Coach Rhonda Faehn doesn’t need to stress to her team the opportunity that will be presented to it when it visits No. 2 Alabama (4-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) tonight at 8:30 in Coleman Coliseum.
The athletes already know.
“It’s going to be our toughest challenge to date,” Faehn said. “It’s going to be a great segue to the latter half of the season.”
After coming away victorious in their last four meets, the Gators know how important this meet will be in demonstrating they are a threat to go all the way this season.
“Ever since the meet ended last week, we’ve been fired up and pumped for Alabama,” senior Maranda Smith said. “They’re a great team, and we just want to go out there, prove ourselves against them and put everything out there.”
No. 6 Florida (4-1, 3-0 SEC) will have to channel all of that energy if it hopes to leave Tuscaloosa, Ala., with a win against last season’s NCAA runner-up.
Entering the meet, the Crimson Tide rank first nationally on the vault and beam, and second on floor.
But Alabama’s lofty rankings aren’t cause for concern for the Gators, who are also ranked in the top 10 in each event.
“Our team always gets up for good competition,” Faehn said. “It makes our athletes really focus and perform.”
But Faehn said the team’s focus can’t be on what the Crimson Tide do.
Instead, the Gators will have to key in on what they need to do to put together their best meet possible by securing their lineups and preparing mentally for the large crowd on the road.
Alabama has an average attendance of 13,863 at home this year, and Faehn said it will be a great opportunity for the team to experience the type of crowds it will see at SEC Championships and Regionals.
Smith and freshman Ashanée Dickerson both said they look forward to the large crowd and it will only drive them to excel during competition.
“We have to… take nothing for granted,” Faehn said. “We need to use this as an opportunity to have our athletes be in a situation that’s going to be exciting.”
