Last season, sophomore Bridgette Caquatto did not contribute much until the postseason. Now, almost halfway through her sophomore season, she has not missed a beat or a meet.
“I think the challenge she had coming in was she was recovering from so many surgeries and injuries from her elite career that she really needed to get healthy,” coach Rhonda Faehn said.
Due to injuries she sustained in elite competitions, Caquatto was not cleared to do gymnastics again until after Thanksgiving of her freshman year.
“That’s when all the athletes were already doing full routines and she was just starting out basic gymnastics again and trying to gain all of her skills back,” Faehn said.
Caquatto has come a long way since her freshman year. In 2013, she competed floor and uneven bars once during the regular season and three times during the postseason.
Caquatto has competed on floor, vault and uneven bars in all of Florida’s meets so far this year.
“I really think she has shown this awesome confidence this year, and she’s real calm,” Faehn said.
In the first meet of the year, she placed first on uneven bars against UCLA with a score of 9.90. Caquatto has posted her collegiate best in all three events this season. On vault, her best is 9.875, while on uneven bars and floor she has reached a 9.95.
“I enjoy competing three events every single meet and getting some more experience under my belt and getting more used to competing every weekend,” Caquatto said.
This week, the Gators (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) have been gearing up to compete on the road for the first time since their Jan. 17 road win against Auburn. Tonight at 7, newly top-ranked Florida will face Kentucky (4-3, 1-2 SEC) at the Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky.
Tonight’s meet will be the Wildcats’ first contest since Kentucky lost to Georgia (197.300-190.950) on the road. Florida defeated Georgia (198.05-196.70) on Jan. 24.
But Caquatto has not gotten a chance to practice too for Kentucky or any of Florida’s competitors.
“She still battles with really sore and severe shin splints,” Faehn said. “So we’re really careful with her in limiting her training and limiting her pounding.”
Faehn said Caquatto does soft landings in all her practices.
“I’m able to make that transition from soft landings to hard landings perfectly fine when it comes to meet situations,” Caquatto said.
Faehn guessed Caquatto only practices her full floor and vault routines about once a week.
“She just knows how to hit at the meet which is great,” Faehn said.
Besides staying rested and fresh throughout the week in practice, Caquatto has one other secret to her newfound success: her sister, senior Mackenzie Caquatto.
“It’s wonderful for her because she is so close with her sister (Mackenzie), and also the rest of the team, but especially (Mackenzie). They have such a close bond that it’s a really great thing to see when we’re out on the competition floor, just the absolute support. I know that helps her.”
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Bridgette Caquatto performs a floor routine during Florida’s 197.075-196.225 win against Georgia on Jan. 24 in the O’Connell Center.
