Florida Gators gymnastics defeats Auburn

Special to GC

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida gymnastics team opened its home season with another mark of perfection, as freshman Alex McMurtry<http://www.gatorzone.com/gymnastics/bios.php?year=2015&player_id=51> scored a 10.0 Friday in front of a Stephen C. O’Connell Center crowd of 6,754. The Gators opened Southeastern Conference action with a win, turning in a 197.20 while Auburn posted a 195.65.

Florida Event Winners Friday

Vault:

Alex McMurtry

10.0

Uneven Bars:

Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto

9.95

Floor Exercise

Kytra Hunter

9.875

All-Around

Kytra Hunter

39.50

The perfect vault mark by McMurtry brought the O’Connell Center crowd to its feet on the Gators’ opening rotation. It was the second consecutive meet for the Gators with a vault 10.0, as junior All-American Bridget Sloan<http://www.gatorzone.com/gymnastics/bios.php?year=2015&player_id=42> became the nation’s first of 2015 to post a 10.0 mark on Sunday at Ball State. Florida also got a collegiate-best of 9.875 from fellow freshman Kennedy Baker<http://www.gatorzone.com/gymnastics/bios.php?year=2015&player_id=47> on the event. On bars, junior Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto<http://www.gatorzone.com/gymnastics/bios.php?year=2015&player_id=43> upped her collegiate best to 9.95 to take the event title. McMurtry’s collegiate bars debut was second overall at 9.925 as Florida turned in a season-high 49.525 on the event.

Senior All-American Kytra Hunter<http://www.gatorzone.com/gymnastics/bios.php?year=2015&player_id=36> anchored Florida’s balance beam set with 9.90, which was second overall to Auburn’s Caitlin Atkinson’s 9.925. Hunter did win the floor exercise title (9.875) and Baker was second (9.85) in her first collegiate floor performance. Hunter shared the all-around title at 39.50 with AU’s Atkinson. It was Hunter’s second consecutive all-around win and 14th of her career.

Gator Performance Notes:

·         McMurtry made quite an O’Connell Center debut Friday, posting a vault 10.0. She is the third Gator to earn a vault 10.0 as a freshman, joining past All-Americans Savannah Evans<http://www.gatorzone.com/gymnastics/bios.php?year=2007&player_id=1> (2004) and Susan Hines<http://www.gatorzone.com/gymnastics/bios.php?year=1999&bio=hines.html> (1996). Both Evans and Hines earned their freshman vault 10.0s in the final home meet of the season.

·         Dancose-Giambattisto’s 9.95 on bars gives her the second uneven bars event title of her career – and first since 2013.

·         Hunter’s win moves her into a tie with past All-American Corey Hartung<http://www.gatorzone.com/gymnastics/bios.php?year=2009&player_id=2> for eighth all-time on the Gators’ career all-around wins list at 14.


Records: Florida (2-0, 1-0 SEC); Auburn (1-1, 0-1 SEC).

The Series: Florida leads the all-time series 67-11.

Quotes:
On the home opener:
“Tonight’s competition was definitely a step in the right direction. I told the team after we were done that there were so many positives and at the same time, it is part of the journey and we have a very long season. Tonight was one of those little steps. We showed so many positives especially with only two days of training. So I was thrilled with the way this team stuck together and stepped up in the areas that we were looking for.” - Florida Head Coach Rhonda Faehn

On anchoring vault:
“Being the anchor on vault definitely was a lot of pressure. Of course all you can really do is watch your teammates and cheer them on and whether they do really, really well or if we have some mistakes, you still have to do your job. I talked myself through it and really focused a lot.” – freshman Alex McMurtry

On if she knew she scored a 10:
“I think we all know what we’re capable of, and when everyone started screaming 10, 10, 10 it was just the best feeling. I loved that the first meet at home, I was able to score a perfect 10.” – freshman Alex McMurtry

On Alex McMurtry’s 10.0:
“Alex McMurtry opening vault with a 10 is just awesome. She’s had really limited training so for her to step out and do as well as she did in the three events that she did tonight with maybe two weeks worth of training is really just incredible. It speaks volumes to her determination and talent level.

“Alex did a Yurchenko full vault, and it’s going backwards onto the horse, a backhand spring onto the horse, but what I think what really stands out in what Alex is doing on her vault technique is that she flares and opens, so she stretches out really wide and her body’s completely stretched out before she comes in for the landing, so there’s no angle break in her body anywhere. It’s kind of like the exclamation point at the end of a sentence is her extending out on the vault. She just is so soft on the landing. You can tell there’s no shuffling of the feet or trying to cover up any landing. It’s just an amazing vault.” - Florida Head Coach Rhonda Faehn

On the freshman stepping up after Sloan’s injury:
“It gives us a lot of insurance. Coming in, we weren’t happy that Sloan got hurt because she’s basically the rock to our team. It just goes to show you how deep our team is. Alex pulled out a 10 and Kennedy did a great job on all four events.” – senior All-American Kytra Hunter.

