On a night when UF’s senior leaders were honored, its younger all-around competitors led the way to victory.
Sophomore Alaina Johnson and juniors Marissa King and Ashanée Dickerson all posted season-best all-around scores as No. 1 Florida (11-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) handled No. 7 Utah (7-3, 3-1 Pac 12) 197.900-196.475 in its final home meet of the regular season in the O’Connell Center on Friday night.
The 197.90 is UF’s season-best total, the fourth-highest in program history and the nation’s second-best score this year.
Johnson recorded a 39.675 to tie her career high and claim the all-around title. The night was a return to form for her as she also earned her season best on floor (9.9) following two weeks with subpar scores of 9.75 and 9.65.
King notched a career-best 39.65 to place second overall, while Dickerson snagged third with a season-high 39.625.
Friday was the first time in Florida history that three Gator gymnasts recorded all-around scores of 39.625 or above in the same meet.
“Marissa, Kytra (Hunter) and Ashanée are powerful and dynamic, while Alaina is more of the finesse and the grace,” coach Rhonda Faehn said. “It’s a really nice balance. On any given day, any one of those athletes can really challenge for the win, but it was Alaina’s night.”
Johnson also picked up three event titles. She won bars with Dickerson at a 9.95, tied for the beam title with King (9.925) and shared the vault title with Utah’s Georgia Dabritz and Kailah Delaney.
King and Hunter shared the floor win at 9.95.
UF’s trio of tone-setting seniors - Nicole Ellis, Amy Ferguson and Elizabeth Mahlich – also posted solid numbers in their final home meet as Gators. Ellis scored a 9.875 on bars and a 9.8 on vault; Ferguson and Mahlich both tallied 9.825 on floor and bars, respectively.
“For the first time, I really paid attention to what was going on around me because usually you’re so nervous,” Ferguson said. “You’re so focused on what you’re doing that you don’t even hear the crowd or people cheering. This time, I really soaked in every minute of it.”
