Gators Gymnastics Defeat Auburn in Link to Pink Meet

The Florida gymnastics team celebrated its 11th annual Link to Pink meet with a win against the Auburn Tigers on Friday in Gainesville. The third ranked Gators defeated 16th ranked Auburn 197.700-196.400. Top performers of the night for Florida were Alex McMurtry, Amelia Hundley, Rachel Gowey and Kennedy Baker. Gator coach Jenny Rowland is very pleased with how the team continually builds from each meet.

Rotations

Gators gymnastics started the evening with their first rotation on the vault. Amanda Cheney took the place of Kennedy Baker for this event. Alex McMurtry finished with the top score overall of 9.950 in this category. McMurtry received the same score as she did last week against North Carolina on the vault. However, this week she performed a yurchenko double, which is much harder than a yurchenko full, which she performed last week. Florida ended the rotation with a 49.400, while Auburn ended with a 49.050 on the bars. This category helped to bring the Gators on top early in the evening.

For the second rotation, Florida moved onto the uneven bars. Amelia Hundley led the event with a 9.950 making her the top performer. The Gators were able to keep the lead against the Tigers as they entered the third rotation with the overall score of 98.875-98.075.

Florida started the third rotation on the beam with Auburn on the floor. Rachel Gowey was the top performer for this event with a score of 9.925. This is her personal best on the beam. Gowey was happy to deliver a performance she had been working hard for. The Gators continued to dominate the Tigers as they ended the rotation with an overall score of 148.125-147.250.

Florida was on floor for the fourth and final rotation. Kennedy Baker landed the top score in this category and the highest score of the night with a perfect 10.0. This was the first 10.0 for the Gators this season. The Gators finished the Tigers off with a final score of 197.700-196.400.

Kennedy Baker's 10.0 Punctuates #Gators #LinkToPink Win Friday.@UFHealth https://t.co/uvPcpFeCGM pic.twitter.com/wF7Imw69hg

— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) January 28, 2017

All-Around

Freshman Amelia Hundley was the All-Around top performer of the night with an overall score of 39.550. This was her first All-Around win. Hundley was surprised to hear her name called as the winner. Freshman Rachel Gowey finished second in All-Around with a score of 39.475.

The Gators will head to Tuscaloosa next Friday to take on Alabama at 8:30 p.m. You can catch the meet on SEC Network.