The first gymnastics meet shouldn't have been the one to catapult UF to a No. 1 ranking.
Four freshmen - one-third of the team - were donning orange and blue for the first time.
That didn't stop the Gators from setting the highest score (196.50) in the country this season.
"The whole team proved themselves at the first meet," senior Corey Hartung said. "If that was the first meet and we did that well, then I know we can do so much better, and we will do so much better."
UF will get its chance to do even better tonight in its second consecutive home meet against No. 4 Auburn at 7 p.m. in the O'Connell Center to begin Southeastern Conference play. The Tigers won their first meet handily against Illinois-Chicago but suffered a setback against rival Alabama on Friday, losing by the narrowest margin possible, 0.025.
UF may have to polish its routines and clean itself up to win its SEC opener.
"Obviously there were some areas and some issues, some mistakes that we made, things that we have to iron out and things that (we've worked) on this week, such as the lineup positioning and changing a few things with routine composition," UF coach Rhonda Faehn said.
Faehn reiterated the importance of starting strong against Auburn.
"Once again, we have to just get the ball rolling on vault," she said. "This week we're looking a little bit more for those landings."
Freshman Nicole Ellis, who competed in vault in the first meet, said she needed to hone her focus against Auburn.
"Last weekend I was more nervous than I think I will be this weekend just because I know what to expect now," Ellis said.
The Oklahoma meet seemed to rest the worries of the team in general, not just freshmen.
"Overall, I guess the biggest feeling I have from last week is I have more confidence," Hartung said. "I'm really looking forward to the year now. I actually believe in this team. I believe in the ability to keep going and perform well."
She'll have to feel good if the Gators can put away Auburn like they did Oklahoma.
"I know the SEC is the toughest conference," Hartung said. "If we're there on Friday, we'll be great. We've been working for this."
ZAISER OUT FOR SEASON: The team will be missing junior Rebekah Zaiser for the Auburn meet and the rest of the year. Zaiser suffered a season-ending injury when she broke her foot earlier this week in practice.
Zaiser led on balance beam and floor exercise against the Sooners last week. She scored 9.825 on both, matching her college best on floor.
