Florida Gators

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Gator gymnastics opened the season with a 195.90-194.425 win Friday evening at West Virginia in front of WVU Coliseum crowd of 2,613.

Florida swept each of the meet event titles. Senior Alex McMurtry won the meet's opening two events – vault (9.90) and uneven bars (9.925). Three Gators shared the balance beam win at 9.90 – Alyssa Baumann, Alicia Boren and Rachel Gowey. Boren took the floor exercise win (9.925) and claimed the all-around with the top season-opening total ever for UF (39.575).
 
Freshman Jazmyn Foberg was an unexpected Gator all-arounder, as she stepped into the beam lineup to replace senior Kennedy Baker. A bout with the flu earlier in the week likely led to Baker's leg cramps and she was replaced after bars in each of the three remaining events to be safe. Foberg was runner-up at 39.125 – the fifth-highest all-around for a freshman in a UF season opener.
 
Florida had a few bobbles during the evening but finished strong on its closing event. The Gators went six-for-six on beam, with four marks of 9.85 or better.
 

 
GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES:

• The 39.575 from Boren is the highest all-around total ever by a Gator in a season opener. All-American Ashanée Dickerson posted the previous high of 39.55 in Gainesville in UF's 2011 season-opening win versus Nebraska. It was the sixth all-around win of Boren's career.
• McMurtry picked up career wins No.19 for vault and No. 16 for uneven bars. She now has 50 career event titles as a Gator, making her the 10th in the program's 46-year history to register 50 or more wins. 
• Freshman Alyssa Baumann was among Florida's three-way tie for first on beam. A three-time member of the U.S. Senior National Team, Baumann deferred enrolling at Florida until fall of 2017 after suffering an elbow injury preparing for the 2016 Olympic Trials after her senior year. Tonight was Baumann's first competitive performance since the 2017 P&G Championships – a span of 18 months.
• Gowey shared her third beam win while Boren collected the fifth of her career. Boren opened each of her three seasons with a beam win – 2016 (9.90), 2017 (9.925), 2018 (9.90)
• Boren's floor win was her sixth as a Gator, with the other five coming last season. Tonight, she opened her floor with a double layout, marking the first time she performed the skill as a collegiate.

 
RECORDS: Florida (1-0, 0-0 SEC), West Virginia (0-1, 0-0 Big 12).
 
THE SERIES: Florida leads the series 32-1.
 
HEAR FROM THE GATORS:
Thoughts on first meet with the Gators:
"Definitely a roller-coaster ride. However, there was some amazing highs to go along with the lows. We knew coming into this competition no one was going to be perfect. It was a start to get the kinks worked out.
 
"I think there is a lot to take away from this meet – good and bad. Anything that was good, they can take away with a lot of confidence. Anything that wasn't exactly how they planned it to go, they can take it and work on it for the next meet. This season is a marathon so there will be lots of opportunities to come." - Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland
 
How did the freshmen do?
"The freshmen did a great job tonight. Jazzy [Foberg] competed unexpectedly in the all-around and did a fabulous job, hitting four-for-four. Alyssa [Baumann] competed for the first time in 18 months and hit solid routines in both events. Megan [Skaggs] competed vault, starting us off in the lineup. The three of them did a fantastic job of coming in and being cool, calm and collected." – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland
 
How did it feel to get the season started?
"It felt really good. I was nervous for so long because we were practicing, training and getting ready all fall. It felt really good to get out there and just compete.
 
"We had our ups and downs but we had each other's backs. We didn't really think about the mistakes we did have – we just came back strong and brought up the energy. " – junior All-American Alicia Boren
 
You won with the highest opening all-around total in school history. What did you think of your performance?
"I thought I did pretty good for the first meet. I always get really nervous and last night we really focused on believing in yourself and thinking positive thoughts so good things can happen. [Assistant Coach] Adrian [Burde] told us that so I think I applied it pretty well for our first meet." – junior All-American Alicia Boren
 
How did the freshmen do out there?
"I was so unbelievably proud of the freshmen. They did so well, especially first meet out. They took advantage of the energy and the team. They fed off it and did very well." – junior All-American Alicia Boren
 
PRESEASON NATIONAL RANK:
Florida – Florida is No. 2 in the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches (NACGC) preseason poll. Florida has appeared among the preseason top five teams each of the last 12 years.
 
UP NEXT:
Florida's anticipated home season starts with one of the nation's top duals of the season when preseason No. 3 Louisiana State comes to the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Friday, Jan. 12. Meet time is set for 6:45 p.m.
 
The first 1,000 fans receive a pair of "Perfect 10.0" foam hands and the first 1,000 students receive a Gators Gymnastics t shirt!
 
This will be the Tigers second Southeastern meet of this young season, as LSU opened the season Friday with a 197.15 – 195.35 home win versus No. 19 Arkansas.
 
There is still time to secure tickets to see all the Gator gymnastics home action. Visit the Gators ticket site for complete information.
 

2018 Gator Gymnastics Season Ticket Pricing

Reserved Adult Tickets

Season $35

Single Meet $8

Reserved Youth (12 & under)

Season $20

Single Meet $8

Reserved Loge Tickets:

Season $70

General Admission Adult

Season $20

Single Meet $5

General Admission Youth (12 & under)

Season: Free

Single Meet: Free

UF Students w/ Gator1 ID

Season: Free

Season Parking (available to all reserved & general admission season ticket holders)

Season: $25

 
Renew or purchase tickets at FloridaGators.com/Tickets.
 

Gator Ticket Office Contact Info:

Location:

Gate 1 – Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (Open Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET)

Phone:

1-800-34-GATOR

Web:

FloridaGators.com/Tickets

Transfer Tickets:

FloridGators.com/myaccount

 
Friday's meet airs live on the SEC Network and can be found on WatchESPN.
 
 

	Florida Gators Gymnastics Florida Gators		@GatorsGym @FloridaGators
			@JennyRowlandUF (Jenny Rowland)

 

No. 2 Florida at West Virginia   Final Team Totals
Jan. 5, 2018 ? WVU Coliseum (2,613)
Team	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
Florida	48.950	49.225	49.275	48.450	195.950
West Virginia	48.425	48.750	48.675	48.575	194.425