars: Bridget Sloan 9.925 Balance Beam: Alex McMurtry 9.900 Floor Exercise Kennedy Baker 9.950 All-Around Bridget Sloan 39.575
Florida's Jenny Rowland, who spent the last five seasons on the Auburn coaching staff before taking the Gators' head position in May of 2015, received a warm welcome during pre-meet introductions from the sellout Auburn Arena crowd of 7,424.
The Gators were steady with a few minor breaks in their third meet of the season. Florida swept the meet's event titles Friday, with senior All-American Bridget Sloan using a 9.925 to claim the uneven bars title. Sophomore All-American Alex McMurtry again stuck her vault landing, taking the win at 9.90.
Sophomore All-American Kennedy Baker used the high score of the evening on any event to take the floor title at 9.95. The Gators finished the meet on balance beam, with McMurtry taking her second event title of the night with her 9.90 beam score.
The all-around title went to Sloan, the reigning SEC Gymnast of the Week. She turned in a 39.575 for her third straight all-around win. Baker was second at 39.475. SEC Freshman of the Week Alicia Boren shared third with AU's Caitlin Atkinson at 39.275.
GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES•Three was the number for tonight, as three Gators picked up their third straight event titles. Sloan has claimed the all-around and uneven bars titles in each of Florida's meets this season. McMurtry has taken the vault win in each meet. The floor title went to Baker for the third straight meet. •The vault win was the 10th of McMurtry's collegiate career. She claimed her first career win on beam tonight. •Sloan's two event wins tonight pushes her career total to 75. Only five Gators in the program's 44-year history have 70 or more event titles.
RECORDS: Florida (3-0, 1-0 SEC); Auburn (2-2, 0-2 SEC).
THE SERIES: Florida leads 70-11.
RE-AIR DATE: The Florida at Auburn meet airs again Sunday, Jan. 24 beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
HEAR FROM THE GATORS On Florida's performance: "I was very proud of them. There were some little problems here and there, but they fought hard. The Gators showed a lot of heart and a lot of grit. You learn from each meet and move forward.
"It was a great learning tool for the gymnasts. We'll go back into the gym, reflect on what went well and what didn't. Much went the way we wanted tonight, but there were a few bumps. We'll go back into the gym and work on smoothing those things out." - Florida head coach Jenny Rowland
On the performances of tonight's event winners: "We had some outstanding performances tonight. I can't say enough about Bridget Sloan. She comes into practice day and after day and grinds through. In competition, she thrives. Really proud of Alex McMurtry and Kennedy Baker. As sophomores, they are really stepping up and showing a lot of leadership." - Florida head coach Jenny Rowland
On Florida's first SEC road meet: "I thought tonight was a meet that we needed. TWU was our very first road meet so tonight gave our freshman a taste of a real SEC rivalry. That's what we got tonight. It was a great competition. Jenny (Rowland) stresses that you strive for perfection, but it isn't always going to come. There are few things that could have gone better. We want to make mistakes now so we can learn from it. This is exactly what we wanted to have." - senior All-American Bridget Sloan
On team's performance tonight: "I think we did really well. It was a fun environment here. We hit our routines - that was the goal and that's what we did.
"Beam wasn't our best tonight but we'll work on smoothing it out this week in practice." - sophomore All-American Alex McMurtry
How was Coach Rowland received in her return to Auburn? "Sure it was a little hard for Jenny (Rowland) as she recently came to Florida from Auburn, but she did a great job. She is truly a Gator now. We trust her and we want to go out there and make her look good." - senior All-American Bridget Sloan
What do you think of the performance of the freshman class? "They are really stepping up. We have incredible freshman who are really starting to learn. They are cheering and kind of getting into the college atmosphere. It was awesome to have them do so well in a road meet." - senior All-American Bridget Sloan
National Rank: Florida - Florida is No. 1 in the Jan. 18 Road to Nationals rankings. Auburn - Tigers No. 8 in Jan. 18 rankings
UP NEXT: The Gators return home to continue action versus top 10 teams when they face No. 4 Alabama on Jan. 29. Meet time is set for 6:45 p.m. in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Friday's gymnastics meet kicks of Florida's Fill the Dome weekend. Florida fans are encouraged to come out to support the Gators as they face top-10 teams in three consecutive days in the O'Connell Center: Friday at 6:45 p.m. Gymnastics versus No. 4 Alabama Saturday at noon: Men's basketball versus No. 6 West Virginia Sunday at 1 p.m. Women's basketball versus No. 9 Kentucky
To get tickets for this weekend's events, visit the FloridaGators.com ticket site or stop by the Gator Ticket Office (open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.).
The first 750 fans at Friday's gymnastics meet receive a free cell power bank.
Alabama lost 196.70 - 196.40 to No. 10 Arkansas in home action Friday.
The meet airs live on the SEC Network and will also stream on SEC Network .
