When All-American Alaina Johnson stuck her first vault routine in 85 days, the Gators were relieved.
No. 1 Florida (20-2, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) has dealt with injuries throughout the season, and that trend continued prior to the NCAA Regional Championships on Saturday.
After Johnson suffered a stress fracture in her lower back on Jan. 18, the Gators saw another injury to a key gymnast just a week before its most important competition.
Randy Stageberg — a mainstay on balance beam and floor — suffered a dislocated shoulder during practice on March 29. Coach Rhonda Faehn described it as a “freak accident”. Unfortunately for the Gators, the injury will sideline Stageberg for the rest of the season.
On the eve of the NCAA Regional Championships, it was also unclear whether All-American Mackenzie Caquatto would be in the rotation.
“We had a very challenging week,” Faehn said. “Starting out with losing Randy Stageberg to a dislocated shoulder, and she was a starter for us on two events.
“And then Macko having an emergency root canal last night and throwing up all morning and not knowing if she was going to be able to go was really making things a little sketchy heading into tonight.”
But the injuries have not discouraged the Gators.
With an already deep roster, Florida hurdled health issues to several of its All-Americans to capture its seventh Regional Championship in the past eight years.
UF earned a score of 198.400 — the second highest total in the nation this season — to clinch its 31st berth to the NCAA Championships.
A collective effort on each apparatus helped the Gators register a score of 49.55 or higher on each of the four events, including a 49.60 total on the vault that featured Johnson for the first time since Jan. 18.
Johnson pinned a 9.925 despite limited preparation.
“This team is incredible,” Johnson said. “They have pushed me through practices ,and they have helped me get back.”
Florida travels to Los Angeles for the NCAA Championships April 19-21.
Junior Alaina Johnson performs her routine on the balance beam during Florida’s 196.575-190.55 victory against Ball State on Jan. 4 in the O’Connell Center. Johnson competed for the first time since Jan. 18 at the NCAA Regionals on Saturday.
