2016 University of Florida Gymnastics Meet Notes 2013, ‘14 & ‘15 NCAA Champions ● Nine-Time SEC Champions ▪ 1982, ’83, ’84, ’85, ’89, ’07, ’10, ’12, ‘13
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2016 University of Florida Gymnastics Meet Notes 2013, ‘14 & ‘15 NCAA Champions ● Nine-time SEC Champions ▪ 1982, ’83, ’84, ’85, ’89, ’07, ’10, ’12, ‘13 This Week’s Event: What’s Happening? No. 2 Florida (5-1, 3-1 SEC) at No. 19 Missouri (5-6, 1-3 SEC) Florida continues league action at No. 19 Missouri Friday. Meet time is set for 7 p.m. ET in the Hearnes Date & Time: Friday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. ET Center. The meet will be Florida’s fourth appearance on the SEC Network of the 2016 season. Site: Hearnes Center (13,611) Television: live on SEC Network. Melissa Lee, Courtney Kupets Florida claimed its fourth win against a top-10 team Friday with its 197.45 – 195.975 win versus No. 9 Carter and Kayce Smith will call the action. Arkansas in front of 7,621 at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. It was the 10th annual Gators Link to Series Record (all-time): Florida leads 16-0. Last meeting, Florida Pink meet, an event part of a Southeastern Conference initiative to raise awareness about the fight was third in the SEC Championships (197.40) and Missouri was against breast cancer. It was a birthday to remember for freshman Alicia Boren. She won her first seventh (195.70) on March 21, 1995 collegiate all-around title (39.525) and equaled her collegiate vault best of 9.95 to win that event title. Video Stream: live video stream available at SEC Network + Gators used marks of 9.95 to win each apparatus title Friday. Alex McMurtry and Bridget Sloan Internet: live stats available on FloridaGymnastics.com shared the uneven bars title. McMurtry raised her collegiate balance beam best to 9.95 to take her Tickets: $5 for adult general admission; $3 senior/youth. Check the second title on the event this season. Sloan finished the meet with the win on floor exercise. The two Missouri Ticket Office site for more information. wins for Sloan pushed her into sole possession of fourth on the Gators’ Career Events Wins list at 80. Florida Gators Gymnastics Two Gators picked up their third SEC Weekly honor of 2016 for their performances versus Arkansas. McMurtry was the SEC Specialist of the Week winner while Boren claimed the SEC Freshman of the Florida Gators Week honor. A Gator has picked up at least one of the three SEC weekly awards five of the six announcements this season. @GatorsGym @FloridaGators Missouri opened the season No. 23 on the Road to Nationals preseason poll and the Tigers have been @JennyRowlandUF among the nation’s top 20 each week since. The Tigers top win of season was a 195.80 – 195.35 win versus No. 9 Georgia on Jan. 22. Freshman Megan Porter owns the top Tiger all-around total of 2016 with a 39.25 on Jan. 10. Britney Ward picked up a pair of SEC Weekly honors this season, as she was named SEC Specialist for Week II and the Freshman honoree for Week III. The 2016 season is also the debut for Florida head coach Jenny Rowland. UF quickly zeroed in on Florida Communications Contact: Rowland as a top candidate to replace Rhonda Faehn, who resigned after 13 seasons with the Gators Mary Howard to become Senior Vice President of USA Gymnastics. Sixteen days after Faehn’s announcement, Office: 352-375-4683 x6100 Rowland was named the seventh head coach in the program’s 43-year history. Rowland came to UF Email: [email protected] after five seasons with Auburn, serving as associate head coach since March of 2013. She shared the 2015 National Assistant Coach of the Year honor after helping the Tigers reach their first NCAA Super Did You Know… Six team final in 22 years. During her gymnastics career, Rowland was a USA National Team member from 1985-90 and part of the U.S.’s 1989 World Championships team. As a collegiate, she earned The Gator gymnastics team leads all Florida teams in Life Skills points. uneven bars All-America honors in 1993 for Arizona State. Rowland is also a Category 3 International Brevet level judge and was on the judging panel for the past two U.S. Olympic Trials. Life Skills points are made up of Goodwill Gator hours (team and individual contributions), Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Last season, Florida won its third consecutive NCAA Championship, edging Utah 197.85-197.80. The internship experiences and attending Student-Athlete Development winning margin of 0.05 equals the slimmest in the meet’s 34-year history. Then senior Kytra Hunter workships. won a NCAA title each day of the 2015 event. She shared her second NCAA all-around title with UCLA’s Samantha Peszek on the meet’s opening day, helped the Gators win the NCAA team title The