GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It was the nation's top gymnastics meet of the weekend. Friday's competition brought together the winners of the last five NCAA titles – No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 5 Florida – in front of another sellout crowd. With a final push from its final performer, Florida moved into the lead for the first time Friday to claim the win by the sport's smallest margin.
The totals by both teams tonight are the top two in the nation this season, as Florida claimed the 198.15 -198.125 win.
Friday's meet drew the program's second consecutive sellout crowd, as 9,652 filled the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center for this anticipated dual.
The Meet's Flow
The Gators trailed by 0.025 after the opening rotation and OU pushed out that lead to a tenth at the midway point. After a school-record balance beam set for UF, the two teams entered the final rotation tied
Oklahoma completed its beam rotation and Florida needed a 9.9 from its final floor performer to tie the meet. Freshman
Alyssa Baumann anchored the lineup with a collegiate-best 9.925, giving Florida the winning margin.
The two teams picked 1-2 in the Road to Nationals preseason poll put up big marks Friday, but none bigger than Florida senior All-American
Alex McMurtry's two 10.0s. McMurtry used the perfect mark to win vault and beam. The beam mark completed her "Gym Slam", as she now joins Gator Great
Bridget Sloan as Florida's two to earn a perfect mark for each apparatus.
Oklahoma's Maggie Nichols' (who also earned a Gym Slam last season), took the all-around win at 39.775 – the nation's top total of 2018. Nichols shared the uneven bars win with teammate Anastasia Webb at 9.95. She also tied UF's senior All-American
Kennedy Baker at 9.975 for the floor win.
GATOR NOTABLES:
- Each of Florida's event total were season-highs:
- 49.475 – vault
- 49.425 – bars
- 49.675 – beam (school record – previous high 49.625 3/7/2014 vs West Virginia)
- 49.575 – floor
- Florida's total of 198.15 is the ninth highest in UF history.
- Florida is now 14-55-1 all-time versus a defending national champion team, including 4-5 since 2010.
- This is UF's first win versus Oklahoma since the 2015 NCAA Super Six.
- This was Oklahoma's first loss since opening the 2016 season with a 196.950-196.725 loss at LSU.
- Tonight's crowd of 9,652 is a sellout. The Jan. 12 crowd of 9,661 versus then No. 1 LSU was the first sellout in program history.
McMurtry's Two 10.0s
In Florida gymnastics' 46-year history, 40 perfect scores have come from 14 different gymnasts.
Tonight,
Alex McMurtry is the first to score multiple 10.0s in a single meet.
McMurtry's 10.0 on vault was the nation's first on the event this season and the third of her career. She earned her first 10.0 on beam (also the nation's first of 2018) for her ninth 10.0 of her career. McMurtry is now the UF career leader for 10.0s (previous record: Bridget Sloan – eight 10s).
McMurtry is the 10th in NCAA history to record a "Gym Slam".
Alex McMurtry, Florida 2015-present
Maggie Nichols, Oklahoma 2017-present
Bridget Sloan, Florida 2013-16
Courtney Kupets, Georgia 2006-09
Ashley Kelly, Arizona State 2003-06
Kristen Maloney, UCLA 2001-05
Karin Lichey, Georgia 1996-99
Heather Stepp, Georgia 1990-93
Kristen Kenoyer, Utah 1990-93
Missy Marlowe, Utah 1989-92
#WeChomp!. These Gator gymnastics alums show they still can chomp. Florida alumnae from five decades gathered Friday for a Gator Gymnastics Reunion.
GATOR GYMNASTICS REUNION
Boosting Florida's sellout crowd was more than 50 past Gator gymnastics in the arena for a Gator Gymnastics Reunion.
Of the 14 Gator gymnasts to earn a 10.0, more than half were in the arena tonight.
Other Gators with 10.0 at reunion:
| Savannah Evans |
V |
| Kytra Hunter |
V, FX |
| Mackenzie Caquatto |
UB |
| Erin Pendleton |
UB |
| Kristen Guise |
UB |
| Chrissy Vogel |
FX |
RECORDS: Florida (3-1, 1-1 SEC), Oklahoma (3-1, 0-0 Big 12).
THE SERIES: Florida leads the series 14-7-1.
HEAR FROM THE GATORS:
Thoughts on tonight's meet:
"We talk about this season being a process and taking care of the things we want to take care of. We want to control the things we are able to control and this team week by week has shown that they have learned from competition and are moving forward.
"It has been very rewarding for me to be able to see them to take everything from training and former competitions and be able to put it out on the competition floor. I am super proud, the athletes did a great job of building off one another's routine. We have been lacking that over the last couple of weeks, but tonight, the momentum kept flowing.
