Feb. 19, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. — –
The No. 12 University of Kentucky gymnastics team swept all four events and won the individual all-around title against Ohio State in claiming a 195.850-193.975 victory Friday at Memorial Coliseum.
Kentucky (4-5) registered its best overall team score of the season with strong performances on the uneven bars and floor exercise.
The Wildcats posted their best team score of the season on the uneven bars at 49.125. Sophomore Story Morris (Tyler, Texas) and Jamie Reinmann (Johnston, Iowa) led the effort, sharing title honors with matching 9.850 scores. UK’s Whitney Rose (Frisco, Texas) tied a career-high with a 9.825 to join teammate Andrea Mitchell (Knoxville, Tenn.) in third place. Ohio State (1-6) posted a 48.575 on the bars and was led by Rebecca Best’s 9.775.
Kentucky missed its season-best score on the floor exercise by 0.025, winning the event by a 49.325-48.650 margin over the Buckeyes. Seniors Emily Green (Penefield, N.Y.) and Hillary Ferguson (Richmond, Ky.) and junior Jasmine Minion (Memphis, Tenn.) each charted 9.900 scores to share title honors. The score marked a season high for Ferguson and a career-high for Minion. Ohio State was led by Colleen Dean’s 9.800.
“We are getting better,” head coach Mo Mitchell said. “We started our second season tonight with the highest score of the year. I’m pleased with that. We want our scores to keep going up. We don’t want to count anything we did in the first six weeks. That’s our goal.”
Andrea Mitchell (Knoxville, Tenn.) claimed her first all-around title of the season with a 39.125 score, finishing ahead of a trio of Buckeyes. It marks the second all-around title of her career. Mitchell finished just ahead of OSU’s Best, who registered a 39.100.
UK finished ahead of Ohio State on the vault 48.950-48.550. Rose won her fourth consecutive individual title on the event with a 9.900 score. Green was second at 9.825, while Ferguson was third at 9.775. It marked the fourth time in seven meets this season Rose has posted a 9.900 or better on the vault. Ohio State was led by Hillary Dow and Best who each tallied a 9.750.
UK’s Green won her second title of the night with a 9.850 score on the beam. OSU’s Best took second at 9.800. Rose finished third with a season-high 9.750. Andrea Mitchell was fourth with a season-high 9.725. The Wildcats won the event 48.450-48.200.
“I was really pleased with our scores on the bars and floor,” Mo Mitchell said. “We dropped the ball a little bit with the vault and we just need to keep working hard on beam. We just had a few little mistakes we need to correct to get us over the 196 line. That’s where we need to be.”
Kentucky returns to Southeastern Conference action Friday, Feb. 26, when nationally ranked Alabama visits Memorial Coliseum for a 7 p.m. EST. start.
For complete coverage of Kentucky gymnastics, please visit ukathletics.com and follow “UKGymnastics” on Facebook and Twitter.
AGATE
Final Score: No. 14 Kentucky 195.850, Ohio State 193.975
Vault: 1. Whitney Rose (UK) 9.900; 2. Emily Green (UK) 9.825; 3. Hillary Ferguson (UK) 9.775.
Bars: T1. Storey Morris (UK) 9.850, Jamie Reimann (UK) 9.850; T3. Andrea Mitchell (UK) 9.825, Whitney Rose (UK) 9.825.
Beam: 1. Emily Green (UK) 9.520; 2. Rebecca Best (OSU) 9.800; 3. Whitney Rose (UK) 9.750.
Floor: T1. Jasmine Minion (UK) 9.900, Hillary Ferguson (UK) 9.900, Emily Green (UK) 9.900.
All-Around: 1. Andrea Mitchell (UK) 39.125; 2. Rebecca Best (UK) 39.100; 3. Taylor Jones (UK) 39.750.
UK Scores
Vault: Rose (9.900), Green (9.825), Ferguson (9.775), Mitchell (9.750), Reshard (9.700), Minion (9.575).
Bars: Reimann (9.850), Morris (9.850), Mitchell (9.825), Rose (9.825), Ciokajlo (9.775), Behrendt (9.250).
Beam: Green (9.850), Rose (9.750), Mitchell (9.725), Morris (9.650), Ferguson (9.575), Ciokajlo (9.100).
Floor: Ferguson (9.900), Green (9.900), Minion (9.900), Mitchell (9.825), Reshard (9.800), Rymer (9.750).
All-Around: Mitchell (39.125)
