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Gator Gymnastics 2009 Galleries

Photo Gallery: UF Gymnastics vs. Michigan, 3/06/09 : Photos by Casey Brooke Lawson The No. 4 Florida gymnastics team (6-3, 3-3 SEC) finished its 2009 home schedule with a 196.825-196.325 win over No. 14 Michigan (13-4, 4-0 Big Ten) Friday evening in front of a Stephen C. O’Connell Center crowd of 3,829. Florida’s score was just a fraction away from its season-best of 196.875 set Feb. 20. The meet was tight between the two teams throughout the competition and UF held only a two-tenths lead heading into the final rotation. Florida’s first four floor competitors turned in marks ranging from 9.825 – 9.925 and gave UF the lead it needed to finish the 2009 season with an undefeated home record. A Gator picked up at least a share of every event title Friday. Junior All-American Amanda Castillo, performing as an all-arounder for only the second time this season and the first time in front of the Gator crowd, won that title with a total of 39.425. That total matches her season-best set last week at No. 1 Georgia. Bursitis in her foot has limited her contributions this season. Junior Melanie Sinclair collected three more titles Friday, as she now leads the Gators this season with a total of 14 event wins. She opened the meet with a season-best 9.925 to take third vault win of 2009. Sinclair used a 9.90 to collect her sixth uneven bars win. She shared the evening’s floor exercise title with Michigan’s Kylee Botterman as each turned in season-best marks of 9.925. It was Florida’s Senior Night, but the Gators were without their lone senior, as nine-time All-American Corey Hartung is sidelined with a third degree strain of her left soleus. Hartung did have a chance to perform for a final time in front of the O’Connell Center crowd, as she turned in an exhibition uneven bars routine. She received a warm recognition from the crowd and was honored post-meet for her many contributions to the Gator program. With Hartung out, tonight was an opportunity for others to step up. Junior Courtney Gladys turned in her first collegiate all-around performance Friday, tying for fourth at 39.225. It was her first competitive all-around performance since age 14. A Gator who has been a part of the Florida floor lineup all season, freshman Amy Ferguson, has turned in the top two marks of her collegiate career in the last two meets. She received a 9.85 Friday, just off the 9.875 she earned last Saturday at Georgia. Sophomore Alicia Goodwin anchored the Gator beam lineup with a collegiate-best 9.875, giving her the first beam win of her Florida career. She also shared second on the uneven bars at 9.85 with Castillo and UF junior Maranda Smith. Photos by Casey Brooke Lawson

Photo Gallery: UF Gymnastics vs. Michigan, 3/06/09

Photos by Casey Brooke Lawson The No. 4 Florida gymnastics team (6- ...

Updated: Mar 06, 2009 9:24pm PST

Photo Gallery: UF Gymnastics vs. Alabama, 2/20/09 : Photos by Casey Brooke Lawson The No. 6 University of Florida gymnastics team (5-2, 3-2 SEC) edged up its season-best total for the second time in a seven-day span to take the win over No. 8 Alabama (3-4, 2-4 SEC) Friday in front of a Stephen C. O’Connell Center crowd of 7,047 - the seventh-largest crowd in the program’s history. The Gators added 0.025 to their season-high to post a 196.875-195.625 win over the Crimson Tide Friday. Florida led the meet from the beginning, but the largest lead was just the 0.250 margin UF held heading into the final rotation. Alabama was forced to count a fall on beam, allowing Florida to expand its lead on the final rotation to give UF its largest dual meet margin of victory (1.25) in the series history since 1983. Florida surpassed the 49.00 scoring mark for its team total on each event, marking the second consecutive time this season Florida has passed that scoring threshold. No falls were counted toward Florida’s final total. The Gators claimed at least a share of four of the five event titles Friday. Junior All-American Melanie Sinclair claimed the all-around title with a Florida season-best total of 39.55. It matches the third-highest total of her Gator career. Smith, competing as an all-arounder for the third-consecutive meet, equaled her collegiate-best total to finish as runner-up with her all-around total of 39.35. Sinclair opened the meet with a pair of event wins. She and Smith shared the evening’s vault title with Alabama’s Morgan Dennis and Kayla Hoffman, as all turned in marks of 9.90. An aggressive routine showcased by ruler-straight handstands gave Sinclair her fifth uneven bars title of the season. She received a 9.95 – matching the evening’s high mark in any event. Smith raised her collegiate bars best for the second time this season, upping it to 9.925 to finish as runner-up. Florida was just 0.05 away from its beam season-best Friday, turning in a 49.20. Senior All-American Corey Hartung’s strong and steady routine was punctuated by a stuck round-off 2 1/2 twist dismount. Her 9.95 mark gave Hartung her third beam title of the season. It was the fourth consecutive meet that she has received a score of 9.90 or above for the event. Sinclair shared second overall at 9.85 with UA’s Ricki Lebegern. Alabama junior Morgan Dennis, the 2007 NCAA floor exercise champion, won that event title at 9.925. She was followed by Sinclair, who earned a 9.85. Four gymnasts shared third at 9.825 – UF’s Amy Ferguson, Elizabeth Mahlich, Hartung and UA’s Kassi Price. Photos by Casey Brooke Lawson

