Nothing to lose. It's cliche.
But in the case of the UF gymnastics team, it's the honest-to-goodness truth. With only eight healthy gymnasts, the team has already cemented itself as one of the top 12 in the country, having advanced to the NCAA Championships, which start today at 2 p.m. in Lincoln, Neb.
"You wait all year for it, and when it finally comes it's like, 'Wow, I can't believe it's already here,'" junior Courtney Gladys said.
The Gators, competing in Session 1 against No. 1 Georgia, No. 4 LSU, No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 9 Stanford and No. 12 Penn State, will hope to carry their momentum and finish as one of the top three teams in their session.
If that happens, they advance to the Super Six, where they have a shot to become the national champs.
The team drew floor exercise first for Thursday, following the same routine as in the NCAA Regional Championship on April 4.
"Whatever (event) we start on, it's fine," Maranda Smith said. "You're going to have to do them all anyway."
UF lost to Georgia both times this season, once in Athens, Ga., and again at the Southeastern Conference Championships. While the Gators dropped the meet at LSU, they topped the Tigers at the SEC Championships. UF beat the Sooners to open the season, fresh on the heels of the other Gators win against Oklahoma of the year - in the BCS National Championship Game.
While other schools may be feeling the heat of the national spotlight, members of the UF gymnastics team insist they're just having fun. After all, the team is only eight deep. Who can take a team with eight gymnasts seriously?
"We know we're limited," senior Corey Hartung said. "But I think that has helped us tremendously, just pulling together more and fighting more for every routine. We peaked at the right time."
Hartung pointed out that the Gators, who had only seven healthy gymnasts at the time, was - from the team's standpoint - overlooked at the SEC Championships.
The conference has five teams at the NCAA Championships, including defending champion Georgia, and it's hard to argue the SEC is not the toughest conference in gymnastics.
Still, the Gators managed a third-place finish. And then, with eight gymnasts, the team corralled a win in the NCAA North Central Regionals, perhaps pitied by other teams because of its injury plight.
"Just hearing that is awful," Hartung said. "It feels good to prove people wrong."
UF coach Rhonda Faehn believes her team is ready mentally and physically to compete in similar fashion as the last two meets. She credited the competition at the SEC Championships and NCAA Regional with preparing UF for the national championship meet.
"They have gone out and done above and beyond at SECs and regionals," Faehn said. "I know they're going to go out there and do the exact same thing at nationals and have a blast."
Maranda Smith, who is eyeing her first All-America title and hopes to be an All-American on all-around, vault, uneven bars and floor, said the team has proven itself during the last month and that even with the team's third- and first-place finishes, respectively, there is room for improvement.
The grim reality, though, is that the Gators can only field eight gymnasts. But there is a slight positive to be found in that.
"We haven't put the extreme pressure that we have in the years past," Gladys said. "It's certainly helped us to our advantage this year."
