Rhonda Faehn didn’t have to wait long to figure out that her team was wound up way too tight Thursday night in the evening semifinal of the NCAA Gymnastics Championships at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. About 15 seconds into Ashanee Dickerson’s bar routine that opened up Florida’s first rotation of the night, Dickerson, who never falls, came up short on a release move and went face first into the mat.
Not exactly the start the Gators, who came into the championship meet seeded second, intended. Things didn’t exactly go from bad to worse from that inauspicious beginning, but it took awhile for Florida to regain a sense of control. The Gators scored an uncharacteristically low 48.900 on the bars and were only slightly better on the balance beam (49.175) and that sent them into the locker room for a full rotation in fourth place, trailing halfway point leader Alabama by a full .600 of a point. In football that’s like going into the locker room trailing by a couple of touchdowns and a field goal.
It’s bad enough to trail Alabama, which spent a good portion of the regular season ranked number one in the nation nationally, but the Gators were looking up to Stanford (49.250) and Missouri (49.125), too. That called for a rally, something Faehn has gotten used to recently. Florida rallied from behind to win the Southeastern Conference championship and did it again two weeks ago when the Gators captured the North Central Regional that advanced them to the NCAA finals in Gainesville where a new national champion will be crowned tonight (6 p.m., Stephen C. O’Connell Center).
“Holy smoke, I’m tired of rallying,” Faehn said after the Gators advanced to the Super Six round. The Gators didn’t come all the way back — Alabama had the high score Thursday night (196.850) — but they finished just .075 off the pace and .475 points ahead of Stanford (196.300). Those three teams will be joined in the Super Six by afternoon session qualifiers UCLA (196.875), Utah (196.625) and Oklahoma (196.550).
In the Super Six, all of Thursday’s scores will be thrown out and all six teams start brand new.
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The rally had its origins in the sanctity of the Florida locker room during the Gators bye for the fourth rotation. There, nerves frayed by that near disastrous start on the bars and some shaky moments on the balance beam began to soothe almost the moment volunteer assistant coach Jeremy Miranda amped up the volume to the music and began dancing. One by one, the Gators joined in and a transformation took place. That same team that started the night so tight loosened up, relaxed and let the anxieties drift away.
“We really needed to relax,” freshman Marissa King said. King was one of the Gators who definitely needed to chill after her uncharacteristically low 9.725 on the bars and a 9.80 on the beam that had potential points shaved away by costly bobbles. “I felt too tense and uptight the first two events. Having a little dance and just messing around in the locker room was really a good thing for us.”
While the Gators were cavorting in the locker room, Faehn knew her team had the resolve to come back. They’ve done it before and besides, she had seen signs of life on both the bars and the beam.
On bars, where Dickerson (9.25) ate the mat, King faltered to a 9.725 and always steady Elizabeth Mahlich barely avoided a fall and scored a 9.5, Alicia Goodwin (9.875) Amanda Castillo (9.9), and Maranda Smith (9.9) salvaged the event and kept the Gators from dropping further behind. On beam, where there were more than a few bobbles and a fall by Mahlich, Courtney Gladys, Rebekah Zaiser and King all came through with 9.85s while Liz Green added a 9.825 and Dickerson regained enough composure to come in at 9.80.
It was Smith, one of Florida’s five seniors, whose attitude told Faehn things were going to be okay. Smith followed the near fall by Mahlich on bars with a 9.9 that was about as pressure-packed a performance as there was all night.
“She was funny,” Faehn said. “She told me after bars that ‘Rhonda, there was steam coming out of my ears.’ She wasn’t angry but she said, ‘I wanted to hit so bad for the team. I was going to get us back on track.’ It was that determination and that leadership that fed over onto everybody else. I love Maranda.”
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The rally began on floor exercise in the fifth rotation and even that wasn’t without a serious error that had to be overcome. Following the opening 9.825 by Green, Randy Stageberg was well on her way to a high score when she fell backwards while trying to stop at the end of a tumbling routine. The Gators followed up that 9.0 with a 9.750 by Amy Ferguson, a 9.875 by Smith, a 9.9 by Dickerson and a 9.925 by King.
That strong finish earned the Gators a 49.275 and pulled them slightly ahead of Stanford in second place (147.350-147.200). Florida was clearly the team with the momentum now and it showed with the way the Gators finished things off on the vault.
The Gators got off to a solid start with back-to-back 9.85s by Dali Lemezan and Gladys and a 9.80 by Nicole Ellis. That set the stage for another power-packed 1-2-3 finish by Smith, Dickerson and King. Smith turned in a 9.875 and Dickerson followed with a 9.95 that tied Susan Jackson of LSU for the highest vault score of the day. King put the finishing touches on Florida’s rally with a 9.90.
