It’s the pivotal moment of any Florida floor routine.
For years, it has been the program’s signature.
The crowd anxiously waits to do it at the same time as the gymnasts, and by the third home meet of the season, they know exactly when in the routine it’s going to happen.
On the sidelines, the team does it along with the teammate competing.
It’s the Gator chomp.
“I think the crowd really likes that,” freshman Amelia Hundley said on Wednesday.
Hundley’s chomp comes right before her last tumbling pass, a double pike, and as soon as she hit it on Friday against Georgia, her smile beamed so wide that it seemed to ignite an already-energetic crowd of more than 8,300 at the O’Connell Center.
“It’s crazy the energy we get, and we feed off (it) from the crowd,” Hundley said. “Because you feel that extra energy and you can put that extra little oomph into it.”
That energy helped push her to score a 9.925 on floor, a career best, after she had already scored a career best on bars (9.975) earlier in the night.
It’s also proof of how the Ohio native has thrived and progressed through six meets as a Gator.
Florida coach Jenny Rowland, who has put Hundley in every all-around lineup this season, isn’t surprised that she is already having success.
“Amelia is just an amazing athlete mentally,” Rowland said. “She’s just really enjoying herself on the competition floor, and I think that has made her a better competitor.”
Her teammates, who imitate her routine on the sideline, have helped make the transition to competing for a team easier.
“Before, I kind of trained by myself and you knew the other girls’ routines, but it wasn’t really acceptable to do it on the side with them,” Hundley said. “So I love that the girls can go along with me and do it with me.”
Now that the Gators are past the halfway point of the regular season, Hundley will feel pressure to keep up her level of performance as the meets get more and more important approaching the postseason.
However, teammate Kennedy Baker isn’t worried.
“She’s always been a great competitor,” Baker said. “Watching her from meet to meet, it’s been really, really cool to see her become more and more confident.”
Contact Lauren Staff at lstaff@alligator.org or follow her on Twitter @lstaff27.
UF gymnast Amelia Hundley performs a routine during Florida's win against Georgia on Feb. 10, 2017, in the O'Connell Center.
