Title eludes gymnastics again

ATHENS, Ga. — It's becoming an old and repetitive mantra for Florida's gymnastics team.

Wait for next year.

That's all the Gators can do after Friday night's disappointing fourth-place finish at the NCAA Super Six. Florida suffered a fall on bars by Maranda Smith on the first performance of the meet and never recovered, finishing with a 196.70. It was Florida's lowest score in over two months.

"That was a tough start," Gators coach Rhonda Faehn said. "Our athletes got a little bit tight. They got a little bit tense."

The host Georgia Bulldogs, backed by a rowdy hometown crowd at sold out Stegeman Coliseum, captured their fourth consecutive national title and ninth overall by posting a 197.45. Utah finished second with a score of 197.125, Stanford was third at 197.75, LSU fifth with a total of 196.35 while Alabama finished sixth with a 196.125.

"It's hard," Florida's Amanda Castillo said. "We worked so hard. We were hoping to be first, not fourth. But you've got to go back to the gym and work hard."

Florida was seeded second overall and ranked in the top three all season and had its sights on the national championship.

"When you set your goals as high as wanting to win the national championship," Faehn said, "anything less than that is a disappointment."

Florida was unable to handle the pressure of performing on NCAA gymnastics biggest stage. This was evident when Smith fell on the first performance of the night. Smith, who transferred to Florida after competing at UCLA in 2006, scored a 9.25 on the event.

"I was thinking, 'Oh, no,' ’’ Gators senior Ashley Reed said.

Georgia, meanwhile, was performing on floor to open the meet. That instantly got the Bulldogs fans riled up.

"I'm not going to lie," Castillo said. "It was extremely loud. I let it get to me a little bit. I shouldn't have. It was really loud. By far the loudest crowd I've ever experienced."

Florida fumbled its way to a 49.05 on bars and was already in a huge .470 hole after the first rotation. The Gators carried their nerves over to beam, where they scored a 48.850. The Gators were in sixth place during their bye, but bounced back with strong performances on floor (49.475) and vault (49.225) to finish the meet.

"After the first two events we realized we needed to settle down, go back out and have fun out there," Faehn said. "They acknowledged that too that they were a little tight and let everything get to them. We finished up tremendous. It shows the toughness and spirit that they didn't give up."

The fourth-place finish continued a recent string of underachieving performances at the NCAAs for the Gators. Florida has now finished at or below its seed in four consecutive NCAA Championships.

"It's hard," Reed said. "I've seen it for four years. You've got to have momentum on your side. We got into a deep hole after the first two events."

Faehn said there is only one way to handle the Gators recent disappointments at the NCAAs.

"Just keep on plugging away," she said. "Look at (UCLA head coach) Valorie (Kondos). It took her seven years at UCLA before she finally broke through."