If the Meet the Team event is a prelude for the rest of the season for the gymnastics team, then UF fans can look forward to the opportunity for more than one national championship.
The gymnastics team took to the Ted Crom Gymnastics Studio inside the O'Connell Center Sunday to treat fans to a glimpse of the upcoming season.
The event consisted of floor, uneven bar and balance beam routines.
Fans were also allowed to ask UF coach Rhonda Faehn questions they had about the sport.
"It went really well," said gymnast Amanda Castillo. "It was great to start off the season with having a bunch of fans come and support us. It looks like they're excited, so of course it gets us excited."
Fans weren't the only ones who may have learned something Sunday.
"It was a little sneak preview for what the freshmen can expect at the real competition," Castillo added.
She said the Meet the Team event was lower-key than the real thing.
"In competitions, it's a lot more rowdy, a lot more fans, a lot more exciting," she said.
Freshman gymnast Elizabeth Mahlich said the event helped, because it gave her a sense of what the atmosphere would be like Friday when UF hosts Oklahoma to open the season.
Lone senior Corey Hartung said the cordial event was useful as that last stepping stone before the season.
"Starting out the year, it's good to get used to things by having our little competitions in the gym, to get used to pressure situations before we go out in the arena," Hartung said. "I guess it does (help) in the beginning of the year just to get back into things."
Faehn echoed the same sentiment.
"We try and do situations that put the athletes in pressure situations or different situations so that they can be prepared for anything," she said. "We got to see some routines that may not make the lineup, but it's giving those athletes an opportunity to get out there under pressure and to see how they do perform."
"It may not be full routines at times, but it certainly makes them nervous, which is great," she said.
