Florida Gators

The No. 6 University of Florida gymnastics team (4-2, 3-1 SEC) lost 197.425-196.60 at No. 2 Alabama (6-1, 4-1 SEC) Friday. The scores were the second-highest of the season for both teams.

It was the second consecutive weekend Florida traveled into a region that had the potential for poor weather conditions. Snow was predicted to hit the Tuscaloosa area on Friday morning, prompting many school cancellations, including the University of Alabama. Snow started falling around 9 a.m. and ended around 3 p.m., but any accumulation was only evident on tree branches and some roof tops. The weather kept a few of the Alabama faithful at home, but the Coleman Coliseum crowd of 12,466 was still the highest UF has competed in front of this year.

Florida turned in season-high totals on its second and final events Friday, posting a 49.425 on vault and a 49.175 on balance beam. A few wobbles and missed landings kept the Gators' overall score from going higher, but UF Head Coach Rhonda Faehn liked the attitude Florida showed Friday, especially when competing in front of a large crowd.

“I was really proud of our team tonight. They competed aggressively, confidently and did not hold back in this environment. That is what we were looking for, first and foremost,” Faehn said. “Alabama did a great job tonight. They hit everything. Congratulations to them.”

“I liked the way our athletes responded when we had little mistakes. They didn't get down and still competed aggressively,” she continued. “They kept their energy up and fought until the very end. To come into this environment, not be intimidated and put up a good performance shows a lot of potential and promise for this team this year.

Little breaks added up as the Gators turned in a 48.925 on their opening event, the uneven bars. Top scores for Florida came from senior All-Americans Amanda Castillo and Maranda Smith at 9.825. The Tide used marks of 9.875 from Geralen Stack-Eaton, Kayla Hoffman and Kassi Price to sweep the top three spots in the final bar standings.

Florida shook off any concerns about their opening event to post a season-high 49.425 on the vault. Three Gators posted marks of 9.90 –freshmen Ashan?e Dickerson and Dali Lemezan plus Smith to share third overall. The mark was a collegiate-best for Lemezan and a season-high for Smith. Freshman Marissa King unveiled her Tsukahara layout with one and a half twist vault Friday, receiving a collegiate-best 9.875. UA's Ricki Lebegern won the evening's vault title at 9.975 and Stack-Eaton was runner-up at 9.925.

The Gators' floor total was held back by some extra steps and low landings, as UF turned in a 49.075. Dickerson anchored Florida's floor lineup with a team-high 9.875 as her routine impressed the Alabama home audience. The crowd gave an audible gasp on Dickerson's opening tumbling pass, an Arabian double front. In the final floor standings, Alabama's Morgan Dennis took the meet title at 9.975 while teammates Stack-Eaton and Lebegern shared second at 9.925.

Three Gators matched or set their season-high beam marks Friday. Freshman Liz Green turned in a collegiate-best 9.875 to share third overall. She has finished in the top three in each of her five collegiate beam performances. Alabama's Ashley Priess took the meet title with her beam score of 9.95, while Stack-Eaton was second at 9.90.

Stack-Eaton won the evening's all-around at 39.625, followed by Dennis (39.45), Priess (39.45) and Lebegern (39.40). Florida's all-arounders, Dickerson and King, turned in totals of 39.35 and 39.125, respectively.

Next week, Florida returns home to play host to five-time defending NCAA champion and current No. 9 Georgia on Friday, Feb. 19. Meet time is set for 7 p.m. ET in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Visit these Gainesville area restaurants - Flying Biscuit Caf?, Moe's, Planet Smoothie or Heavenly Ham - to pick up free admission passes to the meet. The first 1,000 fans at Friday's meet receive a free light-up item courtesy of Gatorade. For a complete list of promotions for the Florida-Georgia meet, please visit the Gator Outlook. This meet is scheduled to be televised by ESPNU on a tape-delayed basis on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 9 p.m.