I have covered a bunch of really exciting games in the three years I have worked for the Alligator, but still one of the most exciting events I attended as a journalist was the Florida-Georgia gymnastics meet my first semester covering a team in 2008.
The Bulldogs return to the O’Connell Center for the first time since then on Friday, and I suggest you don’t miss it.
Even though you might know nothing about gymnastics, or for that matter even care about the sport, it won’t matter.
When I covered it, the sport was still new to me, and I had no clue why people got the scores they did, but I was entertained from start to finish.
The teams were Nos. 1 and 2 entering the competition, it was being aired on ESPN2 and neither team disappointed.
It was not either team’s best performance that season, but in a sport in which the teams are never even on the same apparatus, it produced as close of a finish as there can be in gymnastics.
Florida was forced to count a fall on the uneven bars, and with how well Georgia was performing, there seemed to be little hope for the Gators.
With just one gymnast remaining to compete on the balance beam for the Bulldogs, all former Olympian Courtney McCool had to do was not fall.
Of course, she fell, sending the record-setting crowd of 10,855 into a frenzy, which caused the Gators to try to calm the fans — because apparently cheering when someone falls is a no-no, for future reference — and setting the scene for Amanda Castillo on the floor.
The eventual All-American in the event came up just short of the 9.9 score she needed to tie the Bulldogs, finishing with a 9.875.
The meet ended with the Gators losing by .025 — the smallest margin to lose by.
I can’t guarantee another close matchup like that one, but this meet was just one in a recent trend of close meets between Florida and the five-time defending national champion.
Excluding last year’s meet, the last five dual meets between the two have been decided by .5 points or less, including a tie in 2007.
This year’s is setting up to be another close matchup. The Gators are ranked No. 4 while the Bulldogs are No. 7. The two teams are averaging total scores within .2 of each other.
This could also be Florida’s best chance to win since its victory in 2005, which was the only time the Gators beat the Bulldogs in a dual meet during Rhonda Faehn’s career as UF’s coach.
Courtney Kupets, who is NCAA’s all-time leader in individual titles with nine despite only competing in the NCAA Championships three times due to an injury her junior season, finally graduated.
Georgia’s longtime coach Suzanne Yoculan retired after last season. She racked up 10 national championships in her 26 years at the school.
And the Bulldogs enter the meet with their lowest ranking since 2005, when they were also No. 7.
No matter the result, though, it is sure to be another exciting competition between two perennial national-title contenders.
Just remember: If someone falls, don’t cheer.
