One of the most storied rivalries in the Southeastern Conference is primed for another chapter.
Tonight at 7, the top-ranked Florida Gators’ gymnastics team (4-0, 2-0 SEC) will square off against rival No. 11 Georgia (2-3, 2-1 SEC) at the Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, rearing to post a victory in the rivalry’s 141st matchup.
"Florida-Georgia is always a big rivalry," senior Bridgette Caquatto said. "I think it starts with the big Florida-Georgia football game that they host in Jacksonville, and it’s two huge, big SEC schools."
Coming into tonight’s contest, the Bulldogs lead the head-to-head series with a dominating 98-41-1 record all-time against the Gators.
However, Florida is set to defy the trend. Riding a four-game winning streak, UF takes the mat fresh on the heels of the nation’s top-scoring performance.
Posting a 198.175 in its SEC home-opener against the then-No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide, Florida notched a decisive victory in its third consecutive top-10 matchup, propelled to the podium by three perfect 10s courtesy of sophomore Alex McMurtry (bars), senior Bridget Sloan (beam) and sophomore Kennedy Baker (floor).
Additionally, Gator gymnasts swept the SEC’s weekly honors. Sloan and McMurtry hauled in Gymnast and Specialist of the Week honors, respectively, while freshman Alicia Boren collected her second Freshman of the Week award this season.
Georgia, on the other hand, is seeking to improve upon a lackluster January. The NCAA’s most storied gymnastics program (with 16 conference championships complementing 10 national titles) has yet to string together consecutive wins. Its most decisive victory came last week against then-No. 23 Kentucky by a score of 196.275-195.025.
"Georgia has a great history of winning a lot of national championships in a row, and now Florida’s kinda made a name for themselves," Caquatto said. "So going into this, it’s going to be a fun, really good, competitive SEC meet."
Boasting three top-10 and two top-five rotational units across the vault (No. 4), bars (No. 4) and floor (No. 7), Georgia’s squad poses a legitimate threat to Florida’s dominance.
Furthermore, the Bulldogs return three All-Americans from the 2015 roster, highlighted by senior Brittany Rogers, who battled Florida’s Sloan to a second-place tie in the 2015 NCAA bars final.
And, backed by a knowledgeable and rowdy crowd, things could get interesting.
Known to bark at opposing teams, the Bulldogs’ fanbase has caught the attention of Florida gymnasts.
"Going to Georgia, I’m really excited," freshman Peyton Ernst said. "I’ve heard it’s a great crowd.
"I’m expecting it to be a lot of people and really loud, but coming off from the last meet (against Alabama) I’m kind of used to the big crowd. We had an amazing crowd last week here for a home meet, so I’m excited to see how it is."
With its fifth-consecutive win at stake, Florida has discovered the formula for success.
It just comes down to tweaking the mix from here on out.
"We did really great last weekend, and it’s really just the details," Caquatto said. "Our gymnastics is there — we do big and beautiful gymnastics. You know, college gymnastics, working on those handstands on bars and we can get a lot more stuck landings on our dismounts.
"Really, (it’s) just keeping the good energy, having fun with it. We seem to thrive when we have a lot of fun."
Contact Alejandro López 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.
