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<p>Florida's Kytra Hunter competes on the balance beam during the semifinals of the NCAA women's gymnastics championships Saturday, April 21 2012 in Duluth, Ga.</p>

Florida's Kytra Hunter competes on the balance beam during the semifinals of the NCAA women's gymnastics championships Saturday, April 21 2012 in Duluth, Ga.

Once the Gators completed floor exercise, all they could do was sit and wait after their final event. 

As Ashley Priess completed Alabama’s last balance beam routine, UF crossed its fingers, hoping for a dismal performance. If she recorded any score less than a 9.875, Florida would clinch its first national title. 

About a minute after Priess stuck her dismount, the news struck.

“9.95,” the scoring unit read.

After the judges’ final announcement, the exhilarated Tide lifted Priess in celebration, as the stunned Gators stood glued to the ground.

No. 4 seed Alabama (197.85) rallied past top-seeded Florida (197.775) to win its second consecutive national championship Saturday in The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga. The Tide’s .075-point margin of victory was the slimmest at the Super Six since Utah defeated Alabama by .05 in 1994.  

Despite falling short, UF constructed its best Super Six team total in school history. Florida’s runner-up finish is its first since 1998 and second of all time.  

“So close,” coach Rhonda Faehn said. “I’m so proud of the athletes and so proud of this team because they competed their hearts out. We couldn’t have asked for any more — for them to go out today and compete as aggressively as they did and compete with such passion. Just under a tenth different is extremely painful and it’s hard, but at the same time, I look at what our athletes did accomplish and how incredible they did.”

No. 2 seed UCLA placed third Saturday with a 197.750, followed by No. 10 Stanford (197.50), No. 7 Utah (197.375) and No. 8 Arkansas (196.30).

Florida opened the meet with a vault total of 49.475. A fall early in the uneven bars lineup by junior Ashanée Dickerson (9.2) put pressure on the Gators, but they closed out the event with a 49.425. After a 49.475 on beam, Florida led Alabama by .025 points heading into the final rotation. UF needed a 49.40 on floor to rally ahead of UCLA. While the Gators did just that, the Crimson Tide pieced together a 49.50 on beam to cruise to its sixth national title.

“After beam we were really pumped up and we went to floor and just competed our hearts out,” junior Marissa King said. “We did the best we possibly could and just went all out. Our motto is ‘go big or go home,’ and that is exactly what we did on that last event. The result is what it is.”

This is the third time the Gators have fallen to the Tide this season. Alabama defeated Florida in Tuscaloosa, on Feb. 3, and at the evening session of NCAA Semifinals on Friday by a small margin of .025 points. 

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UF’s only win against the Tide came in its Southeastern Conference Championship victory on March 24 in Duluth. 

After today, only four teams — Alabama (six), Georgia (10), Utah (nine) and UCLA (six) — have won national titles in women’s gymnastics in its 31 years as an NCAA sport. 

Now, Florida will have to look to the future to capture the elusive national title it has always longed for. 

“We of course always want to win the national championship, but every year there’s only one, and there’s 12 teams here fighting for that one title,” Faehn said. 

“We were this close, and it gives us so much positive promise. This team did the best that any Florida team has ever done. It’s been 14 years since we’ve been in this place, and they’re going to carry this. They should be proud and become even stronger and better next year with the eyes on the prize once again.”

Five Gators to compete at NCAA Individual event finals: When the NCAA Championships wrap up Sunday, a pair of Gator will contend for individual event titles on three events at 1 p.m.

King, the 2011 NCAA Vault Champion, and freshman Kytra Hunter will see vault. Sophomores Alaina Johnson and Mackenzie Caquatto will compete on bars, while Dickerson and Hunter will take on floor. 

Florida's Kytra Hunter competes on the balance beam during the semifinals of the NCAA women's gymnastics championships Saturday, April 21 2012 in Duluth, Ga.

Marissa Gutierrez reacts after Alabama won the NCAA women's gymnastics championships on Saturday, April 21 2012, in Duluth, Ga.

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