Florida gymnasts Ashanée Dickerson and Mackenzie Caquatto earned Southeastern Conference accolades Wednesday as the senior and junior stunned fans with their performances in the Gators’ 197.30-194.625 victory against Missouri last weekend.
Dickerson was named SEC Gymnast of the Week and Caquatto was named SEC Specialist of the Week. Dickerson notched three events while Caquatto landed a perfect 10.0 on her uneven bars routine.
Dickerson won the vault (9.975), floor (9.90) and all-around (39.575) to claim three events against the Tigers. The senior All-American grabbed her 15th career all-around event title as she earned a season-best total of 39.575. Dickerson has earned five event titles for the season and 63 for her career. The All-American stands fifth on the Gators’ all-time list.
“It was a lot of fun,” Dickerson said. “I heard the crowd and they were really loud and that just made me want to dance even more. Seeing my teammates and the rest of the crowd going crazy is just exciting.”
Dickerson also received 2012 All-America accolades in each of the three events she won against Missouri and now holds eight All-America honors. This is the fourth SEC Gymnast of the Week honor of Dickerson’s career.
Caquatto anchored Florida’s bar lineup with a perfect 10.0 score making her the first collegiate gymnast to earn a 10.0 in any event this season.
“That was a really great feeling,” Caquatto said. “I was actually surprised. When I stuck the dismount, I knew it was one of the best routines I did and was happy I could contribute to the team. It was a good moment and I will never forget it.”
With Caquatto’s perfect mark, she becomes just the fifth Gator in the history of the program to earn a perfect score on uneven bars and first since 2009 when All-American Melanie Sinclair accomplished the feat. Caquatto has now earned 11 bars titles during her career.
The No. 3 Florida Gators (2-1, 1-1 SEC) are back in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25 to compete against No. 18 Auburn (0-5, 0-2 SEC). Friday is also Florida’s seventh annual Link to Pink Meet to help raise breast cancer awareness.
Gator Country reporter Elizabeth Rhodes can be reached at lizxxbeth@gators.ufl.edu.