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2016 16:22:24 GMT -5
In week 4, #1 UF hosts #5 bama on Friday night in what will be a third straight top 10 matchup. UF beat UCLA in week 2 and Auburn in week 3.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2016 9:20:47 GMT -5
UF's evening of perfection with 10s from 3 different gymnasts leads the #1 Gators over the #5 crimson tide:
floridagators.com/news/2016/1/29/GYM_0129164342.aspx
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In the nation's top meet of the weekend, the Florida Gators claimed a 198.175 – 197.525 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide in front of a Stephen O'Connell Center crowd of 8,867 - the program's sixth-largest gymnastics crowd. Three perfect scores from Alex McMurtry, Bridget Sloan and Kennedy Baker gave the Gators a team score that leads the nation in 2016 and is tied for seventh-best in program history. The Tides' total also is the nation's top in road competition. Florida Event Winners Friday Vault: Kennedy Baker 9.950 Alicia Boren 9.950 Uneven Bars: Alex McMurtry 10.00 Balance Beam: Bridget Sloan 10.00 Floor Exercise Kennedy Baker 10.00 All-Around Bridget Sloan 39.775
There was no question it would be a great competition. Both teams brought top-five rankings into Friday's meeting – No. 1 Florida and No. 5 Alabama. The last five NCAA team titles went to these two programs (Alabama 2011, 2012; Florida 2013, 2014-tie with OU, 2015) as well as the last seven Southeastern Conference crowns (Alabama 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015; Florida 2010, 2012, 2013). UF came out firing on all cylinders on the vault. The Gators achieved two season-best scores from Baker and Alicia Boren with a 9.95. The Orange and Blue were able to post their season high total on vault (49.50). The perfection began on the uneven bars with McMurtry securing her career-best 10 on the apparatus and her second uneven bars event title. The Gator sophomore grabbed her fifth event title of the 2016 season. Sloan anchored the Gators' beam set with an O'Connell Center first – a 10.0. On four previous occasions, a gymnast turned in a beam mark of 9.975 in the O'Connell Center, but Sloan's mark tonight is the first on the apparatus. On the final rotation, Baker posted her first 10.0 on any event with her floor mark Friday. She twice had posted a 9.975 as a freshman in 2015. It was the nation's most competitive all-around contest of the season, as three gymnasts turned in totals at or above the nation's leading mark. Sloan, who owned the previous nation's high of 2016 of 39.65, upped her best to 39.775 for her fourth consecutive win. Baker and Alabama's Lauren Beers shared second at 39.65. TEN FACTS ABOUT FLORIDA'S THREE 10.0s •Three 10s by three different Gators on three different events is a program first. Twice in UF's 44-year history the Gators earned a pair of 10s in a single meet (Kristen Guise, Amy Myerson – bars/March 22, 1996 & Sloan, Kytra Hunter – floor/Jan. 24, 2014) but both marks of perfection came in the same event. •The 10s from McMurtry (uneven bars) and Sloan (balance beam) were the nation's first on those events of 2016. Heading into this weekend, one gymnast (Denver's Nine McGee) had scored a floor 10.0. •Only three beam 10s have been earned in Florida's history and Sloan has two of them. Her first beam 10.0 came at Kentucky on Feb. 7, 2014. •Baker's floor 10.0 was the first of her career. Five Gators have turned in a total of eight floor 10.0 marks in the program's history. Kytra Hunter, who leads with four floor 10.0 marks, was the last Gator to earn the score on the event with her performance at Missouri on March 14, 2014. •McMurtry now has perfect marks in two events. She opened 2015 home competition with a vault 10.0. She is one of three Gators to earn perfect marks on multiple events (Hunter – vault, floor & Sloan – vault, bars, beam, floor). •Sloan, who finished her collegiate "GymSlam" (a 10.0 on each event) in 2015, now has a total of six 10.0 marks as a Gator. She turned in two 10.0s as a sophomore (floor, then beam) and finished her "GymSlam" during her junior season (vault, then twice on bars). She is the eighth collegiate gymnast to earn a 10.0 on each event and first since 2009. •McMurtry's mark is the 10th time a Gator has scored an uneven bars 10.0. She is the seventh Gator to earn an uneven bars 10.0. •Florida now has 30 10.0 marks in the program's history (vault – nine; bars – 10; beam – three; floor – eight). •Tonight's performance brings the nation's total of 10.0 marks to five. In the month of January, two other 10s were scored (LSU's Ashleigh Gnat – vault & Denver's McGee – floor). •Sloan's six perfect marks equals Hunter's total (two vault; four floor) as Florida's career 10.0 leaders. GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES•The bars win was the first of the 2016 season for McMurtry and just the second of her career. The Gator has now grabbed five event titles in 2016, with 13 in her young, Gator career. •Sloan's two event wins tonight pushes her career total to 77. Only five Gators in the program's 44-year history have 70 or more event titles. •Baker's event title on the floor was her fourth consecutive event title and ninth of her career. •Florida's event totals for vault (49.50), beam (49.525) and floor (49.675) were team season highs. •Sloan's all-around win was the 22nd of her career, moving her into sole possession of third all-time for the Gators. •Vault marks of 9.95 by consecutive Gators were also the team's high on the event in 2016. Freshman Alicia Boren shared her first vault win with Baker.
TOP-10 MEETINGS: Tonight was Florida's third consecutive meet versus a top-10 team. The Gators opened home action with a 197.675-196.925 versus then No. 5 UCLA. Last Friday, Florida opened SEC action with a 197.075-195.90 win at then No. 8 Auburn. RECORDS: Florida (4-0, 2-0 SEC); Alabama (2-3, 1-2 SEC). THE SERIES: Alabama leads 71-39-2. Since 2003, each regular-season meeting between these two teams has gone to the home team. RE-AIR DATES: The Florida versus Alabama meet airs again on the SEC Network Saturday, Jan. 30 at 9:30 a.m. and Sunday, Jan. 31 at 8:30 p.m. Also airs Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 1 p.m. on ESPNU. HEAR FROM THE GATORS On Florida's performance: "I really don't know what to say other than tonight was a very memorable night. I think not only for me, but for our entire team. These three over here that got perfect 10s (Bridget Sloan, Alex McMurtry and Kennedy Baker), I can't say enough about them. Their leadership on the team and putting forth the effort and putting in the work inside and outside the gym for this team. It is like no other. "But really, we haven't been working on being perfect in the gym or anything. It so nice see them and when they are in the gym, they do a great job. It is great to see them move everything from the gym onto the competition floor and just shine and have fun. It is showing in their gymnastics." - Head Coach Jenny Rowland On her perfect 10 on the uneven bars… "I was surprised by the 10. I am kind of terrified of bars. This routine gave me some confidence with the new release move and a new routine. When I stuck that landing, I thought I hit a good routine, but I didn't think it was a 10.0 until they flashed the scores." - sophomore Alex McMurtry On her perfect 10 on floor… "I didn't go into it thinking that I was going to get a 10. Then, I did the first pass and thought 'eh, that was good'. I did the second pass and thought 'oh that was better' and then I landed it and was thinking 'hopefully.' Then they flashed the scores and I was really happy." - sophomore Kennedy Baker On her perfect 10 on the balance beam… "I go last on the beam and it's a long wait. Before I was going, I was super relaxed and calm. I thought I was just going to go up there and rock this. Jenny said 'let's just end this with a boom'. I thought 'OK'. "I bet no one noticed but I kicked the beam really hard on the very first move I did. I stood up on the beam and was like 'oh my gosh my toe.' It really just took me away from my actual thought process. It is amazing what happens when you don't think and just let your body take over. I was just going through my routine and thinking 'oh that was good' and I landed my dismount. "I remember the first 10 I got on beam and it was during my sophomore year at Kentucky. I did my beam routine and thought there was no way that they could take anything off. I felt very similar this week. Again, it was an incredible night." - senior Bridget Sloan National Rank: Florida – Florida is No. 1 in the Jan. 25 Road to Nationals rankings. Alabama – Tide No. 5 in Jan. 25 rankings UP NEXT: The Gators open action for the second month of the season when they are at No. 13 Georgia on Friday, Feb. 5. Meet time is set for 7 p.m. in the Stegeman Coliseum. Georgia finished a two-meet road stretch Friday with a 196.275-195.025 win at No. 23 Kentucky. The meet airs live on the SEC Network and will also stream on SEC Network +.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2016 21:28:21 GMT -5
SEC Gymnast of the Week - 4 Weeks In A Row For Bridget Sloan:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After the top-ranked Florida gymnasts posted the season's top team total last Friday, the Gators swept the Southeastern Conference weekly honors, the league announced Tuesday. For the fourth consecutive week, Florida's Bridget Sloan claimed the SEC Gymnast of the Week and for the second straight week Alex McMurtry was named SEC Specialist of the Week. Alicia Boren is the SEC Freshman of the Week for the second time in 2016.
