The No. 1 Florida gymnastics team overcame its road struggles in its second Southeastern Conference road meet Friday at No. 22 Arkansas in front of a Barnhill Arena crowd of 5,278.
Florida (4-1, 3-1 SEC) outscored Arkansas (1-3, 0-3 SEC) 197.575-196.175 en route to setting its second-highest all-around mark of the year.
Friday’s meet was the start of five consecutive dual meets for UF versus teams ranked in the nation’s top 25. It was UF’s first win in Fayetteville of the last three regular-season dual meets in Arkansas, but more importantly, it was Florida’s first road victory of the young season.
“I was really happy with the way all of our athletes responded, especially knowing that we were going to rest Kytra (Hunter) on three of the four events and Alaina (Johnson) was still out,” Rhonda Faehn said.
“They knew we were going to change up the lineups. And what I loved was that every athlete stepped up and took ownership of their event. I have told each and every athlete who gets put in the lineup that they are capable of scoring an amazing score.”
Appropriately enough, UF — ranked atop the NCAA in both vault and uneven bars — registered scores of 49.40 and 49.45, respectively.
Freshman Bridget Sloan lined up fifth in the uneven bars rotation and stuck her double layout dismount for a 9.90 to spring junior All-America Mackenzie Caquatto, who closed out the lineup with a 9.95.
Sloan finished the evening with a share of the all-around title with senior Ashanee Dickerson after posting a 39.55. She also claimed her second balance beam title after posting a 9.925.
Florida followed up bars with yet another strong vault combination.
Sophomore Kiersten Wang stuck her Yurchenko layout to register a season-high 9.900. All-America Ashanee Dickerson responded with a 9.95, tying her second-highest mark of the season. Dickerson headed into the dual meet ranked fourth in the NCAA in vault performances with an average of 9.931.
More surprisingly, Florida pinned a season-high 49.45 on beam to counter a late push by Arkansas. The Gators headed into the contest averaging 49.056 in the event and Friday’s mark is a season-high.
The team’s focus was evident from the beginning.
The Gators flashed an impressive balance beam rotation that featured Caquatto — who ranks fifth in the nation with an average routine of 9.888.
Sloan’s winning 9.925 followed three successive 9.900s by teammates Marissa King, Randy Stageberg and Caquatto.
With a season-high beam score, Florida elevated its overall score by .35 since its meet against Auburn on Jan. 25. If the Gators can sustain their recent success on beam, it’ll only further their case as the NCAA’s elite gymnastics squad.
“Again it was an incredible meet for everybody,” Sloan said. “We really came together as a team and supported each other 100 percent. I know I have been saying that a lot, but really each meet it gets a little better and better. There are only good things to come.”
The Gators travel back to Gainesville to face No. 8 Alabama on Feb. 8 for the first time since losing to them in the 2012 NCAA Super Six.
Freshman Bridget Sloan sticks a landing during Florida’s 196.575-190.55 win against Ball State on Jan. 4 in the O’Connell Center.