"The team fought with a lot of heart and a lot of grit. As much as I love watching their performances, I also love watching the sidelines and seeing how encouraging and uplifting this team is to each other. That is going to carry us through the rest of the season. They are working on what they can control – which is supporting one another." – Florida Head Coach
Jenny Rowland
On coming down to the end:
"You get to a point in the season where it is good to have no surprises. I come into meets and I'm not nervous. We can interchange and we may come across bumps in the road, but we are still learning and making progress. The freshmen have a lot to give. What you see from this team is what they show in the gym – a lot of heart and we are continuing to work on the little details, improving on the small details week-to-week." – Florida Head Coach
Jenny Rowland
On Kennedy Baker and Alyssa Baumann on floor:
"It was a fabulous moment. Ken's style on floor is mesmerizing, it draws the crowd in. Everyone wants to watch and smile and that is what we have been trying to teach Alyssa [Baumann] as well. It was great to see her go out there and just take and breath and have fun with her routine." – Florida Head Coach
Jenny Rowland
On being nervous before floor:
"Of course there's always nerves; if you don't have nerves you probably don't care enough. You just go out there, and you do your best. I knew I had the support of my team, and they'd already done really good work before me. I hadn't really looked at the scores, but I knew we needed a good one to anchor it. I just went out there and I did what I could." – freshman
Alyssa Baumann
On waiting to see the scores:
"We hadn't really been paying attention to the scores throughout the meet, but we knew that it was really close so we were just waiting to see. We knew that we did pretty much the best that we could, so no matter what we were going to be happy with what we did, but coming out with the win is awesome." – freshman
Alyssa Baumann
On Alex McMurtry's performance:
"She was very impressive. It was an amazing vault, it was stunning. I cannot say she has done a lot in practice, but what she does in practice is focus and complete control. She had a fantastic landing and we have been practicing her landing in practice – not necessarily the real vault itself. She always does the best she can and it was fantastic to see her come out on top tonight.
"Beam – it was the only event she had not scored a 10 on. I knew before the dismount, she just needed to do what she does in practice. In practice, she will stick a good ratio. I knew she could do it, she just needed to stay calm. It was very rewarding to see that smile on her face." – Florida Head Coach
Jenny Rowland
On her night with two 10s:
"This is the first time competing double [Yurchenko] this season, and I know that vault is actually easier for me to stick than my full. So I just went out there and started off with a 10 luckily and kept moving from there and kept that momentum. Not my best at bar dismount, but it's all right. That was my first 10 on beam so that was the highlight of my meet." – senior All-American
Alex McMurtry
On her Gym Slam:
"It was incredible. All through my beam routine I know I'm capable of that 10. It just comes down to nerves. So I just kept going one skill at a time, and after I finished my turn, I knew it was just my dismount. Dismounts were actually terrible in warmups so I just had to trust my gut and go for it. Luckily I got that stick and got that 10." – senior All-American
Alex McMurtry
On remaining focused after her first 10:
"It's really tricky. The adrenaline was pumping. I was shaking even going up on bars, but you just have to slow everything down. I have to be really patient on bars. It got to me a little bit and my dismount was a little bit earlier, but after that I knew I just had to focus on slowing everything down and not let the adrenaline get the best of you." – senior All-American
Alex McMurtry
On her records tonight:
"It's incredible especially on alumni night. Those are the girls in the stands that won a national championship with Kennedy and I. it was incredible because they set the stage for us, and I learned how to be a college gymnast from them. It was incredible to have such a great night and beat Oklahoma when the alumni were here." – senior All-American
Alex McMurtry
On the sellout crowd tonight:
"When we had our first home meet and sold out, it was incredible energy. So we knew it was going to be a huge meet when Oklahoma came. It's always fun to compete in the O'Dome, and for us seniors, we only have a few home meets left so every sellout we have is just the time of our lives." – senior All-American
Alex McMurtry
On her nearly perfect 9.975 on floor
"Going into my floor routine I wasn't even thinking about scores. I was thinking about "go out, do your best, have fun." And that's what I did. Having Alyssa [Baumann] anchor with a 9.925 was just icing on the cake." – senior All-American
Kennedy Baker
What it means to win tonight after a disappointing LSU loss:"I think it's a great confidence builder. And I think more importantly, we scored a 198.150, that's crazy. And it still wasn't even our best, it was really really good but I know that we can do better. To know that we got that score with what we had is just awesome and I think that it's a great stepping stone going into the season." – senior All-American
Alex McMurtry
On bouncing between different lineups each week:
"It's quite interesting, but I always just want to do the best I can for the team. I'm just there whenever they need me. It feels great to be able to contribute in any way." – freshman
Megan Skaggs
ROAD TO NATIONALS RANK:
Florida – The Gators are No. 5 in the
Road to Nationals rankings.
Oklahoma – The Sooners are No. 1 in the
Road to National rankings.
UP NEXT:
Florida starts February competition at No. 16 Auburn next Friday. The meet airs live on the SEC Network at 7 p.m. ET.
No. 5 Florida versus No. 1 Oklahoma
Final Team Totals |
| Jan. 26, 2018 – Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Memorial Coliseum (9,652) |
| Team |
Vault |
Bars |
Beam |
Floor |
Total |
| Florida |
49.475 |
49.425 |
49.675 |
49.575 |
198.150 |
| Oklahoma |
49.500 |
49.500 |
49.550 |
49.575 |
198.125 |
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