SEC Gymnastics Weekly Honors – Feb. 2, 2016
SEC Gymnast of the Week: Bridget Sloan, Florida SEC Specialist of the Week: Alex McMurtry, Florida SEC Freshman of the Week: Alicia Boren, Florida This is Sloan's fourth SEC Gymnast of the Week honor of the season and the 11th of her collegiate career. It is McMurtry's third SEC Specialist of the Week honor. She claimed her first honor of the season last week after the Gators faced Auburn. Sloan's Performance: In the nation's top meet of the weekend, No. 1 Florida used the nation's leading total to defeat No. 5 Alabama 198.175 – 197.525. And Sloan turned in two national highs – all-around (39.775) and balance beam (10.0) – to claim those event titles. The all-around win is her fourth consecutive and moved her into third on the Gators career chart with 22 victories. Her total is also the third-highest in school history. She posted the first 10.0 on beam of 2016. It was the sixth perfect mark of her career, moving her into a tie with Kytra Hunter as the Gators' Career 10.0 leader. Sloan was second on floor (9.975) and tied for third on vault (9.90) and bars (9.90). Each of her all-around totals this season are among the nation's top 10 - No. 1 (39.775), No. T2 (39.65), No. T4 (39.575) and No. 7 (39.50). Sloan ranks in the nation's top 25 for each apparatus – No. T2 uneven bar (9.919), No. 2 balance beam (9.913), No. T5 floor exercise (9.9250 and No. T15 (9.869). McMurtry's Performance: McMurtry added another perfect mark to her college resume, but this time on uneven bars. She anchored Florida's bars lineup Friday with a 10.0 – the nation's only perfect mark on the bars in 2016. McMurtry's 10.0 is the 10th on bars in school history. It was her fifth win of 2016 (three vault, one bars & beam) and the win was the 10th event win of her collegiate career. McMurtry is No. 2 in the national vault ranking (9.90 average), No. 4 on balance beam (9.906) and No. T5 on uneven bars (9.906). She is the only gymnast in the nation ranked in the top 5 for vault, bars and beam. Boren's Performance: Boren shared the vault title versus Alabama with a collegiate-best 9.95 to share the event title with teammate Kennedy Baker. It was her first vault win of the season and second overall (1 vault, beam). She was also tied for third in the evening's floor exercise competition with a collegiate-best 9.925. Boren is ranked No. 5 in all-around (39.45 average), T18 in floor (9.894) and T19 in bars (9.858). She is the nation's top ranked freshman all-arounder. Next up for the Gators: The Gators travel to Athens to continue their SEC schedule as they take on No. 11 Georgia on Friday, Feb. 5. Meet time is set for 6:45 p.m. ET at the Stageman Coliseum. The SEC Network (Gainesville/Ocala Cox cable 1068) will air the meet live or follow the action on SEC Network +.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2016 22:39:39 GMT -5
UF's one weakness was exposed in a loss to UGALY. Bridget Sloan coming off a cold wasn't her normal self. Bridgette C. is still under the influence of the flu and dropped out of the meet after the first event. The weakness is the youth of the bench/depth. The freshmen haven't been asked to contribute to date and it showed. It put a lot of pressure on the whole squad. Two of UF's best gymnasts succumbed to the pressure with abnormally bad balance beam routines. Bottom line, UF has to find a way to develop the freshmen so the squad will be better prepared to handle adversity when it comes. Facing highly ranked Arkansas next is a meet the Gators will want to win, but developing depth may be more important than an inconsequential win. This on the loss at UGALY. I did watch the meet, but it clearly wasn't near the performances one would expect from these Gators:
ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Florida gymnastics team dropped its first meet of the season Friday at Georgia, 196.40-196.35, in front of a sell-out Stegeman Coliseum crowd of 10,224. Florida Event Winners Friday Vault: Alex McMurtry 9.900 Uneven Bars: Alex McMurtry 9.925 Balance Beam: Bridget Sloan 9.875 Florida's Alex McMurtry took her fourth vault title of the season with her 9.90 score Friday. She also shared her second straight uneven bars title, as she and UGA's Brandie Jay each posted marks of 9.925. Florida showed some effects of some winter illnesses suffered during the week on the third rotation. Bridget Sloan, who is recovering from a cold, experienced some leg cramps while performing her final tumbling pass. The stumbled landing dinged her score. Freshman Ashley Hiller took Bridgette Caquatto's spot in the lineup as Caquatto was not quite ready to perform on the event after her bout with the flu last weekend. Sophomore Kennedy Baker led UF on the event with her 9.925. After opening the season with four six-for-six balance beam sets, the Gators had some trouble at Georgia. Florida saw its ninth-tenths lead heading into the final rotation dissolve after two falls on the event combined with the GymDogs improving on their season-best floor total by more than three-tenths. Sloan did finish the meet, anchoring the Gators balance beam set with the meet's winning mark of 9.875. Three GymDogs turned in personal-best floor marks of 9.95 – Brittany Rogers, Gigi Marion and Mary Beth Box – to share the evening's event title. Rogers and teammate Brandie Jay shared the all-around win at 39.375. GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES•The bars win was the second straight for McMurtry and the third of her career. McMurtry's vault win was her 11th of her career. •Sloan's beam win pushes her career total to 78. She is now tied for third on the Gators Career Wins chart with Kristen Guise (1993-96), who also accumulated 78 event wins. RECORDS: Florida (4-1, 2-1 SEC); Georgia (3-3, 2-2 SEC). THE SERIES: Georgia leads 99-41-1. This was the 10th time in the two team's 141 all-time series that a tenth of a point decided the meet (Georgia leads 5-4-1). RE-AIR DATES: The Florida at Georgia meet airs again on the SEC Network Saturday, Feb. 6 at 9:30 a.m. and Sunday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. Also airs Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 1 p.m. on ESPNU. HEAR FROM THE GATORS On Florida's performance: "Obviously, this meet could have been better. There are a lot of things we can learn from. There were some stellar performances following some mistakes. Bouncing back and rebounding is really what this sport is all about. You are allowed to have a mistake here and there. I thought there were some great responses in the performances following a miss. "I thought tonight was a great opportunity for our freshmen to experience a SEC meet in full force. It was a really big crowd and the Stegeman Coliseum was in full force. It was really loud and our team had to perform under the pressure of competing on beam after some big floor scores by Georgia. Thought it was handled pretty well. There were some bumps and bruises and some misses here and there." - – Florida head coach Jenny Rowland Following Kennedy Baker's miss on beam, how did you think the team performed? "I thought the