Despite the Gators’ heartbreaking loss to Alabama at the Super Six, they found some redemption this weekend in Kytra Hunter.
The freshman became Florida’s second consecutive NCAA Vault Champion after averaging a 9.875 on two routines at the individual event finals on Sunday in The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga.
Last year, Marissa King won with the same average. Hunter’s win is the fourth in UF history, as Susan Hines claimed the vault title in both 1997 and 1998.
Hunter earned a 9.95 for her more difficult Yurchenko one and a half — the vault she’s competed all season — on her first routine. On her second vault (9.8), she had trouble perfecting a Yurchenko full, which requires a back handspring with a full twist onto the table.
Regardless, both scores were enough to give Hunter the vault win.
“I don’t train it at all,” Hunter said. “But in the last week, we’ve been doing one or two. I’m really scared of that (Yurchenko full) vault. I just went out there and did whatever I could — just glad that I could win first place.”
The vault title wasn’t the only individual championship Hunter earned this weekend. At the evening session of semifinals on Friday, Hunter picked up the NCAA all-around title with a 39.725, becoming the first Gator ever to do so.
“For her to come away with the vault title is really something special for her to add to her all-around title,” coach Rhonda Faehn said. “She went out there and did exactly what she wanted to do in one vault. Her first vault was gorgeous once again and then for her to come out and do the second
different vault pretty well, which is great because we just don’t train it all year long.”
Hunter tied for fourth on floor exercise Sunday with a 9.925 and junior Ashanée Dickerson shared sixth (9.9).
Despite a groin pull, which limited her in training after regionals, King placed fifth on vault (9.788). The first vaults the junior practiced since regionals were during Thursday’s training session.
“It was a little bit tough,” King said. “I landed a little bit low, but I had fun and it was great coming out here to compete.”
On uneven bars, sophomore Mackenzie Caquatto came in sixth (9.825), while sophomore Alaina Johnson struggled, placing eighth (9.488).
Georgia’s Kat Ding won the bars (9.988) and floor titles (9.95), and Alabama’s Geralen Stack-Eaton snagged the balance beam win with a 9.938. Alabama’s Diandra Milliner was the vault runner-up with a 9.825.
On Saturday, No. 1 seed Florida suffered a stunning defeat to fourth-seeded Alabama in the Super Six. The Crimson Tide (197.85) rallied past the Gators (197.775) after their last beam routine to win a second-straight national championship. The Tide’s .075-point margin of victory was the slimmest at the Super Six since Utah defeated Alabama by .05 in 1994.
Despite falling short, UF’s runner-up finish is the team’s first since 1998 and second of all time.
Florida left Duluth with a gem in Hunter, but will have to look to the future to claim the elusive national title it came so close to capturing.
“This meet went well for us. We put our heart out there and did the best we could,” Hunter said. “We were so close. After a little break, when we do go back into the gym, we’ll be working harder and trying new things. We have a great freshman class coming in.
“We do lose three seniors, but the majority of the team is back.”
Florida freshman gymnast Kytra Hunter lifts the trophy she earned for winning the NCAA vault national title Sunday.
