Two weeks after losing the Southeastern Conference Championship to Georgia, the UF gymnastics team will take the floor Saturday looking to qualify for the NCAA Championships and get another crack at the Bulldogs.
The team, whose goal all year has been to win the national championship, is more motivated than ever to attain it after its second loss to Georgia this season by .025.
"I feel like it makes you stronger losing by such a small margin, because knowing that it was so close and the smallest little things could make the difference makes you push that much harder to get it at the next competition," sophomore Melanie Sinclair said.
While No. 3 UF (12-3-1, 4-2 SEC) is more inspired after the disheartening defeat, it had more work to do in the gym before competing again Saturday in the Southeast Region Championship in Gainesville.
The loss didn't have a negative affect on the Gators' attitude in practice. It had them working harder to prove themselves, and the extra effort showed in the first practice after the SEC Championships.
"Everyone came in with a great attitude and ready to work harder to put forth all the effort needed to be the best," Sinclair said.
In the practices, the Gators needed to get out the small kinks that prevented them from repeating as SEC champs.
Junior Corey Hartung said the team has been doing basically the same routine it has done all year, except they have been approaching practices different mentally.
"We have been motivating ourselves with positive thoughts and positive talks," Hartung said. "We are concentrating on every turn more and not just going through the motions but really thinking about every little thing."
For coach Rhonda Faehn, it was important to see all-arounders Amanda Castillo and Ashley Reed bounce back after having rough outings at SECs. She believes the two will be back to their All-American form Saturday.
"Every individual has had an off-night somewhere throughout the season, and unfortunately for them, it happened to be at this time," Faehn said. "I have 100 percent confidence that they will rebound and do a great job this week."
The Gators will need all their gymnasts at the top of their games if they want to take down the three-time defending national champion Bulldogs.
It would also be one of their last chances to beat UGA coach Suzanne Yoculan - she is retiring at the end of next season.
But UF realizes that before it head to Athens, it must first take care of business in Gainesville at the Southeast Region Championships.
"We make it very clear as a group and as a team that we are focused only on what is ahead of us," Faehn said.
The Gators come into the competition as the highest-ranked team and will be the favorites to win - the top two teams from the meet will advance to the national competition.
No. 9 UCLA and No. 15 Nebraska will be UF's biggest challengers on Saturday. Performing in front of a home crowd will give the Gators an edge over its competitors.
Even with its chance to qualify for the national championships on the line, UF will not be afraid to go all-out and risk falling for the higher scores.
"We're never going to play it safe," Sinclair said. "Gator gymnasts never play it safe. We go out there and go full throttle every time."