team came together well. Peyton Ernst came back solid as can be. Ericha Fassbender had an amazing beam performance tonight – she looked so confident up there. Alicia Boren really had a great routine going up until her dismount. She was striving to be perfect and was a little short on her dismount." – Florida head coach Jenny Rowland How about Bridget Sloan finishing the meet on beam after a bit of trouble on floor? "I think she did a great job. She competes with her heart. "On floor, she cramped up a little bit but performed and finished her routine to the best of her abilities. She told me 'I got this. I can do beam'. She went up there and hit a beam routine Sloan-style." – Florida head coach Jenny Rowland National Rank: Florida – Florida is No. 1 in the Feb. 1 Road to Nationals rankings. Georgia – Bulldogs No. 11 in Feb. 1 rankings UP NEXT: The Gators return home to play host to the popular Gators Link to Pink meet. Florida will face No. 8 Arkansas on Friday, Feb. 12 for the 10th edition of the meet. Meet time is set for 7 p.m. in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Most of the Southeastern Conference's gymnastics teams will have a pink meet this season, with the intention to help raise awareness about the fight against breast cancer. The first 2,000 fans in attendance receive a Link to Pink t-shirt, compliments of UFHealth. Check the promotions page for a complete list of happenings for the Link to Pink meet. Arkansas lost 197.425-196.15 at No. 5 LSU Friday. The meet will stream live on SEC Network +.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2016 23:29:34 GMT -5
I'm glad to see Jenny Rowland rest a couple of her top gymnasts to allow her freshmen to gain better experience:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida kept its 2016 record versus top-10 teams perfect with a 197.45 – 195.975 win versus Arkansas Friday in front of a pink-clad Stephen C. O'Connell Center crowd of 7,621. Florida Event Winners Friday Vault: Alicia Boren 9.95 Uneven Bars: Alex McMurtry 9.95 Bridget Sloan 9.95 Balance Beam: Alex McMurtry 9.95 Floor Exercise Bridget Sloan 9.95 All-Around Alicia Boren 9.95 Tonight Florida faced its fourth top-10 opponent and has taken the win in each meeting. Last month, the Gators faced three consecutive top-10 teams (No. 5 UCLA, at No. 8 Auburn, No. 5 Alabama) and started February home action versus No. 9 Arkansas. The Gators shook off last week's slender loss at Georgia with a solid performance throughout Friday's meet. Each event title went to a Gator. Freshman Alicia Boren opened the competition with a 9.95 on vault, earning her third collegiate event title and tying her season-high vault score. Senior All-American Bridget Sloan and sophomore All-American Alex McMurtry shared the uneven bars title at 9.95. Senior All-American Bridgette Caquatto also scored a season-high 9.925 on bars. McMurtry won her second title of the night after posting a career-high 9.95 on balance beam. Sloan matched McMurtry's two titles with a 9.95 win on floor. Boren equaled her collegiate floor best of 9.925 to take second. Boren also captured her first collegiate all-around title, totaling 39.525. Arkansas' Amanda Wellick was second at 39.325. At the 10th annual Gators Link to Pink meet, Florida honored breast cancer survivors prior to the meet and also welcomed back Florida gymnastics alumna Rachel Spicer and her mother, Mickie, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2015 and is now in remission. Most of the SEC's gymnastics teams will have a pink meet this season, with the intention to help raise awareness about the fight against breast cancer. GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES•Boren celebrated her 19th birthday with her first collegiate all-around win. She is one of two freshmen among the top 20 in the latest national all-around rankings. •A 9.95 took each event title for the Gators Friday. Boren (vault), McMurtry (bars, beam) and Sloan (bars, floor) used the mark to take the wins. •With her two event wins on uneven bars and floor, Sloan pushed herself to sole possession of fourth place on Florida's career event titles list with 80. Former Florida teammate Kytra Hunter is third with 83 titles. •McMurtry earned her second collegiate win on beam, but tonight's 9.95 score was a career-high. Her first beam win, at Auburn on Jan. 22, was a 9.90. •<>SEC Network + for 30 days. HEAR FROM THE GATORS Opening Statement: "This was my first Link to Pink Meet, and it was an amazing, memorable, touching experience tonight seeing all the cancer survivors and their families and friends out there supporting them. I told the team before the meet that this was a great opportunity for them to go out have fun and do what they love to do, and do it for a great cause while thinking about the others. "I think we did a great job. We had a few that we needed to rest tonight: Kennedy rested floor, Bridget rested vault. We had some newcomers step up and do a fabulous job, and exactly what we needed to do tonight. I'm really proud of them." – Florida head coach Jenny Rowland On the freshman contributing to the team win: "I'm really proud of the freshman class. To be able to step in at any given time, is not an easy task. Alicia [Boren] doing the all-around at every meet besides the first one, she's shown her true character and her passion and love for the sport. She's very dedicated in the gym and it carries over to the competition floor, which is really nice to see. The other four have done a great job, every time we tell them 'you're going in tonight' they are up to the challenge, and they have accepted it and performed to the best of their abilities." – Florida head coach Jenny Rowland On tonight's floor routine: "I love competing, but I really love competing floor in the O'Dome. Tonight, I went out there, and I had a great time. I have yet to not laugh in a floor routine. I think the best way to show how much you love competing is to smile and have fun, and that's exactly what I did." – senior All-American Bridget Sloan On resting vault tonight: "You're going to need rest throughout the season, but it is really hard not doing all four events. You get into a routine. You start on vault, and you get a little of the jitters out and then you go to bars. But it's a long season, and resting is definitely necessary." – senior All-American Bridget Sloan On tonight's all-around performance: "I started on vault, and I was kind of nervous. Last time I was a little short, so I tried not to think about the stick. That was really exciting. I went to bars, and I did pretty well. I know there are a few things that I still need to fix. I did normal on beam, which is something new I'm trying to work on. I did a good floor routine, and I smiled more. I had more fun all-around today." – freshman Alicia Boren On competing in her first Link to Pink meet: "The energy was amazing. To have the support from all the survivors and fighters there was awesome. They are there supporting us, and we're competing from them, so it was great to see them there with smiles on their faces for us as we were doing something