Senior all-arounder Alaina Johnson took to the floor for the first time in more than a year on Feb. 7 in Florida’s (5-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) win against Kentucky. Johnson’s 2014 debut floor score (9.825) tied with two others for fourth overall in the meet.
“I thought she competed aggressively, which is what we were looking for,” coach Rhonda Faehn said.
The last time the Tyler, Texas, native competed on floor, she had a similar result. On Jan. 18, 2013, Johnson scored a 9.875 in a home win against Missouri.
“It had been a while, but I wasn’t anymore nervous than other times,” Johnson said.
Johnson competed on vault, uneven bars and balance beam at every meet so far this season, but Kentucky was her first all-around meet of the year.
“For Alaina coming in and doing all four events for the very first time in a year, it’s really exceptional that she was confident and just very consistent across the board,” Faehn said.
She joined sophomore Bridget Sloan and junior Kytra Hunter in the all-around lineup for the meet.
“Whereas Kytra and Bridget have had five meets up to this point doing all-around and competed all-around all last year, as well, so it’s a little smoother of a transition I’m sure for those athletes than Alaina is really kind of a new start,” Faehn said.
In 2013, Johnson competed in the first three meets of the season, but a stress reaction and fracture in her lower back forced her to sit out for eight of the next meets in the year. Johnson eventually returned to compete vault and uneven bars in NCAA postseason meets.
But Johnson, the defending NCAA uneven bars champion, maintains she hasn’t been overworking her fragile body even in practice.
“The coaches are very smart,” Johnson said.
“I have — I guess you could say — a fragile body, and so they’re very smart with when to put me in all around and when to put in on floor or on vault.”
For her 2014 floor routine, Johnson uses the same passes as the 2013 routine she competed only two times, but she uses different dance moves.
Johnson even uses the same song from her 2013 floor routine, “Diva Song” from the Fifth Element, in her 2014 floor routine.
Johnson’s 9.825 on floor Friday was not far behind her career best of 9.925, which she set against Penn State and NC State on Jan. 28, 2011. With five meets still left in the regular season and a likely long run in the postseason, Johnson has a chance to break the record she set in her freshman year.
But Johnson said Tuesday that she still was not sure if she would compete on floor or all-around in UF’s home meet against Arkansas on Friday.
“I focus on what I need to correct from the previous meet and of course having fun; it’s my last year,” Johnson said. “So I don’t really focus on the scores or trying to beat the score from the previous competition. I just focus on the corrections that the coaches give me and having a good time.”
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Alaina Johnson performs a beam routine during Florida’s win against Oklahoma on Jan. 31 in the O’Connell Center.