Photo Gallery: UF Gymnastics vs. Alabama, 2/20/09

Photos by Casey Brooke Lawson The No. 6 University of Florida gymna ...

Updated: Feb 21, 2009 12:15am PST

Photo Gallery: UF Gymnastics vs. Kentucky, 1/30/09 : Florida All-American Melanie Sinclair's 10.0 on the uneven bars led the No. 5 gymnastics team (3-1, 2-1 SEC) to a 195.925-193.85 win Friday over Kentucky (1-3, 0-3 SEC). It was her second 10.0 wearing pink, as her first perfect bars mark came in 2007 when Florida played host to its first Gators Link to Pink event on Feb. 16, 2007. She is the fourth Gator to earn the perfect mark on bars and the only one to post a 10.0 on multiple occasions. UF junior Maranda Smith set her collegiate bars best to share second overall with teammate Corey Hartung at 9.90. Florida started off the meet with strong performances on vault and bars. The Gators also saw their season-high individual vault mark move to 9.95 tonight with Smith’s performance on the event. Since joining the competitive vault lineup for the Gators’ second meet of the season, Smith had led UF on the event. Her collegiate-best mark gave Smith her second vault title of the last three meets. Freshman Elizabeth Mahlich matched her collegiate-best of 9.85 to share second on the event with Sinclair. A crowd of 8,019 – the fifth largest in UF gymnastics history – were on hand for the Third Annual Gators Link to Pink meet. This meet is part of a Southeastern Conference initiative and all of the league’s teams will participate in a breast cancer awareness meet this season. More than 150 breast cancer survivors were at Friday’s meet and one shared her story with the O’Connell Center crowd. The Gators wore leotards with the breast cancer ribbon on the front and deep pink sleeves while many of the fans also wore pink to show their support of the cause. Hartung picked up her first balance beam title of the season, matching UF’s season-best mark of 9.90. It was the 15th beam win for the three-time All-American on the event. But for the second consecutive meet, Florida was forced to count a fall toward its beam team total as no other Gator posted a mark above 9.80 on the event. Sinclair picked up her second event win when she matched her season-best of 9.875 to top Friday’s floor competition. It was her third floor title as a Gator. Smith posted her third top-two floor finish of the season with her runner-up mark of 9.85. Mahlich shared third at 9.825 with UK’s Ferguson. The all-around win went to Sinclair, as she matched her season-best of 39.45 for her second win of 2009 and her fifth as a Gator. Hartung was second at 39.325 and Mahlich took third (39.15).

Photo Gallery: UF Gymnastics vs. Kentucky, 1/30/09

Florida All-American Melanie Sinclair's 10.0 on the uneven bars led th ...

