Gator Gymnastics Win Home Opener Against Kentucky

The Florida Gators Gymnastics team had their first home meet of the season Friday night against the Kentucky Wildcats. The home opener had the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center packed with fans all in orange. There were 7,683 people in attendance. This was the 14th largest attendance in school history and the third largest home opener attendance.

It was a close meet with the Gators claiming victory with a 197.600 and the Wildcats coming in at 196.950. The Gators came out on top in three of the four events and tied the Wildcats with a 49.325 on the floor event.

Vault

Rachel Slocum set a new record against Kentucky with a 9.950 score coming in 1st on the vault. Her 9.950 is the second-highest vault debut score in Florida Gator history! Slocum said she was thrilled to go out there and do the best she could do for her team. Alex McMurtry followed right behind coming in 2nd on vault with a score of 9.925.

Making her mark! @RachelSlocum's 9.950 is the second-highest vault debut score in #Gator history, coming behind @alexmcmurtry 's 10.0.

— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) January 14, 2017

Uneven Parallel Bars

Florida once again placed 1st and 2nd on the bars with Alex McMurtry coming in 1st with a score of 9.950. Amelia Hundley followed right behind her with a score of 9.925 coming in 2nd.

Balance Beam

Alicia Boren led the balance beam competition with a score of 9.925. The Gators had .175 lead over Kentucky in balance beam totals with a team score of 29.300.

Floor Exercise

There was a 3-way tie between two Kentucky gymnasts and one Florida gymnast during the floor exercise competition. Florida Gator Kennedy Baker tied Kentucky Wildcats Mollie Korth and Sidney Dukes with a score of 9.925. Baker also tied Korth for 1st in All-Around with a score of 39.575. Baker said all she wanted was a team win, but winning all-around was a great confidence boost.

Overall, Head Coach Jenny Rowland was very happy with the way the team played today and is excited for the rest of the season. The Gators will travel to Chapel Hill for their next meet against North Carolina.