The storylines were there.
A rivalry matchup. A middle school friendship between head coaches playing out on the mat.
And an improbable comeback.
The top-ranked Florida gymnastics team inexplicably frayed under pressure, falling flat in the meet’s final rotation and dropping a scintillating tilt on the road to the No. 11 Georgia Bulldogs on Friday by a final score of 196.400-196.350.
As has been the case throughout the season, Florida bounded to an early lead.
Starting on bars, the Gators (4-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) benefitted from a season-high 9.900 from senior Bridgette Caquatto and sophomore Alex McMurtry’s meet-high-tying 9.925 on the apparatus to take an early 0.325 point lead.
The Bulldogs (3-3, 3-1 SEC), however, fought back in the second rotation, besting the Florida vault unit that ranks third in the country by posting a 49.325 on bars. Four Georgia gymnasts scored at least a 9.850 in the second rotation, highlighted by senior Brandie Jay’s 9.925.
Florida scored a 49.275 on vault, led by McMurtry’s apparatus-leading 9.900 and senior Bridget Sloan’s runner-up 9.875 and allowing the Gators to carry a 0.275-point advantage into the meet’s second half.
With the third rotation in full swing, Florida capitalized on a pair of Georgia mishaps to counter one of their own.
Bulldog beam competitors Natalie Vaculik and Vivi Babalis suffered a trio of falls between them, forcing Georgia to burn Babalis’ meet-low 8.625.
Facing a disadvantaged opponent, Florida’s No. 1-ranked floor team set out to widen the gap.
But, as it did to their opposition on the beam, disaster struck.
The usually consistent Sloan pulled up lame on her finaling tumbling pass, stumbling on the landing with an upper thigh cramp.
Forced to burn Sloan’s 9.525, the Gators needed to rely on their depth.
And, spearheaded by Kennedy Baker’s 9.925, Florida extended its lead to 0.900.
However, anchor Caquatto was forced out of the competition, buckling a knee on her vault run and forcing head coach Jenny Rowland to insert freshman Ashley Hiller as a last-gasp replacement.
She posted a 9.675.
With a lone rotation remaining, Florida found itself in a familiar position. Dominating on the scoreboard, the Gators simply needed to remain consistent, simply needed to see things through to their expected end.
On Friday, however, the Gators learned the true meaning of “home-field advantage.”
"I thought tonight was a great opportunity for our freshmen to experience a SEC meet in full force. It was a really big crowd and the Stegeman Coliseum was in full force,” head coach Jenny Rowland said in a release.
“It was really loud and our team had to perform under the pressure of competing on beam after some big floor scores by Georgia.”
In spite of its rough outing one rotation earlier, Georgia stormed back with a vengeance, applying pressure to Florida’s seemingly unassailable lead.
Four consecutive career highs on the floor hacked the Gators’ advantage to bits, inciting an already raucous crowd into higher and higher levels of frenzy.
Over on the beam, its effects were evident.
Baker lost her balance, setting UF’s rotational score behind early with a 9.275.
Two routines later, the ever-steady Alicia Boren fell on her dismount, forcing Florida to count her 9.350.
Despite solid efforts from freshman Peyton Ernst, sophomore Ericha Fassbender and McMurtry to keep it close, Florida’s advantage vanished. The team trailed its opponent for the first time all season.
Even an impressive 9.875 from a hobbled Sloan to close out the rotations wasn’t enough to give Florida the final push it needed.
"I think she did a great job. She competes with her heart,” Rowland said. “On floor, she cramped up a little bit but performed and finished her routine to the best of her abilities. She told me 'I got this. I can do beam'. She went up there and hit a beam routine Sloan-style."
With the fourth rotation ending at a score of 49.625-48.675, the Bulldogs capped a wicked comeback, leaving the Gators devastated and claiming victory by a thin five-hundredths of a point.
The Gators return to the O’Connell Center on Feb. 12 to face Arkansas.
"Obviously, this meet could have been better. There are a lot of things we can learn from,” Rowland said. “There were some stellar performances following some mistakes. Bouncing back and rebounding is really what this sport is all about.
“You are allowed to have a mistake here and there.”
Contact Alejandro Lopez at alopez@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @ajlb95.
UF coach Jenny Rowland applauds her gymnasts during Florida’s win against Alabama on Jan. 29, 2016, in the O’Connell Center.