Updated: Feb 02, 2009 4:22am PST

Photo Gallery: UF Gymnastics vs. Auburn, 1/16/09 : For the second consecutive year, the No. 1 University of Florida gymnastics team (2-0, 1-0 SEC) needed a big performance on the final event to take the win in its dual meet with No. 4 Auburn (1-2, 0-2 SEC) on Friday night at the O'Connell Center. Last year, Florida used a six-for-six balance beam set to take the win at Auburn. This year, the Gators needed to hit their floor exercise routines to overcome the 0.175 deficit after the third rotation. A less-than-stellar beam set put the Gators in the negative position heading into the final rotation. Florida’s floor set total of 49.45 – the nation’s highest of this young season – moved the Gators past the Tigers for a 196.50-196.25 win. Four Gators finished among the meet’s top three floor performers, including the event winner Corey Hartung. She matched her collegiate best of 9.95 for the sixth time of her career to win her second consecutive floor title. Smith matched her collegiate-best set a week ago of 9.90 to take second. Three shared third at 9.875 – Florida’s Melanie Sinclair and Elizabeth Mahlich and Auburn’s A.J. Mills. The Gators opened up the meet with strong performances on vault and uneven bars. Smith, making her first appearance in a competitive vault lineup since her freshman season at UCLA in 2006, turned in a collegiate-best 9.90 for her first vault win. Sinclair and freshman Nicole Ellis shared third at 9.85, helping UF to a season-best total of 49.225. The top event total of the evening was turned in by the Gators on their next event, the uneven bars. Florida’s total of 49.50 – also the nation’s top total so far in 2009 – was boosted by a three-way Gator tie for first at 9.925. The score was a collegiate-best for two-thirds of the bar winners – sophomore Alicia Goodwin and Hartung. Sinclair was also among the top bar performers, sharing her second consecutive bar win of the season. Although no falls were used toward Florida’s balance beam total of 48.325, the event total reflects several balance checks and wobbles. Sinclair was Florida’s top performer on the event, taking fourth at 9.80. The Tigers swept the beam in the final standings – Puckett (9.90), Rachel Inniss (9.875) and A.J. Mills (9.85). Hartung picked up her 13th all-around title as a Gator Friday with her season-best total of 39.475. Sinclair edged her season-best up to 39.45 to take second. The Gators were without junior Rebekah Zaiser, who is out for the season after breaking a bone in her right foot while practicing her floor routine Tuesday. Zaiser led off the UF beam set in every meet last season and also was UF’s first performer on beam and floor last Friday in the 2009 opener versus Oklahoma. Next week, Florida travels to No. 5 Arkansas for its first road meet of the season. Meet time is set for 8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23.

Photo Gallery: UF Gymnastics vs. Auburn, 1/16/09

For the second consecutive year, the No. 1 University of Florida gymna ...

Updated: Jan 20, 2009 3:13pm PST

Photo Gallery: UF Gymnastics vs. Oklahoma, 1/9/09 : The No. 3 University of Florida gymnastics team (1-0) opened the 2009 season with a 196.50-195.075 dual meet win versus No. 10 Oklahoma (0-1) Friday evening in front of a Stephen C. O’Connell Center crowd of 4,856. It is the nation’s top total posted in this very young season and the total was the fourth-highest opening total in school history. Florida’s top event total of the evening (49.25) came on the balance beam. The event title was claimed by Castillo, whose stellar performance was punctuated by her stuck double-back dismount. She was rewarded with a 9.90, just a fraction off her collegiate beam best of 9.925. It was the sixth beam title of her Gator career. The floor exercise title was shared by a pair of Gators at 9.90. For Hartung, it was her 17th floor title as a Gator, while it was the first floor win for junior Maranda Smith. The mark was a collegiate best for Smith. Junior Rebekah Zaiser also matched her collegiate best on floor Friday, sharing third overall at 9.825 with Oklahoma’s Kristin Smith and Ashley Jackson. Florida’s four freshmen all appeared in Friday’s meet, either as part of the competitive lineup or as an exhibition performer. Freshman Amy Ferguson opened her Florida career with a mark of 9.75 on floor and received the meet’s Ernestine Weaver Award for the most entertaining routine. But it was the experience of competing in front of the Gator fans that she will remember most.

Photo Gallery: UF Gymnastics vs. Oklahoma, 1/9/09

The No. 3 University of Florida gymnastics team (1-0) opened the 2009 ...

Updated: Jan 10, 2009 1:52pm PST

Photo Gallery: UF Gymnastics Fan Day, 1/4/09 : Florida fans got their first chance to meet the 2009 Gator gymnasts at Meet the Team Day on Sunday. More than 250 fans packed into the Ted Crom Gymnastics Studio, located inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The day’s program included the Gator coaching staff speaking and UF gymnasts giving exhibition routines. The team and coaches also signed team posters following the event. Florida is ranked No. 3 in the GymInfo preseason poll and returns three All-Americans from the squad that finished fourth in 2008 NCAA Championship Super Six competition. Florida's 2009 season begins Friday, Jan. 9 when No. 10 Oklahoma comes to town. Meet time is set for 7 p.m. in the O'Connell Center. Photos by Casey Brooke Lawson

Photo Gallery: UF Gymnastics Fan Day, 1/4/09

Florida fans got their first chance to meet the 2009 Gator gymnasts at ...

Updated: Jan 04, 2009 3:13pm PST

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