“That was probably the best overall vault performance we’ve done all year and Dali always does such an outstanding job of starting it out,” Faehn said. “She sets the pace for vault and sticks that landing and then to finish with Maranda, Ashanee and Marissa, that’s like a dream vault team.”
Florida’s 49.425 was the highest team vault score of the day and it pulled the Gators to within a whisker of Alabama, which struggled to a 48.950 finishing rotation on floor. Florida’s rally didn’t earn the highest score of the evening session and was only the third best of the day, but it got the Gators into the Super Six where everyone starts dead even.
Faehn has the Gators right where they need to be to have a chance to capture their first NCAA gymnastics championship but they can’t afford another slow start tonight. Had the Gators performed as they normally do on bars, they would have easily had the top score of the day.
“We could have been a minimum of five-tenths higher [on bars] so we know what we’re capable of,” Faehn said. “That’s a great event for us. We just need to calm down and stay calm in the very beginning when we come out. They have so much adrenaline and want to win so bad. They just have to let their bodies take over.”
But Faehn also knows that if the Gators do fall behind that she has a team that won’t give up. As they’ve proven the last three times they’ve competed, they won’t panic if they fall behind but just for once, Faehn would like to go bell-to-bell in the lead.
“They’re fighters,” Faehn said. “They just continue to push and continue to show what we’re made of and what we’re capable of. We just have to calm down from the start and the not have to make the comeback.”
ALL-AMERICANS: Earning first team All-America honors for the Gators were Dickerson and King on vault, Smith and Castillo on bars, and Dickerson and King on floor. Earning second team honors were Goodwin on bars, Gladys, Zaiser and King on beam and King in all-around.
FRIDAY ROTATIONS: Florida will start out once again on bars at Friday night’s Super Six. The Gators will go to beam on the second rotation, then take a bye in rotation three. The Gators will be on floor on the fourth and vault on the fifth, before sitting out the final (sixth) rotation with a bye.
NCAA WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Stephen C. O’Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
TEAM SEMIFINALS
AFTERNOON
Team scores: 1. UCLA 196.875; 2. Utah 196.625; 3. Oklahoma 196.550; 4. Nebraska 196.175; 5. Oregon State 196.050; 6. Louisiana State 196.025.
Qualifying teams
1. UCLA (196.875)
Vault (49.400): Vanessa Zamarripa 9.900, Anna Li 9.900, Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs 9.900, Monique De La Torre 9.850, Tauny Frattone 9.850, Brittani McCullough 9.850.
Bars (49.125): Anna Li 9.900, Vanessa Zamarripa 9.850, Monique De La Torre 9.800, Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs 9.800, Aisha Gerber 9.775, Brittani McCullough 9.775.
Beam (48.975): Aisha Gerber 9.850, Niki Tom 9.800, Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs 9.800, Vanessa Zamarripa 9.775, Anna Li 9.750, Mizuki Sato 9.325.
Floor (49.375): Brittani McCullough 9.925, Vanessa Zamarripa 9.900, Tauny Frattone 9.850, Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs 9.850, Niki Tom 9.850, Anna Li 9.825.
All around: Vanessa Zamarripa 39.425, Anna Li 39.375, Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs 39.350.
2. UTAH (196.625)
Vault (49.125): Daria Bijak 9.850, Kyndal Robarts 9.850, Annie DiLuzio 9.850, Beth Rizzo 9.800, Jamie Deetscreek 9.775, Stephanie McAllister 9.750.
Bars (49.150): Daria Bijak 9.900, Jamie Deetscreek 9.850, Stephanie McAllister 9.850, Kyndal Robarts 9.800, Jacquelyn Johnson 9.750, Gael Mackie 9.750.
Beam (49.250): Jamie Deetscreek 9.900, Kyndal Robarts 9.900, Daria Bijak 9.825, Annie DiLuzio 9.825, Stephanie McAllister 9.800, Cortni Beers 9.800.
Floor (49.100): Annie DiLuzio 9.90, Daria Bijak 9.850, Stephanie McAllister 9.825, Jamie Deetscreek 9.775, Jacquelyn Johnson 9.750, Kyndal Roberts 8.925.
All around: Daria Bijak 39.425, Jamie Deetscreek 39.300, Stephanie McAllister 39.225, Kyndal Robarts 38.475.
3. OKLAHOMA (196.550)
Vault (49.000): Brie Olson 9.825, Sara Stone 9.825, Natasha Kelley 9.800, Mary Mantle 9.800, Natalie Ratcliff 9.750, Jackie Flanery 9.725.
Bars (49.150): Hollie Vise 9.900, Megan Ferguson 9.875, Jackie Flanery 9.800, Natasha Kelley 9.800, Kayla Nowak 9.775, Brie Olson 9.775.
Beam (49.150): Kristin Smith 9.875, Hollie Vise 9.875, Megan Ferguson 9.800, Natasha Kelley 9.800, Natalie Ratcliff 9.800, Kayla Nowak 9.750.
