LINCOLN, Neb. – To say this has been a trying season for the Florida Gators women’s volleyball team would be an understatement.
But try the Gators have, despite a rash of injuries that would make a coach think about another occupation. Indeed, the Gators, who were only 10-6 (3-3 SEC) during regular-season competition, have shown a lot of resiliency despite a roster that is minus four of its regulars because of one injury or another.
And their reward for all this grittiness? Friday night at the University of Nebraska’s Bob Delaney Sports Center, coach Rhonda Faehn’s Gators will have a chance to compete for the NCAA championship as part of the Super Six.
Thursday, Florida, which was seeded fifth among the 12 teams which made it here, finished runner-up to Southeastern Conference rival and top-ranked Georgia in the first of two sessions that determined the six schools which compete Friday night for the national title.
In fact, the top three schools in the first session – Georgia (197.450), Florida (196.375) and Louisiana State (196.300) – all represent the SEC. The Tigers just barely nosed out Stanford (196.225) for the final spot. Penn State (196.100) and Oklahoma (195.825) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Two more SEC teams—Alabama and Arkansas—led the way in the second session. The Crimson Tide (197.025) and Razorbacks (196.950) were joined by Utah (196.625), which got the final team spot after tying with UCLA and winning the first tiebreaker criteria of combining all six individual scorers in all four events. Utah had the edge by .075. Oregon State (195.350) and Illinois (195.050) finished fifth and sixth.
Georgia and Utah are both seeking their 10rh overall titles, and the Lady Bulldogs are going for their fifth straight national championship Friday night at 7 p.m. Saturday night, the individual event winners will be decided.
“They showed their maturity as competitors today,” Faehn said. “In past years, a bad event would sometimes deflate the team. But this team has experienced so much this year. We’ve had to come from behind numerous times. They’ve learned and they’ve grown—that’s why they didn’t let today’s slow start frustrate them. I’m just so proud of them.”
Faehn’s team has lost a third of its roster—four of 12—for the season with injuries. The last Gator lost for the season was seven-time All-American junior Amanda Castillo, who was injured in the March 13 dual at Utah.
The following week at the SEC Championships, Florida finished third with just seven competitors because sophomore Alicia Goodwin was sidelined with a knee sprain. Goodwin, however, returned the following week as Florida won the North Central Region Championships.
Led by redshirt junior Maranda Smith (39.450), who finished third in the all-around standings behind Georgia’s Courtney Kupets (39.800) and Tiffany Tolnay (39.500), Florida had five gymnasts among the top 15 in Thursday’s first session. Redshirt junior Melanie Sinclair (39.300) tied for sixth, senior Corey Hartung (39.175) and freshman Elizabeth Mahlich (39.175) tied for 13th and junior Courtney Gladys (39.150) finished 15th. No other school had more than two gymnasts among the top 15 in the all-around standings from the first session.
Five Gators earned a total of nine All-America honors and Florida will be represented in three individual events—vault, bars and floor—in Saturday’s finals. Smith earned All-America first-team honors in the all-around and vault (fourth). Hartung earned her 10th All-America honor when she tied for fourth in the floor exercise event for the fourth straight year.
Sinclair and Goodwin tied for fourth in the uneven parallel bar event to earn All-America honors. Sinclair picked up All-America second-team honors by tying for sixth in the all-around. She and Smith tied for sixth in the floor competition to earn All-American second-team honors. Mahlich earned a spot on the All-America second team by tying for fifth on the beam.
Thursday, Florida had to overcome its slow start after its first two events—floor exercise and vault—and stood fourth at 97.95. The Gators got going after a third-rotation bye, posting a total of 49.15 on the uneven bars. Florida then finished strong in the balance beam with its third-highest balance beam total (49.275) of the season.
Florida was done and would have to wait to see how the final rotation went for the other teams. But when LSU and Stanford could not the marks they needed in the uneven bars and floor exercise, Florida was safely in the Super Six.
“That’s what we talked about all season long—to fight to the end and to fight for every little tenth,” Faehn said. “They did exactly that today. We were a little rough on the first two events and definitely weren’t as strong as we’ve been all season on floor and vault. What was amazing is that they did not give up. They had an unbelievable performance on bars to finish so aggressively on beam was wonderful to see.”
Kupets, a former Olympian, won three of the events – and was fourth in another, the vault. LSU’s Susan Jackson and Ashleigh Clare-Kearney won the vault with marks of 9.950. Tolnay of Georgia was third with a 9.925 and Kupets was joined by Smith and four others in a tie for fourth at 9.900. Florida’s Gladys (9.800) tied for 22nd place and Mahlich (9.775) tied for 31st. Sinclair (9.725) and Hartung (9.700) finished 39th and 40th, respectively.
In the uneven bars, Kupets received a mark of 9.950 to beat teammate Grace Taylor and Stanford’s Carly Janiga, who tied for second with 9.900 marks. Sinclair and Alicia Goodwin were among the seven women who tied for fourth with scores of 9.875. Smith (9.850) tied for 11th, Mahlich (9.800) tied for 19th and Gladys (9.750) and Hartung (9.750) tied for 33rd place.
Kupets scored a perfect 10,000 to win the balance beam, leading a Georgia sweep of the top three spots – teammates Taylor and Courtney McCool tied for second with marks of 9.950. Mahlich (9.875) was tied for fifth for Florida, while Gladys, Smith, Sinclair and Hartung were among the 10 women who tied for ninth with marks of 9.875. Goodwin (9.325) finished 39th.
Kupets also won the floor exercise with a 9.950 mark, finishing ahead of Tolnay and LSU’s Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, who tied for second at 9.900. Hartung (9.875) tied for fourth with Brandi Personett of Penn State, while Sinclair and Smith each had marks of 9.850 to share sixth place with six other gymnasts. Gladys (9.750) finished in a tie for 29th place, Mahlich (9.725) finished 34th-place tie and Amy Ferguson (9.025) was 42nd.
This is Florida’s 27th NCAA championship appearance in the 28 years of the event (the Gators missed only in 2000) and it’s the eighth time Florida has advanced to what the NCAA calls its Super Six competition (2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004, 1998, 1997, 1994). Florida has never won the title but was runner-up in 1998 in Los Angeles. Last year, Florida was fourth.