for them." – freshman Alicia Boren On competing on her birthday: "I don't think I could ask for a better one. It's fun competing in general, but being able to compete for other people makes the success that much greater. My parents were also here, so that was a pretty good gift too." – freshman Alicia Boren On her performance tonight: "I love vault, and I love starting on vault at home meets, so that is a place to get my nerves out. Once our team nails vault, I get confidence to go on to the rest of the meet. I had one of the best bar and beam routines that I ever had. I'm really excited to see what the rest of the season has in store for us. It was definitely a great Link to Pink night and a solid meet for the Gators." – sophomore All-American Alex McMurtry On having Rachel Spicer and her mom here tonight: "We saw Rachel in the locker room before we competed. It felt like it was last year, and we love having her in the locker room. She is one of the biggest spirits and one of the most positive people we had on our team. I loved seeing her tonight. "We loved having Mickie here, and she is now in remission. It's great seeing those survivors and fighters. It is just what the whole meet is about. It is close to our hearts, and we will always have Rachel and Mickie Spicer supporting the Gators, and we love wearing pink for them." – sophomore All-American Alex McMurtry On her home debut tonight & competing in first Link to Pink meet: "It was amazing to go out there and make my debut on vault and have fun on floor. It was a lot of fun competing in the O'Dome for the first time with my team. "It was so much fun competing not just for Gator nation but for the fighters and survivors. It was great to go out there and compete for them." – freshman Ashley Hiller
On competing tonight for Rachel Spicer and her mom, Mickie: "Last year, it was really tough. We go out there, and we compete for those who have survived and who are fighting. This year, it was like we were competing for her (Mickie) being able to fight through it, for her being a survivor. And if anyone knows, Mickie Spicer is one of the happiest human beings on this planet. She always has a smile, and Rachel is the same. You can tell they were just excited to be out there. She (Mickie) loves the Florida Gators, and we love her. Tonight we weren't only competing for ourselves, the Gator Nation, but we were competing for her and all of those who have survived breast cancer and those still fighting." – senior All-American Bridget Sloan National Rank: Florida – Florida is No. 2 in the Feb. 8 Road to Nationals rankings. Arkansas – Razorbacks No. 9 in Feb. 8 rankings UP NEXT: The Gators continue SEC action when they travel to Columbia, Missouri, to face No. 15 Missouri on Feb. 19. Meet time is set for 7 p.m. ET in the Hearnes Center. Missouri suffered a loss at No. 25 Kentucky Friday, falling to the Wildcats 196.050-194.675. The meet airs live on the SEC Network and will also stream on SEC Network +.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2016 0:06:37 GMT -5
Other than Bridget Sloan falling off the beam when she was on target to win the all-around, the Gators looked good in the win at Mizzou. The Gators can improve sticking their landings better. UF has 198+ potential when they get to the top of the performance:
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The nation's fifth-highest total of 2016 gave the University of Florida gymnastics team a 197.75 – 196.65 win over Missouri Friday evening in front of a Hearnes Center crowd of 1,830. Florida Event Winners Friday Vault: Bridget Sloan 9.925 Uneven Bars: Bridgette Caquatto 9.950 Balance Beam: Alex McMurtry 9.950 Floor Exercise Bridget Sloan 9.975 All-Around Kennedy Baker 39.575 Florida now has the nation's No. 1 (198.175), No. 5 (197.75) and No. 6 (197.675) scores of 2016. Tonight's score is Florida's top road total of 2016. The Gators swept Friday's event titles. Senior Bridgette Caquatto opened her competition Friday by equaling her collegiate-best of 9.95 to take her first uneven bars win of the season. Another Gator senior also turned in season-bests on the next two rotations to take the vault and floor win. Bridget Sloan used a 9.925 for her first vault win of 2016 and also won floor exercise with the evening's high mark on any event (9.975). Sophomore Alex McMurtry finished the meet by equaling her collegiate best of 9.95 to claim the balance beam win. The Gators went one-two in the evening's all-around competition. Sophomore Kennedy Baker won her first collegiate all-around title at 39.575. Freshman Alicia Boren took second at 39.45. Missouri's Morgan Porter took third at 39.425. GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES•Baker's win marks the second consecutive meet a Gator won her first all-around title. Boren won her first title last week in home action versus Arkansas. The three Gators who have competed as all-arounders this season (Baker, Boren, Sloan) have combined to win the event title in six of Florida's seven meets of 2016. •Sloan used a season-best 9.925 to win her first vault title of the season. She also matched her season-best of 9.975 for the second time in the last four meets to win floor. •Caquatto took her first uneven bars title of season by matching her collegiate-best of 9.95 for the seventh time of her career. •McMurtry set her collegiate beam best of 9.95 in last Friday's win versus Arkansas and used that mark again to take her second straight and third overall win on the event. •Sloan's two wins tonight gives her 82 for her collegiate career. She is currently fourth on the Gators All-Time Career Wins chart and is one away from tying Kytra Hunter's third-place total. RECORDS: Florida (6-1, 4-1 SEC); Missouri (5-7, 1-4, SEC). THE SERIES: Florida leads 17-0. This was the Gators' fifth visit to Columbia since 1984 and second since the Tigers joined the SEC in the 2012-13 academic year. TUNE IN TO WATCH AGAIN: The Florida at Missouri meet re-airs on the following dates/times: Date Time (ET) Network Feb. 20 5 a.m. SEC Network Feb. 21 7 p.m. SEC Network Feb. 22 Noon SEC Network Feb. 23 10 a.m. SEC Network Feb. 23 1 p.m. ESPNU The meet is also available on WatchESPN for 30 days. HEAR FROM THE GATORS Opening Statement: "Very happy with the team's performance. We've been working on a lot of little details in the gym. I noticed some of them carried out to the competition floor and some of them did not. And you know what? That is expected and that's normal. We're taking baby steps. There is still a lot we can improve upon and work on, but overall this team supports each other. They had each other's back and they did a great job from start to finish." – Gator head coach Jenny Rowland A lot of strong performances from individual Gators tonight, including the first all-around win for Kennedy Baker. Kennedy did a great job today. For each road meet, Kennedy starts us off on the first and final events. We can always count on her to get up there and do her best. Today, she is one that I noticed carried what we've been working on in the gym onto the competition floor. Her beam performance