RALEIGH, N.C. – The No. 3 Florida gymnastics team won its fourth straight meet, downing No. 22 North Carolina State 195.475-194.450 Friday before 2,495 fans at the Reynolds Coliseum.
The meet was supposed to be a triangular but George Washington pulled out because of the predicted 12 inches of snow set to fall in Washington, D.C.
Florida (4-1) planned to be aggressive from the start and for the most part the strategy worked. Still, Florida coach Rhonda Faehn was happy with her young team’s performance.
“We had some mistakes here and there, but I was proud with how they performed with a lot of heart,” Faehn said. ”We felt that some of the routines were greater than what the score indicated, but they didn’t let that inflate them.”
Another thing that made Faehn happy was how the team members picked each other up. Florida had some early misses in the uneven parallel bars and balance beam competitions, but other Gators stepped up in the vault and floor exercise.
“I was proud of the way misses in the lineup didn’t impace the remaining competitors,” Faehn said. “Ashanee had an uncharacteristic mistake on the bars but everyone rallied and hit after that. It was the same on beam as Rebekah (Zaiser) fell as our leadoff. But the next five hit – six if you count Randy (Stageberg) who was performing in an exhibition. This young team is very strong mentally.”
Florida opened the meet with its second-highest uneven bars total of the season, 49.125. The five routines used toward the team total all finished among the meet’s top four scores. Two Gators used marks of 9.85 to pick up their first event wins of the season – senior All-American Amanda Castillo and freshman Marissa King. For King, it was her first title as a Gator and a collegiate-best mark. Junior All-American Alicia Goodwin used a 9.825 to take third.
Marks of 9.85 also gave the event win to a pair of Florida vaulters. Senior All-American Maranda Smith shared the title with freshman Ashanee Dickerson.
A pair of Gator freshmen led Florida on the balance beam. Liz Green picked up her third consecutive beam win at 9.825 and shared that first place with Dickerson. They tied N.C. State’s Jess Panza for first place.
Dickerson turned in a 9.825 in the floor competition to take second overall. She has finished first or second on floor in each of Florida’s five meets this season. Taylor Seaman claimed the floor win for the Wolfpack with her mark of 9.90.
Barr took the evening’s all-around title at 38.925. King was runner-up at 38.85 and Dickerson took third at 38.70.
Florida (3-0) visits No. 1 Alabama next Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET in the Coleman Coliseum. The match will be shown on tape delay Sunday over ESPN2 on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 11:30 a.m.
No. 3 FLORIDA 195.475, No. 22 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 194.450
At Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, N.C.
Vault: Florida 48.825 (T1. Maranda Smith 9.850; T1. Ashanee Dickerson 9.850; 4. Dali Lemezan 9.750; T6. Courtney Gladys 9.700; 8. Nicole Ellis 9.675; T10. Marissa King 9.600), North Carolina State 48.425 (3. Brooke Barr 9.775; 5. Jess Panza 9.725; T6. Brittney Hardiman 9.700; 9. Morgan Johnson 9.625; T10. Rachel Fincham 9.600; 12. Brittany Vontz 9.575).
Uneven parallel bars: Florida 49.125 (T1. Amanda Castillo 9.850; T1. Marissa King 9.850; 3. Alicia Goodwin 9.825; T4. Elizabeth Mahlich 9.800; T4. Maranda Smith 9.800; 12. Ashanee Dickerson 9.200), North Carolina State 48.500 (6. Taylor Seaman 9.775; T7. Brittney Hardiman 9.750; T7. Rachel Fincham 9.750; 9. Brooke Barr 9.675; 10. Brittany Vontz 9.550; 11. Jess Panza 9.225).
Balance Beam: Florida 48.875 (T1. Liz Green 9.825; T1. Ashanee Dickerson 9.825; 4. Marissa King 9.775; 5. Courtney Gladys 9.750; T6. Elizabeth Mahlich 9.700; 11. Rebekah Zaiser 9.225), North Carolina State 48.475 (T1. Jess Panza 9.825; T6. Brittany Vontz 9.700; T6. Taylor Seaman 9.700; 9. Brooke Barr 9.675; 10. Rachel Fincham 9.575; 12. Anna Kronenfeld 8.925).
Floor: North Carolina State 49.050 (1. Taylor Seaman 9.900; T3. Jess Panza 9.800; T3. Brooke Barr 9.800; T6. Becca Teich 9.775; T6. Brittney Hardiman 9.775; 10. Rachel Fincham 9.650), Florida 48.650 (2. Ashanee Dickerson 9.825; T3. Randy Stageberg 9.800; 8. Liz Green 9.725; 9. Amanda Castillo 9.675; T11. Amy Ferguson 9.625; T11. Marissa King 9.625).
All Around: 1. Brooke Barr (N.C. State) 38.925; 2. Marissa King (Florida) 38.850; 3. Ashanee Dickerson (Florida) 38.700; T4. Rachel Fincham (N.C. State) 38.575 and Jess Panza (N.C. State) 38.575.
Records: Florida 4-1, North Carolina State 3-2.
Attendance: 2,495.
The University of Florida Sports Information Department contributed to this report.