With 6,032 fans cheering and clapping along with the music, Amanda Castillo danced her way to a nearly-perfect floor routine.
Like most of the night, the crowd erupted once the Gator gymnast finished her performance.
The energy that filled the O'Connell Center caught Castillo off guard.
"I was thinking to myself 'Are they clapping for me,'" Castillo said. "It's exciting when the whole arena is there for you and watching the Gators."
In front of the home crowd, No. 3 UF cruised to an easy first-place finish with a score of 197.525 at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships to qualify for the national championship in Athens.
The Gators (12-3-1, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) can expect a much different environment when they travel to the home of No. 1 Georgia for the NCAA Championship starting April 24.
While the Bulldog supporters might not be rooting for the Gators, Melanie Sinclair said the Gators will feed off the negative energy aimed toward them.
"I love away meets because whenever they chant 'Go Dawgs" or whatever, I like to add my own twist to their cheers so it seems like they are cheering for you," Sinclair said.
If the Gators compete like they did Saturday, it will be hard for any team, home-field advantage or not, to defeat them.
Right from the start, they looked to be performing at the top of their games.
After a bye in the first rotation, UF started on the uneven bars and quickly showed its dominance over the competition with a meet-high score in the event of 49.425.
UF would go on to win the other three events as well, but the strong start on the bars gave the Gators the self-assurance in the following rotations.
"It's always important to start off well in the first event you compete in because it builds your confidence going into all the other events," Sinclair said. "We definitely did that tonight by starting off with a bang."
It was Sinclair who led the Gators on the bars with a 9.95 capturing a share of the title.
She also tied for first place on the vault (9.95) and floor (9.9). On the balance beam, Sinclair was able to claim a fifth-place finish with a 9.85.
Her all-around score (39.65) was good enough for the meet's title and was her new collegiate best.
"During every routine, I was very calm and it's a lot easier to focus on the handstands whenever you approach your routine that way," Sinclair said.
It was not just Sinclair that put up the high scores for the Gators.
Ashley Reed grabbed a pair of first-place finishes with shared titles on the beam (9.875) and vault (9.95).
Castillo and Nicola Willis tied Sinclair's score of 9.9 to split the event win.
The top finishes for Reed and Castillo was exactly what coach Rhonda Faehn expected from her two All-Americans after down weeks at the SEC Championships on March 29.
"We had no doubt among coaching staff that they wouldn't let that affect them because that was then and it was over, and they are tremendous competitors and very strong mentally," Faehn said.
As the Gators turn their minds to Athens and the Bulldogs, they will enter the NCAA Championships in a different way than how they approached it last season.
The undefeated Gators were the No. 1 team in the nation and favorites to win the title, but nagging injuries and fatigue prevented them from accomplishing the feat.
With fewer meets and more tests this season, UF is right where it wants to be heading to the championship.
"Last year, winning SECs caused us to relax physically and mentally and heading into nationals they were a little bit tired and not as focused," Faehn said. "I think the SECs this year may be a blessing in disguise because it has really made us hungry."
