The UF gymnasts didn't know they were losing after a less-than-stellar performance on balance beam.
They didn't need to.
No. 1 UF (2-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) rode a resilient effort on floor exercise to trump No. 4 Auburn (1-2, 0-2 SEC) 196.5 to 196.25.
"I feel like the No. 1 most important thing we can take from this competition is, we came back after not doing our best on beam," said junior Maranda Smith. "We can learn from this competition if there's ever another time where we're a little shaky on an event, that we can always come back and perform well."
It was the second straight year UF trailed after the third event against Auburn and emerged victorious.
The Gators staggered to score a 48.325 on beam, their lowest score on any event by nearly a full point and lowest on beam since 2006.
Courtney Gladys then led off a dominant floor lineup, scoring a 9.775, to make the Gators - and crowd - forget their follies on beam.
The team notched the highest score of the night, Corey Hartung's 9.95 on floor. She matched her college best for the sixth time of her career.
"Floor was on our minds and not how we did on beam," Hartung said. "We just moved on."
The team managed to turn floor into the second-highest scoring event of the night with contributions from the entire lineup, including Smith's second 9.9 of the night.
Smith's first 9.9 came on vault, marking the first time she had competitively vaulted since her freshman days at UCLA in 2006.
"It's been three years since I have done an actual competition vault, so there were really no nerves in me," Smith said. "It was more excitement and trying to prove myself that I could be a competitive vaulter again."
Hartung won the all-around title with a 39.475, even significantly contributing on beam with a 9.775.
Floor brought the Gators back into the meet, but it was uneven bars that made it possible.
With the core four - Melanie Sinclair, Amanda Castillo, Hartung and Smith - stacked at the end of the lineup and fueled by Alicia Goodwin's college-best 9.925, the Gators made bars their strongest event.
An event-high 49.5 on bars was able to neutralize the ensuing beam troubles.
Sinclair, winner of the all-around title in the Jan. 9 meet against Oklahoma, turned in a solid 9.925 along with consistently valuable scores in her other events. She finished second in the all-around category behind Hartung at 39.450.
"Bars was phenomenal," UF coach Rhonda Faehn said. "This is what I said from the beginning, that I felt like bars is our best event, and we have the greatest chance of getting our highest scores there."
Injuries to the team triggered changes to the lineup.
Castillo still turned in a 9.875 on bars, but even the decorated junior wasn't immune to the beam bug, scoring an uncharacteristically low 9.475.
She was rested from vault and floor because she has been nursing bursitis in her ankle.
Rebekah Zaiser was also out after sustaining a season-ending broken foot.
"That was really tough on our team emotionally," Faehn said. "She was in that leadoff position, that's when the team really looks to depend on that athlete."
Changes to the lineup meant freshmen getting more exposure.
Freshman Elizabeth Mahlich competed in three events, including her first competitive bars routine. Mahlich also anchored floor, ending the Gators on a high note of 9.875.
Freshmen Nicole Ellis, Amy Ferguson and Mahlich all appeared in the lineup for the second consecutive meet.
"The athletes that are stepping up and stepping in right now when we're a little bit beat up - they're doing a great job," Faehn said.
