Two weeks into the 2014 gymnastics season, the Gators have already begun the uphill battle toward improvement. Florida improved to 2-0 after a road win against Auburn on Friday night, winning 197.075-196.225.
“They competed more aggressively,” coach Rhonda Faehn said. “Especially, I feel they had more energy.”
UF’s score against Auburn was .425 higher than the 196.65 the team posted against UCLA during the season opener on Jan. 11. With the victory, UF climbed from a tie for fourth to the No. 3 in the national team rankings. Oklahoma and LSU are ahead of UF at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.
Florida’s improvements were not only seen at the team level; individuals such as senior Mackenzie Caquatto also made strides in the second meet of the year.
After receiving one of the worst scores in Florida history against UCLA in floor (8.40), Caquatto turned around to win the balance beam (9.95) event against Auburn.
“She was thrilled,” Faehn said. “That’s what she’s really capable of doing. She just really lit up the floor.
“Last week was fluky … it was nice to see her rebound.”
Caquatto, who competed in all-around at UCLA, participated in every event except floor against Auburn.
“She put in great routines; we could have easily competed her,” Faehn said. “We felt we maybe overwhelmed her in the first meet.”
Caquatto’s 9.925 on vault tied her collegiate best, which she set on Feb. 22, 2013, in a home meet against Kentucky. Faehn said her vault Friday was the best she has ever seen from Caquatto.
“I feel we were more confident [Saturday],” Caquatto said in a release.
“We had the first meet of the season behind us … We were really loud and having fun. When we have fun, that’s when we do our best. The energy was high and that helped us perform our best.”
Sophomore Bridget Sloan also tied her collegiate best on vault with a 9.95. Sloan secured wins in both uneven bars (9.925) and all-around (39.700).
“Her performance [Saturday] was on par with where she was at the national championship,” Faehn said.
Freshman Silvia Colussi-Pelaez competed for the first time with the Gators. Colussi-Pelaez exhibitioned floor (9.60) and uneven bars (9.125), where she took a fall against UCLA. However, she improved to a 9.725 on floor in Auburn, Ala.
“She did well enough at UCLA,” Faehn said. “She trained really well, so we wanted to give her the opportunity.”
Claire Boyce, Florida’s other freshman, competed for the second time in both balance beam and floor.
While her balance beam remained consistent with what she posted against UCLA (9.85), Boyce’s floor routine lost some spark between California and Alabama. A fall during her floor routine turned the 9.825 she scored against UCLA into a meet low of 9.125 on floor.
“That was an odd fall on floor; that was unusual for her and I’m sure she’s not happy with it,” Faehn said.
“Falls can be positive because you have to learn from [them].”
Follow Erica A. Hernandez on Twitter @EricaAlyssa
Bridget Sloan performs her floor routine during Florida’s 198.10-196.85 win against Alabama on Feb. 8, 2013, in the O’Connell Center. Sloan won two events against Auburn on Saturday.