was actually a little more aggressive than I've seen her do, which is a good thing. And now it is time to control those landings and continue to be a little more aggressive in the gym so we can carry that over to competition." – Gator head coach Jenny Rowland How does it feel to claim your first all-around win? It feels amazing. I just went out there and did my best. That resulted in the win, so that was cool. "I think I had better landings and also was a bit calmer when competing than I have previously." – sophomore All-American Kennedy Baker You won bars and had a season-best on vault. How did the meet go tonight? "Tonight was really exciting. The whole team did super well – that's a great road score for us. For me individually, it felt good to get out there, feel like my normal self and contribute to the team this meet." – senior All-American Bridgette Caquatto Your assessment on the team's performance tonight? "I think the team was amazing tonight. That is our best road score of the season. The energy was great and we did really well." – sophomore Kennedy Baker What led to the change in freshman Peyton Ernst's beam routine tonight? "Peyton was one of my highlights tonight. She did a brand-new beam routine and actually put her hands down on the beam during her series. That is actually a big deal for her as she had [shoulder] surgery nine months ago. We constructed her previous routine to not have her hands on the beam at any point other than her mount. She was released this week by the doctor and did a fantastic job on beam tonight. You could see a smile light up her face when she landed that series. We are looking forward to improving on that and moving forward." – Gator head coach Jenny Rowland There was a good turnout of Gator fans here in the Show Me State. 'It was a lot of fun to have such a good turnout of Gator fans. We definitely fed off of them as there was lots of energy from them." – senior All-American Bridgette Caquatto Looking forward to finishing February with a home meet? "It is always really exciting to compete in the O'Connell Center especially against a top team like LSU. I know the team is super pumped and it's going to be a great meet." – Gator head coach Jenny Rowland National Rank: Florida – Florida is No. 2 in the Feb. 15 Road to Nationals rankings. Missouri – Tigers No. 19 in Feb. 15 rankings UP NEXT: The Gators return home on Feb. 26 to play host to their fourth top-10 team of 2106 - No. 6 Louisiana State. Meet time is set for 6:45 p.m. ET in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a Gators Gymnastics tumbler! Tickets for Friday's meet are $5 for adults, while children 17 and under and UF students with a Gator1 card are admitted free. Buy One, Get One tickets available to those showing a UF Alumni Association or UF Gator1 identification. Check the promotions page for a complete list of happenings for the Florida-LSU meet. The meet airs live on the SEC Network and will also stream on SEC Network +. In a match-up of Tiger teams Friday, it was the LSU Tigers taking the 197.875 – 197.125 win over Auburn in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2016 2:31:38 GMT -5
If it takes a close loss at home to LSU to get Bridget Sloan's mind right, the loss will be well worth it. This was the third week in a row that Sloan hasn't been her usual self. I know she wants to get back to her usual standards prior to the SECs and nationals:
Fiery Sloan Confident Gators Will Bounce Back
"You have no idea the fire that is literally burning inside me right now."
By Scott Carter, Senior Writer | Friday, February 26, 2016
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At first, Bridget Sloan tried her best to rationalize the outcome of Friday night's home meet against LSU.
The No. 2-ranked Gators gymnastics team lost to No. 7 LSU in a squeaker at the O'Connell Center. The Tigers closed strong on beam while the Gators were so-so on floor, including a 9.725 from Sloan for stepping out of bounds on her second pass.
Final score: LSU 197.900, Florida 197.875.
"Tonight was obviously not my best performance ever,'' said Sloan, who also wobbled off the beam for a 9.30. "I've been definitely doing a lot of overthinking lately. My goal for next meet is just to go back to my old ways and just relax and let my body take over."
As head coach Jenny Rowland and teammate Alex McMurtry took a few more questions about the night's events, the always-chatty Sloan sat between them silent.
More time to think until it was her turn to talk again.
Finally, Sloan's time arrived. She was asked about her first home loss at Florida. The Gators had not lost a regular-season home meet since Georgia won here in January 2008.
Sloan was 15 at the time and chasing a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team, which she earned and was the youngest member of the American squad that took silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Trying to explain Friday night's emotion, Sloan recalled how angry she was when the U.S. only won silver in Beijing. She momentarily put the breaks on that line of thinking and offered, "You know what, I'm glad we made those mistakes."
And then Sloan came clean in Tim Tebow-like fashion.
It might not draw the attention of "The Promise," but Sloan showed she is every bit the competitor Tebow was at Florida as she passionately discussed the loss and her hopes for the rest of her senior season.
"You have no idea the fire that is literally burning inside me right now. I would love to have a rematch and that's what SECs is for. That's what NCAAs is for,'' Sloan said, her face red with emotion. "This is why gymnastics, I think, is one of the most exciting sports. You have little rivalries like tonight and one team is going to lose. It was us tonight. But we're going to walk back into that O'Dome for Senior Night and kill it. We're going into walk in SECs with the most confident attitude, knowing that we are an amazing team, knowing that we have the best coaches in the nation coaching one of the best teams in the nation.
"I think that really is more important than LSU beat us at home. Alright, I think they beat us last time we went there, so, 'alright LSU, we get it, we get it.' Again, fueling the fire, that's what gymnastics is all about. Wanting to win. I think it would be really unfortunate if we were to walk away tonight being like, 'oh, it's fine, no big deal.' We are competitors. Anyone here at Florida, we want to win. We don't go out in that O'Dome wanting to get second. We go out knowing we are one of the best teams and knowing we can do it."
The 2013 NCAA all-around and beam national champion and 2014 NCAA uneven bars national champion, Sloan's rare off-night seemed to catch everyone off-guard. The best of the best rarely fail.
The Gators have won three consecutive national championships since Sloan arrived and she obviously plans to make it four.
So does McMurtry, who tasted a championship last season as a freshman. She competed in the all-round competition for the first time as a collegian Friday, adding the floor routine with her cranky back feeling up to the challenge.
