The No. 1-ranked UF gymnastics team had never lost a meet to Arkansas. The Gators were 18-0 lifetime against the Razorbacks heading into Friday night's meet.
That's when the Hogs fought back.
No. 8 Arkansas (3-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) upset the Gators, winning 196.375-195.425 in Fayetteville, Ark. UF produced its lowest score of the season and once again struggled on balance beam.
Three Gators - Amanda Castillo, Corey Hartung and Alicia Goodwin - fell off beam, forcing the team to count two of its falls toward the final beam score (47.90).
"Having three falls at the end - those situations are not acceptable from our upperclassmen because they've had experience," UF coach Rhonda Faehn said.
Heading into beam, the Gators held a 0.525 lead over Arkansas. Troubles on beam coupled with the Hogs' floor exercise score of 49.375 doomed the Gators.
"They have to use this like our football team used the Ole Miss competition," Faehn said.
"This is what's going to light a fire underneath them to get back into the gym."
The Razorbacks claimed three event titles (vault, floor and beam). Once again, uneven bars was the Gators' saving grace. They scored a 49.175 on bars.
The injury bug's impact was more apparent than ever during the meet.
Injuries to Rebekah Zaiser, Amanda Castillo, and now freshman Nicole Ellis have all caused the team to scramble to make appropriate lineup changes.
Ellis performed on beam against Auburn, but hip surgery from last summer flared up at the last minute, forcing the beam lineup to change again.
"We have to get some athletes healthy because we're struggling to put a lineup out there on the floor, especially on balance beam," Faehn said.
Freshman Elizabeth Mahlich debuted as an all-around performer. After meets in which she had performed exhibitions, she was promoted to the all-around category.
Mahlich finished the meet with an all-around score of 39.325. The score was highest among the Gators and good for third overall.
Mahlich's performance wasn't the only freshman first. Kailey Tissue made her competitive debut for UF, anchoring vault. Tissue scored a 9.875, placing her in a tie for third overall along with teammate Maranda Smith.
Courtney Gladys also stepped up in light of a thinner Gators team. Gladys placed second overall on beam with a 9.875.
"I was really proud of Courtney for coming in on beam," Faehn said. "She did a beautiful job, and she has potential do to that every single time."
Faehn is hoping the first loss of the season reveals the team's lack of training, some of which is due to injuries.
"They may think they're training hard," Faehn said. "The coaching staff, we don't feel that they are training hard enough."
Faehn is just waiting to see how her team responds to a loss and hoping the team takes the loss in stride.
"This is a wake-up call," Faehn said. "You cannot get lazy, you cannot get complacent. This is a great gymnastics team, but you cannot expect miracles to happen on the competition floor if you don't put in the practice."
