There are two names on the University of Florida gymnastics roster that will send a crowd into a frenzy.
Those two people would be sophomore Bridget Sloan and junior Kytra Hunter, who have both been key players in the Gators success in events like floor and vault.
On Friday the No. 2-ranked Florida Gators (7-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) gymnastics team beat No. 3 LSU (7-3, 3-2 SEC) 198.125-197.625.
Coming into Fridays meet the Gators faced a hefty challenge of beating the No. 3 team in the nation, which has also recorded its own perfect scores of the season.
LSU’s Rheagan Courville came into the matchup having earned a 10 on the vault at Arkansas on Feb. 7 and was the reigning SEC Gymnast of the Week after she tied the nations best all-around score, and Gator Gymnast Bridget Sloan’s, with a 39.750.
Not only was it a night that hosted a rivalry, but it was also Florida’s annual Link to Pink meet. The Link to Pink meet has become one of the most anticipated meets of UF gymnastics season. Friday the meet packed the O’Connell Center with 9,197 roaring fans that would be rewarded with an eventful night.
Hunter was one of the athletes to make the night one to remember when she started out the matchup by scoring her second consecutive 10 on vault.
It was the junior’s fourth perfect score in only five meets and she became the first person to get back-to-back 10s in an event since 1998 when Florida’s Susan Hines earned two perfect scores at the NCAA Super Six Semifinals.
Hunters vault and a solid performance from the other five gymnasts in the event helped Florida top their season-best vault with a score of 49.525. It was the eighth highest in the Gators history.
Hunter said that her practices have become more focused on sticking her vault landings.
“Honestly since last week I’ve been getting these stuck landings in practice,” Hunter said. “I mean I won’t move on from vault unless I get two perfect stuck landings.”
However, Hunter wasn’t alone in having a big night. Sloan also had a momentous night by winning the All-Around title for the week and putting up a 9.95 for her floor routine.
“It doesn’t matter the scoring. It’s all about how you feel and after floor I felt amazing,” Sloan said. “My first pass was great, my second pass was the best second pass I’ve ever done in my life and those are the little moments you need to cherish.”
While Florida fell behind after the vault and uneven bars rotation, it was the near-perfect floor routines by Florida and a series of sloppy beam routines by LSU that propelled the Gators above the Tigers.
Coach Rhonda Faehn was impressed with Florida’s night on the floor.
“It was everything that we were looking for,” Faehn said.
Follow Eden Otero on Twitter @edenotero_l