She scored a 9.90 for one of Florida's highlights. Like Sloan, McMurtry wants nothing more than to quickly get past the disappointing loss.
"I know tonight wasn't our best meet, but it motivates us,'' she said. "A loss in the middle of the season is not too bad. We knew coming in that LSU was going to be a tough meet. This will give us the motivation to really show it off at SECs. We never want to lose to them again."
After three consecutive wins at the O'Dome over top-10 teams, the Gators finally stumbled Friday. Now they will try to get back up as they next compete at Kentucky on March 4. They close the regular season at home the following week against North Carolina.
"Those mistakes that were made, we've got to learn from them, correct them, move forward and just leave them behind,'' Rowland said. "It wasn't a great meet for us. It was very good."
But not good enough.
A message Sloan delivered loud and clear.
"I just need to go back into the gym and make sure my mind is right,'' she said.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2016 0:24:55 GMT -5
After back to back weeks of poor performance on the beam, Bridget Sloan bounced back in a big way scoring a 10.0 on the beam to end the meet for UF. I'm glad to see Bridget get back to normal. This UF team with Bridget right is going to be hard to beat in the SECs and nationals:
LEXINGTON, Kentucky – A 10.0 from Florida's Bridget Sloan finished a solid road performance for the Gators Friday at the University of Kentucky Memorial Coliseum. The Florida gymnastics team took a 197.525 – 196.65 win to finish 2016 Southeastern Conference regular-season action. Florida Event Winners Friday Vault: Alicia Boren 9.950 Uneven Bars: Bridget Sloan 9.950 Balance Beam: Bridget Sloan 10.00 Floor Exercise: Bridgette Caquatto 9.950 All-Around Bridget Sloan 39.65
The 10.0 from Sloan as Florida's final competitor of the meet completed a good road performance for the Gators. Florida opened the meet with a 49.50 on uneven bars – just a tick off its season best of 49.525. Three Gator seniors scored a 9.90 or above on the event. Sloan won the title at 9.95 while Bridgette Caquatto and Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto each had 9.9s. Freshman Alicia Boren equaled her collegiate best of 9.95 to take the vault win. Sloan and sophomore Alex McMurtry also earned vault marks of 9.90. Caquatto used her season-best 9.95 on floor exercise to take the win. In her second collegiate appearance, McMurtry matched her mark of 9.9 set last Friday in her floor debut. Florida closed the meet on balance beam. Problems with the first two Gator beam performances didn't impact the rest of the lineup. The final four all turned in marks of 9.9 or better, including collegiate-bests from Ericha Fassbender (9.90), McMurtry (9.95) and Sloan (10.0). Boren also turned in a 9.90 on the event. Three Gators competed as all-arounders Friday and each of the three posted totals which stand among the nation's best of 2016. Sloan's 39.65 just edged McMurtry (39.625) for the title. Boren was third at 39.575. GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES•Sloan now has seven perfect marks in her collegiate career (three beam, two bars, one vault, floor), making her the Gators' career leader for 10.0s. •The Gators' career leader in beam 10.0s is Sloan. She scored one on the event earlier this season in the Alabama dual meet. Her first beam 10.0? That also came in Kentucky's Memorial Coliseum, making her two beam performances in the arena during her collegiate career perfect. •The vault win was the third for Boren, as she has used a collegiate-best 9.95 to collect each of the titles. •Caquatto's winning floor mark of 9.95 was a season best. She also won the Kentucky dual floor title last year in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center with a collegiate-best 9.975. •Sloan's three event wins tonight (bars, beam, all-around) push her collegiate total to 85. She is now third on the Gators' All-Time Event Titles chart and is one away from tying Melissa Miller (1986-89) for second at 86. •Six Gators turned in a total of seven season- or collegiate-best marks Friday RECORDS: Florida (7-2, 5-2 SEC); Kentucky (6-5, 1-6 SEC). THE SERIES: Florida leads 79-1. Friday's score of 197.525 is the highest ever for the Gators in Lexington. Florida's previous high of 197.25 came in the 2004 dual held in Memorial Coliseum. TUNE IN TO WATCH: The Florida at Kentucky dual airs on ESPNU on Monday, March 7 at 5:30 p.m. ET. The meet is also available on WatchESPN for 30 days. HEAR FROM THE GATORS On tonight's performance: "It was a solid performance tonight. The meet got off to a great start on bars. I liked the stuck landings we saw from several in the lineup. Also saw some wonderful performances on vault and floor. "We had a rough start on beam, but the final four were lights out. I really liked how they performed calmly and in control. They didn't let those early issues reflect down farther into the lineup. "We rested Kennedy Baker on floor and I thought those who stepped into the lineup performed well. Tonight was Alex McMurtry's second collegiate all-around performance and what a great job she did in her first road all-around competition. "We did what we wanted to tonight – perform well and achieve a good road score. I'm proud of what the team did tonight." – Florida head coach Jenny Rowland A 10.0 for Bridget Sloan tonight. Nice way to end the meet. "What a way for Bridget to finish the meet. It was especially nice since so many friends and family made the trip from the Indianapolis area to be here to support her tonight. I know she hasn't been happy with her last two meets, but there was never any doubt she would bounce back strong." – Florida head coach Jenny Rowland
Another 10.0 tonight. What was your focus going into that routine? "I didn't have in my mind to get a 10.0. I wasn't striving for that as I was focusing a doing a good routine and to bounce back from the rough past two weeks I've had. I was able to come out with an incredible routine and a routine our team needed. It was definitely a great night." – senior All-American Bridget Sloan On the Gators' performance tonight: "I think the Gators showed that they can bounce back. We had two rough first routines on beam and we were able to completely turn it around and have season or near season-highs by the rest of the lineup. "It was definitely an improvement. Jenny [Rowland] always says we don't have to be perfect, just do our best. And that's what we did." – senior All-American Bridget Sloan National Rank: Florida – Florida is No. 2 in the Feb. 29 Road to Nationals rankings. Kentucky – Wildcats No. 23 in Feb. 29 rankings UP NEXT: The Gators finish 2016 regular-season action on Friday, March 11 with a dual meet versus North Carolina. Meet time is set for 6:45 p.m. ET in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. It is Florida Senior Day and the careers of Gators Bridgette Caquatto, Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto, Morgan Frazier and Bridget Sloan will be celebrated in a post-meet ceremony. The first 500 fans Friday receive a pair of high socks, just like what the Gators wear. Tickets for Friday's meet are $5 for adults, while children 17 and under and UF students with a Gator1 card are admitted free. Visit a participating Gainesville Chick-fil-a to receive a coupon code for buy one, get one free tickets. Check the promotions page for a complete list of happenings for the Florida-UNC meet. The meet will stream on SEC Network +. North Carolina is at William & Mary on Saturday for a dual meet.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2016 10:07:52 GMT -5
Bridget Sloan will be impossible to replace. Not only is she a great talent, she is a team leader, really a coach on the team who would make a great coach if she decides to go that way (hopefully with UF someday), and inspires/demands that the team perform greater than a sum of its parts:
floridagators.com/news/2016/3/11/scott-carter-bridget-sloan-is-greatness-in-a-leotard.aspx
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- If you were in the stands that late November night in 2009 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, you knew.
