At the 2012 NCAA Championships in Duluth, Ga., Kytra Hunter finished her floor routine with a nearly flawless double back tuck tumbling pass. Her score of 9.925 put Florida ahead of UCLA by .025.
The Gators were in first place, but the moment was short-lived.
Seconds after Hunter finished, Alabama’s Ashley Priess performed a career-best routine on beam. Priess’ 9.950 put the Crimson Tide on top to give Alabama its second straight national title.
Despite falling .075 short of winning its first NCAA championship, the Gators should return home from Los Angeles with the crown this season.
UF did everything it could to win the ultimate prize in 2012.
Even with Ashanee Dickerson’s uncharacteristic fall and last-place 9.2 score on uneven bars — Florida’s only miss during the meet — the Gators covered up the mistake by averaging a 9.885 on the event to record their highest score at the NCAA Championships.
The collective 49.425 on bars also ranked second among all six teams, falling only to UCLA by .05.
Florida had all the tools to get the job done and a wealth of experience on its roster in 2012.
UF entered the national championships ranked first in bars and beam, fourth in vault and seventh in floor, while boasting a 17-1 record. That one loss came against Alabama at the beginning of a long season during which coach Rhonda Faehn focused on preventing injuries, something that hindered the Gators from advancing to the Super Six in 2011.
The Crimson Tide just had a better day at the championships. However, Alabama’s reign in college gymnastics has come to an end.
Florida only loses Nicole Ellis and Amy Ferguson from its second-place NCAA team. Each gymnast competed in only one event at last year’s national title meet. Ferguson’s 9.85 on floor tied with Marissa King and Dickerson as Florida’s lowest score for the event, and, had it not been for Dickerson’s fall, Ellis’ 9.85 on bars may not have counted.
The Crimson Tide, on the other hand, lost their anchor, Geralen Stack-Eaton, to graduation.
The all-around competitor led the way for Alabama during the 2012 NCAA Championships. Stack-Eaton had the top score for the Crimson Tide in vault, bars and floor. Beam was the only event where Stack-Eaton’s teammates outshined her.
Still, she came up big with a score of 9.9.
Alabama will try to fill Stack-Eaton’s spot with Carley Sims and Lauren Beers. Beers has participated in only two events — both during a 196.45-192.025 win against Missouri on Jan. 11 — and Sims has yet to compete for the Crimson Tide.
While the No. 3 Gators return all of their top gymnasts, they also add Olympian Bridget Sloan, 2010-12 U.S. Senior National Team member Bridgette Caquatto and 2010-12 Canadian National Team member Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto.
While Florida has the title within its reach, there will be another down-to-the-wire fight. However, this time it will be with No. 4 UCLA.
The Bruins fell to the Gators at the national championship by .025 — the smallest margin in gymnastics. And while UCLA did not lose nearly as much talent as Alabama did, it does lose Aisha Gerber and Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, who all contributed in the Bruins third-place finish.
No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Oklahoma may also pose a threat for Florida, but both fell short of the Super Six in 2012.
Florida still has to make it through the season injury-free, but if Mackenzie Caquatto’s performance on bars Friday night is any indication of how the season will go, then the Gators’ chances of winning the title is a perfect 10.
Contact Katie Agostin at kagostin@alligator.org.
Sophomore Kytra Hunter performs her beam routine in a dual meet against Ball State on Jan. 4 in the O’Connell Center. Hunter won the all-around title at the NCAA Regionals on Saturday.
