Walking into Missouri’s Hearnes Center, the No. 2 Gators gymnastics team knew what it was getting into.
Backed by their home crowd, No. 19 Missouri was anxious to get going, prepped to rebound from a disappointing upset loss to Kentucky on Feb. 12.
And, propped up by 12 career-high scores and their highest team score of the year, Mizzou did what it needed to.
The Gators, though, emerged victorious, posting the nation’s fourth-highest score of the season en route to a 197.750-196.650 win Friday night.
“Very happy with the team's performance,” UF coach Jenny Rowland said in a release. ”They had each other's back and they did a great job from start to finish.”
Florida (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) established its lead early, falling just shy of its season best on the uneven bars.
Spearheaded by Senior Bridgette Caquatto’s event-leading 9.950, no UF athlete posted a score lower than 9.850, taking an early 49.500-48.875 advantage over the Tigers (5-7, 1-4 SEC).
That 0.625-point gap widened following a dominant showing on vault, where two of the Gators’ senior gymnasts posted season-best scores.
Caquatto and Bridget Sloan notched scores of 9.825 and 9.925, respectively, buoying a solid team showing that saw no counted score dip lower than Caquatto’s.
Over on the uneven bars, Missouri put in a shaky performance.
Brooke Kelly’s 9.875 led all Tiger gymnasts, as the team was forced to count a pair of 9.775’s on the apparatus.
At the meet’s second intermission, Florida possessed a comfortable 98.875-98.050 lead. The Gators simply needed to keep up the pressure.
They did all that and more.
In spite of a quartet of career bests from Mizzou’s balance beam unit, Florida’s floor squad strung together an impressive performance, bolstered by two career bests of their own.
The one-two punch of sophomores Grace McLaughlin and Ericha Fassbender at the top of the lineup kicked the Gators into high gear. Their 9.900 and 9.875, respectively, set the tone for the crew’s 49.575 overall score.
Taking the rotation by 0.350 points, the Gators extended their edge to a lofty 1.125, a final rotation on the balance beam the only thing standing between them and their sixth victory of the year.
Headed by sophomore Alex McMurtry’s event-winning 9.950, UF posted a 49.300 on the apparatus.
Dual 9.875’s from sophomore Kennedy Baker and freshman Peyton Ernst aided in counterbalancing an uncharacteristic 9.150 from Sloan, offsetting a 49.375 floor outing by Mizzou.
At the end of the night, five career and four season-highs propelled the Gators to yet another sweep.
Florida clinched all five events: Baker clinched the all-around over Sloan, but the former Olympian snagged vault and floor honors. McMurtry hauled in the beam title, while Caquatto triumphed on the uneven bars.
The Gators will return to action next Friday, when they square off against visiting Louisiana State University at 6:45 p.m.
Contact Alejandro Lopez at alopez@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @ajlb95.
Bridgette Caquatto performs her floor routine during Florida's win over Alabama on Jan. 29, 2016, in the O'Connell Center.