Same goes for that early March afternoon in 2007, when the UF men's basketball team beat Kentucky in the final home game for the Oh-Fours at the O'Connell Center.
You knew something special had happened and was happening.
The Swamp was alive in a way it had never been before the festive evening Tim Tebow and his teammates celebrated Senior Night with a victory over FSU six years ago. And the Oh-Fours were never boring, winning back-to-back national titles along the way.
Those are the images that first come to mind when trying to imagine the home departure for Gators senior gymnast Bridget Sloan. The Gators host North Carolina tonight in the final UF sporting event inside the current O'Connell Center.
And it's Senior Night for Sloan and three of her teammates.
Great ones come and go in college sports. They blossom at different times. Some reach the pinnacle in college. Others don't fulfill their potential until the pros. And then there are those like Sloan, who was already an elite talent prior to stepping foot on UF's campus.
She competes in a sport that is under the radar nationally other than for every fourth year when the Olympics are held. In Olympic years, names like Mary Lou Retton, Gabby Douglas, Nadia Comaneci and Shannon Miller resurface as reminders of the greatest moments in the sport's history.
Sloan was a 16-year-old when she made her Olympic debut in 2008 in Beijing. The next year she was the all-around World Champion. She continued to compete on the international stage until it was time for college, when many gymnasts call it a career.
Instead, the ultra-competitive Sloan bounced on, choosing a program in Florida that had never won a national championship.
She is now less than four months from her 24th birthday, a relic in the world of elite gymnastics.
She is also a three-time national champion chasing a fourth in the final months of her competitive career.
The numbers are impressive: 85 individual titles at Florida, a school-record seven perfect 10s in her career, and the only UF gymnast to ever complete the "gym slam" by scoring a perfect 10 in every event (three on beam, two on uneven bars, one on vault and one on floor).
In her sport, that's greatness.
"This senior class really has developed this program into a powerhouse of a program,'' Gators coach Jenny Rowland said this week.
Sloan will be joined by teammates Bridgette Caquatto, Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto and Morgan Frazier during Senior Night festivities after the meet.
But since day one, Sloan has been the straw that stirs the drink.
If you have watched Sloan compete the past four years, you know. If you haven't, check her out either in person or on TV.
My favorite moment watching Sloan happened earlier this season during a home meet between the Gators and Alabama, the two programs that have won the last five national championships.
Sloan won the all-around title and scored a 10 on beam. She was in fine form and knew it.
In her final event of the evening on floor, Sloan finished one of her tumbling passes in impressive fashion, and then the seasoned performer she is, looked directly into the SEC Network camera nearby with a head nod and sassy expression, as if to say, "yeah, that's right, I just did that."
Bridget Sloan in a nutshell: elite talent, driven competitor and dynamic performer.
She is ready for a final show at the O'Dome.
"I'm super excited,'' she said. "I know I've been looking forward to it. It's just a moment where you get another opportunity to do your best."
And one final opportunity for the home fans to see what greatness looks like in a leotard.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2016 22:28:47 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2016 22:39:50 GMT -5
3.18.2016
SEC Championships:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The nation's most competitive gymnastics conference championship is up next for the Florida Gators. The 36th edition of the Southeastern Conference Championships are set for Saturday, March 19 in the Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
Saturday's Meet Info:
No. 2 Florida (8-2, 5-2 SEC) at Southeastern Conference Championships
Date & Time: Saturday, March 19 Session I – 2 p.m. ET (Seeds 5-6-7-8) Session II – 6 p.m. ET (Seeds 1-2-3-4)
Site: Verizon Arena (18,000)
Television: each session is televised live Session I Live on ESPNU Session II Live on SEC Network Also airs tape-delayed: March 22 ESPNU 1 p.m. ET March 27 ESPN2 2 p.m. ET Olympic medalists Bart Connor and Kathy Johnson Clarke along with Laura Rutledge will call the action.
Florida in the SEC: Gators have won nine SEC Championships - 1982, '83, '84, '85, '89, '07, '10, '12, '13
Video Stream: live video stream available at SEC Network + Session I Session II
Internet: live stats available on FloridaGymnastics.com
Tickets: range in price from $18.50 - $14 and can be purchased at SEC Ticket Office 27158 Florida Gators Gymnastics Florida Gators 27155 @gatorsgym @floridagators @jennyrowlanduf Half of the nation's top-10 teams (No. 2 Florida, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Alabama, No. 6 Auburn and No. 8 Georgia) are among the SEC's eight-team field. The SEC Championships' format consists of two four-team sessions. Teams seeded No. 5-8 (based on March 14 regional qualifying scores) compete in Saturday's opening session at 2 p.m. ET followed by seeds 1-4 at 6 p.m. ET. Scores from the two sessions are combined to determine the team and event champions. As the top seed in the evening session, Florida earned the Olympic rotation (vault-bars-beam-floor) for the competition. 2016 SEC Competition Schedule Start Evt ?¾œ? V UB BB FX 2 p.m. ET Georgia Arkansas Missouri Kentucky 6 p.m. ET Florida LSU Alabama Auburn Watch the SEC Championships Live: Each session of the 2016 SEC Championships airs live. Session I at 2 p.m. ET: Airs live on ESPNU Session II at 6 p.m. ET Airs live on SEC Network Also airs tape-delayed: March 22 ESPNU 1 p.m. ET March 27 ESPN2 2 p.m. ET Olympic medalists Bart Connor and Kathy Johnson Clarke along with Laura Rutledge will call the action. The action can also be followed on WatchESPN: Session I Session II A live stream of each apparatus is available.
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