The Gators are poised and ready for three in a row.
Florida travels to Alabama today with the hope of returning as 2014 Southeastern Conference champions.
“That would be incredible; that’d be amazing,” coach Rhonda Faehn said. “But definitely our focus is not on the end result. It’s going to be on going out there, having another positive podium training, getting used to the equipment and carrying that into the competition day.”
The Gators will face three of the nation’s top-10 teams (No. 2 LSU, No. 4 Alabama and No. 6 Georgia) in the eight-team tournament on Saturday, including the only team that defeated them in the regular season: the Crimson Tide.
No. 1 seed Florida has the advantage of competing in the second of two rounds. The top seed also earns them the advantage of competing the four events in the order it compete them at a home meet: vault, uneven bars, balance beam and finally floor.
Though the time and order will be the same, the equipment will see a change. For the first podium meet of the year, Florida will travel to the meet site a day earlier to get acclimated to the change of equipment.
Faehn said the equipment is slightly different in every event. Because of the elevation, the beam has more of a bounce than normal — as does the floor and vault.
“That’s why we practice really holding our finishes and not jumping right to the next movement,” Faehn said. “So there’s all these little adjustments that thankfully our athletes have had experience on it, so they know how to make the quick adjustments once we get there.”
Sophomore Bridget Sloan said she prefers competing on podium because most pre-collegiate gymnastics used the elevated equipment.
“Podium just gives you that little extra bounce,” Sloan said. “The floor is bouncier, the bars are bouncier, the beam is a little bit shaky sometimes, but the vault is bigger.
“Everything is just bigger and you kind of have to really think about controlling yourself.”
Junior Rachel Spicer, who, like Sloan, has the experience of competing at an SEC Tournament, said the boot she was seen wearing after UF’s final meet of the regular season is a precautionary measure for an injury she sustained at the start of the season.
“It happened at the first meet; I did something to my Achilles on vault just maybe landing short,” Spicer said. “It just keeps the stress off my Achilles all day, and then I come in the gym do my thing and just put it back on.
“It’s kind of like whatever it takes because, you know, I’ve worked so hard and as long as I know I’m not going to be damaged anymore or anything I’m totally willing to tape it up and do anything for the team.”
Florida’s trip to Alabama is not the first and won’t be the last of the season. The Gators will return to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex for the NCAA Championship meet April 18-20.
“They’re already going to step into the arena in the NCAA Championship with knowing exactly the visuals, where they’re going to start, which why they’re going to do their series, which way they’re going to tumble,” Faehn said.
“All of those things that the other teams will be figuring out that first day, it’ll be just like a warm-up for us.”
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Rachel Spicer performs a floor routine during Florida’s 197.525-196.025 win against Arkansas on Feb. 14 in the O’Connell Center.
