ATHENS, Ga. - If you only looked at the combined scores of the vault and floor exercises, UF had Georgia beat.
Unfortunately for the Gators, there were two other events before those two. By the time they got to the floor, they were already out of contention.
UF finished Friday night's national championship competition in fourth place with a score of 196.7, as Georgia came away with its fourth straight national championship with a total of 197.45.
The Gators got off to the worst possible start: a fall on the uneven bars by Maranda Smith.
It did not get much better from there, as only three gymnasts put up scores higher than 9.8 and none reached a 9.9.
One of the biggest problems was the landings. Only Melanie Sinclair was able to stick hers, and it showed as she posted UF's highest score - a 9.875.
While a poor start on the bars didn't eliminate the Gators, it did put them in a bad situation.
The Gators needed to do well on the balance beam, something they could not do on Thursday.
And they wouldn't do it in the Super Six either. The best score for UF was a 9.8 put up by Amanda Castillo, Corey Hartung and Ashley Reed.
While the atmosphere surrounding the NCAA Championships did not have much of an affect on the veteran competitors, it might have gotten to the rookies to the big stage.
"The mistakes we had tonight were from athletes who weren't in pressure situations like this, a Super-Six situation," coach Rhonda Faehn said. "That was a tough start, and when you have something like that, the athletes get a little bit tight."
"They carried that from the bars to the beam, and the little wobbles here and there cost us."
The home crowd for UGA can be partially credited for UF's uncharacteristic struggles on the bars.
When the Gators were swinging on the bars, the Bulldogs were competing on the floor - the loudest event.
The whole time the Gators were performing, cheers and chants were coming from the Bulldog fans.
"It's not an ideal situation, for sure, but our athletes have to be mentally tough enough to handle that, to tune it out and focus on the routine," Faehn said.
At the halfway point, the Gators went into the locker room for their bye in last place with the national championship - barring a miracle - out of reach.
After the short break, UF came out strong with the third-best floor score, a 49.4.
In the final event, the Gators showed why they were considered one of favorites to win the competition, tying with Alabama for the best vault score.
"After the first two events, we realized they were tight, and we told them team, 'you have to settle down, chill out, relax and go back out and just really have fun out there. Don't be so nervous,'" Faehn said. "They were really uptight and they let everything just get to them, so when they came back out, I think we finished tremendously, the best we could on floor and vault."
But Georgia finished at the same time and was well ahead of UF and the rest of the field, and the Gators could only wonder "what if," while four other teams' dreams ended as well.
It was the fourth time the Gator seniors had to watch the Bulldogs crowned national champions.
For Reed, who ended her UF team career with a 9.95 on vault - she will compete as an individual on the beam and floor Saturday - it was difficult to see that again, especially since she knew it could have been them.
"Obviously, it's hard and I've seen it for four years now, but I believe in this team and I believe we could have won it tonight," Reed said. "Sometimes you just have to have that momentum and we just got in too deep after the first two events."
