No. 2 UF will take on an equal challenger in No. 3 LSU at the O’Connell Center tonight, but two Gators will have personal challenges out on the floor.
For the first time this season, the Gators will compete against gymnasts who had already recorded a 10 earlier in the season.
Kytra Hunter and Bridget Sloan will put their skills on floor, vault and balance beam to the test against LSU juniors Rheagan Courville and Lloimincia Hall, who have scored 10s on vault and floor, respectively.
UF (6-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) hosts LSU (7-2, 3-1 SEC) in the Gators’ annual Link to Pink meet at 7 p.m. in the O’Connell Center.
During their 2013 title run, the Gators suffered a loss to the Tigers in their second meet of the regular season.
“It was very early in the season, and I think that really was a great lesson for us,” coach Rhonda Faehn said.
“Bridget (Sloan) said, ‘That’s not going to happen again,’ and it certainly didn’t happen again.”
Hunter, who was named SEC Specialist of the Week for her 10 on vault against Arkansas, has recovered from the stomach flu that prevented her from competing on floor.
LSU’s Courville also scored a 10 on vault (the second of her career) last week and she was named SEC Gymnast of the Week — a title Florida gymnasts have dominated every week since the start of the season.
But the Gators insist they are not doing anything special to prepare for the Tigers.
“They’re doing very well this year, but ... we work hard every week,” sophomore Bridgette Caquatto said.
“We work towards perfection as a team every single week no matter who we’re going against.”
With the 2014 regular season winding down, Faehn said she is ready to start work on postseason lineups.
“We’re really trying to put a lineup together for this meet that we would consider similar to, if not playing around with the lineup that would be postseason” Faehn said.
“We’re still not sure of it 100 percent no doubt. And, of course, we’re not sure of the order just yet but we’re working towards that. I think it’ll be the closest thing so far this season.”
The Gators had a variety of looks in their starting lineup in the past six meets. Most recently, regular all-arounders Hunter and Mackenzie Caquatto sat out on floor against Arkansas. Faehn expects them both to be back in the lineup.
Faehn said freshman Claire Boyce would likely make the cut for balance beam and floor in the postseason and tonight’s lineup. Boyce has competed in both events for the Gators at all six meets.
Florida’s other freshman, Silvia Colussi-Pelaez, will likely not compete on any events tonight, Faehn said.
Follow Erica A. Hernandez on Twitter @EricaAlyssa
Bridget Sloan performs a floor routine during Florida’s 197.525-196.025 win against Arkansas on Feb. 14 in the O’Connell Center.