team in second in the February 2016 Life Skill Standings? during the NCAA Super Six and won the floor exercise crown in the NCAA Individual Event Finals. Florida’s other defending NCAA champion program – the Gator softball team. The Gators return five gymnasts in 2016 (Kennedy Baker, Claire Boyce, Bridgette Caquatto, Alex McMurtry and Bridget Sloan) who own a total of 18 All-America honors. The Gators won the NCAA Morgantown Regional and NCAA Championship team titles last year. In 2016, Florida returns 17 of 24 routines it competed in the 2015 NCAA Championships. Boyce will sit out 2016 season after undergoing hip dysplasia surgery in the summer of 2015. The Gators’ 14-member roster includes five freshmen. Peyton Ernst (2013-14, 2012-13) is a former U.S. Senior National Team member. Alicia Boren won the Junior Olympic Level 10 all-around title each of the past four years and also accumulated five event titles. Lacy Dagen won the 2014 Junior Olympic balance beam title in 2014. She will be sidelined in 2016 with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Ashley Hiller was runner-up to Boren in 2015 Junior Olympic – Senior D vault competition and Amanda Cheney took fourth on beam at the same meet. This class ranks No. 2 on the 2015-16 CollegeGymFans.com Top Recruiting Classes list. In the last seven years, Florida’s recruiting classes have ranked No. 1 five times and No. 2 once. ABOUT THE GATORS: 2015 Notables… Meet Coach Rowland Location: Gainesville, Fla. NCAA champions for third consecutive year. Jenny Rowland, one of the nation’s rising coaching President: Dr. W. Kent Fuchs First program since Utah (1982-86) to win first talents, is in her first season as University of Florida’s head gymnastics coach. Rowland is the Athletics Director: Jeremy Foley three NCAA team titles in consecutive years. Winning margin of 0.05 over Utah equaled the seventh head coach for the Gator program, which Senior Women’s Administrator: narrowed in the 34-year history of the NCAA begins its 44th season in 2015-16. Lynda Tealer Championships Rowland brings experiences from the sport’s highest Conference: Southeastern 2015 marked the 33rd NCAA Championships level to Florida. She is a former U.S. National Team Enrollment: 49,878 appearance by UF in the 34-year history of the member, a collegiate All-American and was named a Nickname: Gators event 2015 National Collegiate Assistant Coach of the Five gymnasts collected a meet-high 13 All- Colors: Orange & Blue Year. America honors in NCAA Championships Six earned 10 All-America honors in the third Rowland’s Coaching Career: UF GYMNASTICS QUICK FACTS: NACGC regular season awards At Auburn: 2016 Record: 5-1, 3-1 SEC Five (Kennedy Baker, Bridgette Caquatto, Rowland comes to Florida after spending the last five 2015 Record: 12-5, 5-2 SEC Kytra Hunter, Alex McMurtry and Bridget seasons at Auburn. She joined the Auburn coaching Sloan) advanced to NCAA individual event staff as an assistant coach in October of 2010 and 2015 SEC Finish: 3rd (197.40) finals. was elevated to associate head coach in March of st 2015 NCAA Finish: 1 (197.85) For the fifth consecutive year, a Gator claimed 2013. Rowland worked with all aspects of the Auburn a NCAA individual title. Senior Kytra Hunter gymnastics program, coordinating all of the won a share of the all-around title and became program's community outreach efforts and COACHING STAFF: interactions on campus as well as playing an integral the first Gator since 1984 to claim the NCAA Head Coach: Jenny Rowland role in recruiting and in-gym activities. floor exercise crown. Her four NCAA individual Career & School Record/Years: first season titles set the Gator career record. Assistant Coaches: Adrian Burde, Owen Field She was named co-National Assistant Coach of the Three Gators – Kytra Hunter (vault, floor Year in 2015 after helping Auburn reach the NCAA Volunteer Coach: Jeremy Miranda exercise), Alex McMurtry (vault) and Bridget Super Six for the first time in 22 years. Sloan (uneven bars, balance beam) – collected RETURNING NCAA EVENT CHAMPIONS: SEC event titles. They were joined on the All- She served as the lead balance beam coach, as the SEC team by Kennedy Baker, Claire Boyce Tigers put up the top beam totals of 2015 Bridget Sloan (2014 uneven bars; 2013 all-around, and Bridgette Caquatto. Southeastern Conference and NCAA Semifinal II balance beam) Hunter named Honda Award winner for competition. Three Tigers earned beam All-America gymnastics, marking the second time she was honors in 2015. She also worked with the Tigers’ RETURNING NCAA ALL-AMERICANS: picked as a season’s top collegiate gymnast floor exercise and routine construction. Rowland, who is a Category 3 International Brevet judge, Kennedy Baker (2015 floor exercise – first team) (also in 2012).