Gator Country

Florida freshman Marissa King performs on the uneven bars during the No. 5 Gators' 197.55-196.50 win over No. 9 Utah on Friday at the O'Connell Center. / Gator Country photo by David Carr

In their last regular season meet, the fifth-ranked Florida gymnastics team (9-2) posted a season-high total of 197.550 for the second consecutive meet to beat ninth-ranked Utah (196.500), a fitting Senior Night sendoff that also gave the Gators a measure of momentum as they head into next week's SEC Championship Meet in Jacksonville.

The Gators stepped out to a small lead in the vault on the opening rotation before separating themselves on bars. On bars, five out of the first six Florida gymnasts set or tied their collegiate-high totals for the event. They helped Florida turn a 0.2-point lead into a 0.550-point lead. The Gators went on to win 197.550 to 196.500 on senior night.

After the meet, Florida coach Rhonda Faehn said that she couldn’t believe what she saw on bars.

“We felt like, it was just kind of automatic,” Faehn said. “It was like icing on the cake. Everybody was performing almost as well as they are capable, and when everybody does that, it’s almost kind of silly. You never expect everybody to do amazing ... everybody did. We had to look at each other and kind of laugh a little bit.”

After a week of rest, Faehn anticipated a little letdown, but was pleasantly surprised with the results.

“As a perfectionist coach, I’m happy that senior night went the way that it did,” Faehn said. “But I’m already thinking about the fact that we have SECs next week I’m looking at it as, this is a great springboard, a great tune-up heading into SECs.”

Florida had the first-place finisher in every event, and freshman all-arounder Marissa King earned her second first-place finish in as many meets. Last time, she shared first-place with fellow freshman Marissa King.

This time, she was all alone on the podium.

“I decided to be a bit greedy,” she joked after the meet. “I feel really satisfied with myself that I managed to make those improvements. I’m really, really pleased with myself. It just proves that everything in practice is actually working. To go out there and hit those routines is an amazing feeling.”

King scored a 9.900 in each of her first three events and then finished with a 9.875 on the floor. Florida had the individual winner in each of the four competitions.

But it wasn’t just the freshmen who stood out. Senior Amanda Castillo scored a career-high and team-wide season-high score on the beam, with a 9.95.

“It’s hard to remember all four years,” Faehn said of Castillo’s bars performance, “but that was probably the best routine she’s ever done here.”

Castillo tried to savor her last walk out onto the floor. Before the event, she grabbed the microphone from emcee and thanked the Gator faithful in attendance.

As she prepared to be introduced for the final time, she tried to remember every detail: the feeling of standing in the Gator head, the way the announcer called her name, and the lights and the smoke.

“None of the seniors was overly emotional,” Faehn said. “They were aggressive, and we tried to keep it that way, and that was just great.”

Castillo said that the knowledge that she would be competing at home again in the NCAA Tournament helped to alleviate some of the bittersweet sensations of senior night.

For Faehn, it was the perfect night to send the Gators into the postseason.

“This was a wonderful preparation for SECs,” she said. “Our athletes were all confident and aggressive, and this was one of our best competitions of the year. We still feel like we can get a little bit better, but we fell like everyone is on the right page mentally and physically to compete for the SEC Championship.”

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