GAINESVILLE
Florida gymnastics coach Jenny Rowland wasn’t with her team this week as the third-ranked Gators went through practice.
The second-year head coach also missed the first two rotations of Friday’s home debut and Southeastern Conference opener against No. 14 Kentucky as she returned from a beret judging training session in Indianapolis.
But when Rowland walked into the brightly lit Exactech Arena midway through UF’s balance beam routine and glanced at the score, she liked what she saw.
Despite a few mishaps on the balance beam and a tumble out of bounds on the floor, the Gators posted their highest score in program history to open conference play, defeating the Wildcats 197.600-196.950 in front of an announced O’Connell Center crowd of 7,683.
“They’re self-sufficient,” Rowland said. “They can come to a meet and be ready to go. Some of them may need a spot here or there, but that’s how we train. … They’re golden. They’re confident.”
Florida (2-0, 1-0 SEC) received top performances from veterans and newcomers alike. Junior Kennedy Baker tied for the all-around with a 39.575 and didn’t post a score below 9.875 on an apparatus.
Rachel Slocum, a junior who transferred to the program from Eastern Michigan competing in the lineup for the first time, scored a meet-high 9.950 on the vault while
And true freshman Amelia Hundley dazzled for the second consecutive meet to finish with just behind Baker and Kentucky’s Mollie Korth in the all-around with a 39.500 score. Hundley’s performance was catapulted by solid scores on the uneven bars (9.925) and floor exercise (9.900). Through two collegiate meets, she has yet to score lower than a 9.800.
“I just tried to take it one routine at a time,” Hundley said. “I tried to not get overwhelmed by everything.”
But the Gators weren’t without their flaws.
After taking a 98.975-98.500 lead halfway through the competition, Florida had near falls on the beam from freshman Rachel Gowey, sophomore Alicia Boren and junior Alex McMurtry. Florida didn’t have to count a score below 9.8, but the middle-of-the-road scores allowed Kentucky (1-1, 0-1 SEC) to inch to within a .300 margin heading into the final rotation.
Freshman Maegan Chant fell out of bounds on her final tumbling pass on the floor exercise, resulting in a meet-low 8.975 score and a rare poor performance on UF’s best apparatus.
Florida will go on the road to face North Carolina next week before returning home for a meet with Auburn on Jan. 27.
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