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Gymnastics Shows Improvement, Falls to No. 8 Florida
Kentucky gymnastics team returns to action Saturday, Jan. 28 at Illinois-Chicago
LEXINGTON,
Ky. – Behind a season-high team score on floor exercise, where two
Wildcats set or tied their career-high marks, the University of
Kentucky gymnastics team showed improvement from its first Southeastern
Conference meet of the year to its second meet of the year in a
196.275-194.075 loss to No. 8 Florida at Memorial Coliseum on Friday
night.
“I thought that our team performed well tonight,”
said UK head coach Tim Garrison, who is in his first season as head
coach of the program. “We still have a lot of work to do, but I am
seeing a great deal of progress from this young group.”
Of
UK’s 24 routines on the night, a total of 20 were performed by freshmen
or sophomores. Kentucky (2-3, 0-2 SEC) used 18 routines from
underclassmen in the first meet of the year and 19 last week in its SEC
opener at No. 3 Arkansas. The SEC home-opening score of 194.075 is the
highest for UK since 2010.
Overall, the youthful Wildcats
showed improvement from last week, setting 10 season-high marks and
setting or tying nine career-high scores on the night. Sophomore Audrey
Harrison and freshman Alexis Gross were the lone two all-around
competitors in the meet for Kentucky. Harrison led the way for UK,
finishing fourth in the all-around competition with a career-high
38.975, while Gross, who was competing all-around for the first time in
her career, earned a score of 38.4.
UK saved its best
event of the night for last, earning a season-high mark of 48.625 on
floor. Harrison finished fourth overall on the event and led UK with a
season-high and career-tying mark of 9.8, while Gross followed close
behind with a 9.725. Hedges set a career high with a 9.725, while
sophomore Kayla Sienkowski went 9.7. Freshman Shelby Hilton made her
second-consecutive floor lineup and went 9.675, while Hartley completed
the UK rotation with a 9.375.
Kentucky started the night
on vault, posting a team score of 48.75, just tenths off its
season-high mark on the event. Harrison, who finished tied for fourth
overall on vault, paced UK with a career-high 9.825, while fellow
sophomore Holly Cunningham earned a career high with a 9.8. Senior
Storey Morris, who was vaulting for only the fourth time collegiately,
and freshman Kenzie Hedges each posted a 9.775. Hilton and Gross
completed the rotation, going 9.575 and 9.425, respectively.
The
Wildcats finished just a few hundredths of a point away from setting a
season high on uneven bars after gathering a 48.425 as a team. Senior
co-captain Morris led the Wildcats and finished tied fourth overall at
the meet with a season-high mark of 9.8, followed by freshman Sara
Shipley, who earned a career-high 9.675. Senior Whitney Rose continued
her consistency on bars with a 9.65, while Harrison grabbed the same
score for a career-high mark. Gross went fifth in the lineup and scored
9.65, while sophomore Kayla Hartley wrapped up UK’s scoring with a
9.525.
The Wildcats also showed improvement on balance
beam with a team score of 48.275. Morris again led UK with a 9.725,
while Harrison grabbed a season-high 9.7. Sophomores Cunningham and
Sienkowski followed, going 9.65 and 9.6, respectively, while Gross went
9.6 and Hedges earned an 8.6.
Florida (3-0, 1-0 SEC) took
home event titles on each event with Kytra Hunter winning the vault,
uneven bars and balance beam titles, while Marissa King won floor
exercise. Hunter also took home the all-around crown with a 39.475.
Kentucky
will be in action again when it travels to face Illinois-Chicago on
Saturday, Jan. at 6 p.m. ET. UK’s next home meet will be Friday, Feb.
10 against defending National Champion Alabama. The meet will the
Crimson Tide will kickoff at 7 p.m. ET inside Memorial Coliseum.
Team Results
1) UF 196.275; 2) UK 194.075
VAULT Results
1)
Kytra Hunter (UF) 9.925, 2) Ashanée Dickerson (UF) 9.900, 3) Nicole
Ellis (UF) 9.850, 4) Alaina Johnson (UF) 9.825, Audrey Harrison (UK)
9.825, 6) Holly Cunningham (UK) 9.800, 7) Jamie Shisler (UF) 9.775,
Storey Morris (UK) 9.775, Kenzie Hedges (UK) 9.775, 10) Marissa King
(UF) 9.700, 11) Shelby Hilton (UK) 9.575, 12) Alexis Gross (UK) 9.425
BARS Results
1)
Kytra Hunter (UF) 9.875, Marissa King (UF) 9.875, 3) Alaina Johnson
(UF) 9.850, 4) Nicole Ellis (UF) 9.800, Storey Morris (UK) 9.800, 6)
Mackenzie Caquatto (UF) 9.775, 7) Ashanée Dickerson (UF) 9.725, 8) Sara
Shipley (UK) 9.675, 9) Whitney Rose (UK) 9.650, Audrey Harrison (UK)
9.650, Alexis Gross (UK) 9.650, 12) Kayla Hartley (UK) 9.525
BEAM Results
1)
Kytra Hunter (UF) 9.850, 2) Alaina Johnson (UF) 9.775, 3) Randy
Stageberg (UF) 9.750, Rachel Spicer (UF) 9.750, 5) Storey Morris (UK)
9.725, 6) Marissa King (UF) 9.700, Audrey Harrison (UK) 9.700, 8)
Ashanée Dickerson (UF) 9.650, Holly Cunningham (UK) 9.650, 10) Kayla
Sienkowski (UK) 9.600, Alexis Gross (UK) 9.600, 12) Kenzie Hedges (UK)
8.600
FLOOR Results
1) Marissa King (UF) 9.850, Ashanée
Dickerson (UF) 9.850, 3) Kytra Hunter (UF) 9.825, 4) Audrey Harrison
(UK) 9.800, 5) Amy Ferguson (UF) 9.750, 6) Randy Stageberg (UF) 9.725,
Alexis Gross (UK) 9.725, Kenzie Hedges (UK) 9.725, 9) Kayla Sienkowski
(UK) 9.700, 10) Shelby Hilton (UK) 9.675, 11) Kiersten Wang (UF) 9.525,
12) Kayla Hartley (UK) 9.375
All-Around Results
1)
Kytra Hunter (UF) 39.475, 2) Ashanée Dickerson (UF) 39.125, Marissa
King (UF) 39.125, 4) Audrey Harrison (UK) 38.975, 5) Alexis Gross (UK)
38.400
UK: VAULT: 48.750, BARS: 48.425, BEAM: 48.275, FLOOR: 48.625
VAULT:
Audrey Harrison 9.825, Holly Cunningham 9.800, Storey Morris 9.775,
Kenzie Hedges 9.775, Shelby Hilton 9.575, Alexis Gross 9.425
BARS:
Storey Morris 9.800, Sara Shipley 9.675, Whitney Rose 9.650, Audrey
Harrison 9.650, Alexis Gross 9.650, Kayla Hartley 9.525
BEAM: Storey
Morris 9.725, Audrey Harrison 9.700, Holly Cunningham 9.650, Kayla
Sienkowski 9.600, Alexis Gross 9.600, Kenzie Hedges 8.600
FLOOR:
Audrey Harrison 9.800, Alexis Gross 9.725, Kenzie Hedges 9.725, Kayla
Sienkowski 9.700, Shelby Hilton 9.675, Kayla Hartley 9.375
All-Around: Audrey Harrison 38.975, Alexis Gross 38.400
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