Florida Gators

The No. 7 Florida gymnastics team (15-3, 5-1 SEC) used its seventh-highest team total in school history to defeat No. 11 Auburn (10-5, 3-3 SEC) 196.90-194.70 Friday night at the Gatorade Kids Festival in front of a Stephen C. O'Connell Center of 2,823.

"I was really pleased with tonight," Florida Head Coach Rhonda Faehn said. "We did a phenomenal job, especially with the different line ups that we had. We had some last minute changes. They did an awesome job."

Florida began the meet with a strong showing on vault, as the Gators totaled a season-high 49.250. Florida has scored higher than a 49 on vault in four of the last five meets. Senior Lindsey Miner led the way with a 9.90, which tied for second in the event with Auburn's Kaycee Stein. Sophomore Kimberly Schatz's 9.825 set her season high, and senior Jenny Carow scored a 9.8 on her first vault of the season. The Tigers edged out the Gators on vault, 49.350-49.250.

Florida, the No. 2 bars team in the nation, took top honors in that event as sophomore Orley Szmuch and junior Erin Pendleton tied for first with a 9.90. Miner had the third highest score in the event with a 9.825. Florida outscored Auburn in bars 49.225-48.950.

The Gators swept the balance beam event with Jenny Carow claiming her first event title of the season with her mark of 9.95. Carow's career-high score also was the second-highest score in school history, and she became the fifth Gator to post a 9.95 on beam. Redshirt sophomore Erinn Dooley and Szmuch tied for second with a 9.90. UF defeated Auburn in the beam competition 49.35-47.325.

"Last year I kind of struggled on beam a little bit and lost some confidence," Carow said. "Rhonda worked with me a little bit to get back where I used to be because I always considered beam my best event. I feel like, finally, it has all come together. My hard work has paid off."

UF and Auburn tied in the floor event with a 49.075 team total, but UF claimed first and second place in the individual standings. Miner earned her sixth floor title with a 9.95, and Dooley's 9.85 tied for second with Danielle Holtz and Courtney Puckett of Auburn.

"With each meet, you feel more confident and more comfortable with your skills," Miner said. "I really feed off of the excitement from the team."

Florida swept the all-around competition for the second time this season, as all three Gators turned in collegiate-best totals. Miner claimed the first all-around crown of her collegiate career with a 39.525 and Dooley placed second with a 39.40. Miner and Dooley reset their career high for the third and second consecutive weeks, respectively. Carow placed third with a 39.35 in her first all-around competition this season.

"I was really excited," Carow said. "I wasn't supposed to be doing all-around this year because of my injuries. I was kind of frustrated earlier in the year because of my injuries and because I wasn't competing as much. She (Rhonda) told me to be patient and it would come… I'm thrilled. To be able to put it all together in one meet was a really good feeling."

The Gators travel to State College, Pa., March 14 to face No. 20 Penn State, Yale and Temple. Florida then continues the trip with a quadrangular meet in Morgantown, W.Va., on March 16 when it faces West Virginia, New Hampshire and Cornell.