Floor (49.250): Hollie Vise 9.900, Jackie Flanery 9.875, Kristin Smith 9.875, Sara Stone 9.825, Kayla Nowak 9.775, Megan Ferguson 9.225.
All around: None.
All around results: 1. Susan Jackson (Louisiana State) 39.625; 2. Sharaya Musser (Penn State) 39.450; 3. (tie) Daria Bijak (Utah) 39.425 and Vanessa Zamarripa (UCLA) 39.425; 5. (tie) Mandi Rodriguez (Oregon State) 39.375 and Anna Li (UCLA) 39.375; 7. Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs (UCLA) 39.350; 8. Jamie Deetscreek (Utah) 39.300; 9. Maria Scaffidi (Nebraska) 39.250; 10. Stephanie McAllister (Utah) 39.225.
EVENING
Team scores: 1. Alabama 196.850; 2. Florida 196.775; 3. Stanford 196.300; 4. Michigan 195.700; 5. Arkansas 195.600; 6. Missouri 194.600.
Qualifying teams
1. ALABAMA (196.850)
Vault (49.325): Geralen Stack-Eaton 9.900, Morgan Dennis 9.900, Ricki Lebegern 9.875, Ashley Priess 9.825, Marissa Gutierrez 9.825, Kayla Hoffman 9.825.
Bars (49.350): Kayla Hoffman 9.900, Kassi Price 9.900, Geralen Stack-Eaton 9.875, Ashley Priess 9.850, Morgan Dennis 9.825, Ricki Lebegern 9.800.
Beam (49.225): Ashley Priess 9.900, Geralen Stack-Eaton 9.875, Ricki Lebegern 9.850, Kassi Price 9.800, Marissa Gutierrez 9.800, Morgan Dennis 9.750.
Floor (48.950): Morgan Dennis 9.900, Ricki Lebegern 9.850, Geralen Stack-Eaton 9.850, Marissa Gutierrez 9.850, Kayla Hoffman 9.500, Ashley Priess 9.125.
All around: Geralen Stack-Eaton 39.500, Morgan Dennis 39.375, Ricki Lebegern 39.375, Ashley Priess 38.700.
2. FLORIDA (196.775)
Vault (49.425): Ashanee Dickerson 9.950, Marissa King 9.900, Maranda Smith 9.875, Dali Lemezan 9.850, Courtney Gladys 9.850, Nicole Ellis 9.800.
Bars (48.900): Amanda Castillo 9.900, Maranda Smith 9.900, Alicia Goodwin 9.875, Marissa King 9.725, Elizabeth Mahlich 9.500, Ashanee Dickerson 9.250.
Beam (49.175): Rebekah Zaiser 9.850, Marissa King 9.850, Courtney Gladys 9.850, Liz Green 9.825, Ashanee Dickerson 9.800, Elizabeth Mahlich 9.225.
Floor (49.275): Marissa King 9.925, Ashanee Dickerson 9.900, Maranda Smith 9.875, Liz Green 9.825, Amy Ferguson 9.750, Randy Stageberg 9.000.
All around: Marissa King 39.400, Ashanee Dickerson 38.900.
3. STANFORD (196.300)
Vault (49.325): Blair Ryland 9.925, Shelley Alexander 9.875, Carly Janiga 9.875, Alyssa Brown 9.825, Ashley Morgan 9.825, Allyse Ishino 9.800.
Bars (48.950): Carly Janiga 9.900, Alyssa Brown 9.850, Jenny Peter 9.825, Nicole Pechanec 9.800, Shelley Alexander 9.575, Allyse Ishino 9.325.
Beam (49.100): Carly Janiga 9.875, Ashley Morgan 9.825, Allyse Ishino 9.825, Shelley Alexander 9.800, Danielle Ikoma 9.775, Alyssa Brown 9.750.
Floor (48.925): Carly Janiga 9.875, Shelley Alexander 9.850, Ashley Morgan 9.800, Nicole Pechanec 9.750, Tenaya West 9.650, Allyse Ishino 9.200.
All around: Carly Janiga 39.525, Shelley Alexander 39.100, Allyse Ishino 38.150.
All around results: 1. Casey Jo Magee (Arkansas) 39.550; 2. Carly Janiga (Stanford) 39.525; 3. Geralen Stack-Eaton (Alabama) 39.500; 4. Brandi Personett (Penn State) 39.475; 5. Kylee Botterman (Michigan) 39.425; 6. (tie) Marissa King (Florida) 39.400, Jaime Pisani (Arkansas) 39.400 and Sarah Curtis (Michigan) 39.400; 9. (tie) Morgan Dennis (Alabama) 39.375 and Ricki Lebegern (Alabama) 39.375. Other Florida: 15. Ashanee Dickerson 38.900.