On having room for improvement:
“Of course vault and floor was not our strength tonight. We had a lot of low landings and lower vaults than normal. We’re going to have a full week of training, one day of floor and one of vault to get ready for the next meet. We’re excited, this was a good step and we’re looking forward to getting back in the gym.” - Florida Head Coach Rhonda Faehn

On Kennedy Baker’s performance:
“Kennedy did a great job, coming in on floor for the first time. Everyone can see the tremendous potential there with her power and showmanship. There are so many great positives about her.” - Florida Head Coach Rhonda Faehn

On Kytra Hunter:
“Kytra is a perfectionist. That’s why she is as amazing as an athlete as she is - she demands and expects a lot of herself. She wants to go out and pull in 10’s, but I saw tremendous improvement in her bars and her beam, which was huge. Vault and floor, I know she can do it anytime, it was just a bit off here and there tonight. We love the fact that she’s hard on herself because she’s going to demand more of herself and she’ll make those corrections.” - Florida Head Coach Rhonda Faehn

On having Bridget Sloan with the team tonight:
“It’s really important to have Bridget out there as part of the team in every aspect whether it’s on the sideline, or cheering and encouraging. She can still show her leadership and her experience with the other athletes out there. She’s not only helping the team but it helps her to remain positive and aggressive mentally to get back.” - Florida Head Coach Rhonda Faehn



On the home crowd:

“The crowd was wonderful. It was great, it was loud, it was energetic. We love our fans, and they didn’t disappoint tonight. They came out and they were trying to learn where the new Gator chomps were in the floor routine, which is always fun. It was great, a great night.” - Florida Head Coach Rhonda Faehn



On what the team will focus on this week:

The benefit is we get more days in training. We’re going to get Sunday, Monday and Wednesday, so that’s three days, and then we’ll get a little bit of a walk-through when we get over to Alabama. We’re going to be focusing on making better landings on our tumbling. We had some uncharacteristic errors.



“Our vault needs to be more dynamic. There’s always the excitement of being at home and starting on vault. In the 13 years I’ve been here, it’s almost like repetition. Our first meet at home, they just get so pumped up that they try to control it a little too much as we come up short in some areas. I’m not worried about it. It’s the second meet of the year. We have three long months to work on this, and we just can’t be championship-ready right now. We’re going to work on getting the landings a little higher and just the crispness in everything, a little bit more aggressive, and they’ll get that as the competitions go on.​” - Florida Head Coach Rhonda Faehn

Miss the SEC Network Debut Live Gymnastics Broadcast?
Friday’s broadcast of the Auburn at Florida meet was the first live gymnastics meet to air on the SEC Network. The meet re-airs on the SEC Network on the following dates and times:


·         Jan. 17 at midnight ET

·         Jan. 17 at noon ET

·         Jan. 20 at 8 a.m. ET

Find what channel the SEC Network is on in your area with the SEC Network Finder site.<http://getsecnetwork.com/channel-finder>

10.0 Notes:
McMurtry’s 10.0 marks the first time in Florida’s 43-year history two different Gators scored a perfect vault mark in a single season. Bridget Sloan<http://www.gatorzone.com/gymnastics/bios.php?year=2015&player_id=42> turned in a vault 10.0 in Sunday’s season opener at Ball State. Other Gators to earn a vault 10.0 are Hines (1996, 1998), Evans (2004) and Hunter (2014).

This is the second consecutive season Florida opened a home campaign with a 10.0. In 2014, it was Sloan and then Hunter finding perfection on floor on Jan. 24 versus Georgia.

It was the ninth vault 10.0 and the 25th overall (9 vault, 7 bars and floor, 2 beam) in Florida’s history.

What a Week!
Florida was without junior All-American Bridget Sloan<http://www.gatorzone.com/gymnastics/bios.php?year=2015&player_id=42> (sprained right ankle) and senior Jamie Shisler<http://www.gatorzone.com/gymnastics/bios.php?year=2015&player_id=39> (left Achilles tendon tear) as they both suffered injuries at the Gators’ opener Sunday at Ball State…depending on her recovery, Sloan could return to the Gators late in the season.

Two Gator performers tonight were involved in a rear-end collision Wednesday evening. Freshman Ericha Fassbender<http://www.gatorzone.com/gymnastics/bios.php?year=2015&player_id=48> was turning right when her vehicle was hit from behind. McMurtry was also in the vehicle. The other driver received a ticket for the accident. Both were examined and cleared by Florida medical staff for competition tonight.

National Rank:
Florida – Florida is No. 3 in the Jan. 12 GymInfo<http://www.troester.com/gym/WRankings/2015/0112/WT-20.htm> rankings. The current rankings are based on total season average.
Auburn – The Tigers are No. 21 in the GymInfo rankings.

Up Next:
The Gators 2015 SEC road opener is Friday, Jan. 23 at No. 6 Alabama. Meet time is set for 7:30 p.m. ET in the Coleman Coliseum.

Alabama opened its SEC campaign Friday with a loss at Arkansas (196.35-196.175).<http://arkrazor.com/livestats/gym/Alabama01162015.htm>

The Florida-Alabama dual will air live beginning at 8 p.m ET on the SEC Network (Gainesville/Ocala Cox cable channel 68 or 1068). A live stream can be seen at SEC Network+<http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/id/2256598/NCAA-Gymnastics-Florida-vs-Alabama-(W-Gymnastics)> for all SEC Network subscribers.
Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.

1 COMMENT

  1. The Gators gymnastics program rocks! Good for them. And knocking down tens? That’s sick. In the world of gymnastics they don’t really give out many 10.’s. That’s quite remarkable, really. I was Captain of the gymnastic team back in high school-that was back in the Ching Dynasty shortly after humnas began walking upright. They weren’t giving many tens out then and they ain’t now…very cool. Go Gators!