Ashanée Dickerson’s performance put her in the spotlight last Saturday, but another UF gymnast pieced together an impressive NCAA Regionals showing.
In No. 1 seed Florida’s victory, sophomore Alaina Johnson stepped up in a big way as well, recording a 39.55 to place second behind Dickerson (39.65).
Johnson also shared the vault (9.95) and uneven bars (9.9) titles with Dickerson. In her other two events, Johnson tallied 9.85.
“Her vault was gorgeous,” coach Rhonda Faehn said. “All around, she did a spectacular job. She’s just competing with such energy and passion this year. It’s really nice to see her taking it all in, understanding it and loving it.”
UF has taken a different approach with managing Johnson this season after she struggled with peaking at the right time in 2011. Throughout her career, she has dealt with stress fractures in her ribs and shins along with soreness in her right elbow.
At last season’s end, she broke down physically due to repeated pounding on leg events such as vault and floor exercise.
“She has areas that tend to flare up if she does too much,” Faehn said. “It was always a matter of making sure if we have to cut her numbers down in training, then that’s what we have to do so she can be OK for the competitions.”
For the coaching staff, it was a premium all year to keep Johnson as healthy as possible in time for the postseason. Because of this, she did not compete as an all-arounder in four of her first six meets.
So far, UF’s strategy with Johnson has worked well, as she seems to be reaching her zenith with NCAAs in one week.
In five of her last six meets, she has recorded an all-around score of at least 39.40. In her three most recent competitions, she has averaged at least a 9.84 in each event.
Johnson is also ranked fifth in the country individually this season with a regional qualifying score of 39.475.
“We’re all peaking when we need to be. That’s what we missed last year,” Johnson said. “Last year, we started earlier. This year, we started later, which has helped a lot.”
Johnson’s growing confidence has also played a huge role in her recent rise. With a year of experience under her belt, she now knows what to expect when UF competes in Duluth, Ga., on April 20.
“Season didn’t end the way we wanted it to last year,” she said. “That helps us want to give more effort and go even harder.”
Oft-injured sophomore Alaina Johnson has benefitted from a lighter training load this season. Johnson shared two titles at NCAA Regionals with Ashanée Dickerson.
