LEXINGTON, Ky.? The Kentucky gymnastics squad posted convincing victories in each of its four events Saturday evening to take a 194.850-190.150 win over Bowling Green State in the 22nd annual ?Excite Nite? in Memorial Coliseum.
The Wildcats (1-0) were led by sophomore Rachel Riley?s 39.075 score on the all-around while senior co-captain Michelle Gales posted a 39.000 score. Kentucky was impressive in every event, but a striking 49.000 score on the beam landed the Cats the third highest score in school history.
?Our co-captains did a great job keeping the team focused and kept the pulse of the team alive tonight,? UK head coach Mo Muhammad said. ?They motivated everyone by encouraging and talking to them before and after each event.?
Kentucky opened its first rotation with a strong performance on the vault. All six of the Cats? gymnasts competing in the event registered scores of 9.500 or better with Krystle Cook?s first-place 9.925 finish leading the way. Cook?s score on vault tied a career-high in that event. Senior Staci O?Keefe also posted a strong 9.8 score in her first career showing on the vault.
?We have worked so much on focus, being aggressive and rhythm with the vault routines that I don?t think there was anything else in their minds when they were performing,? Muhammad said. ?That is exactly what we have been working for the past six months.?
The Wildcats continued with a strong team score of 48.250 on the bars, led by Cook and Gales, both of whom finished with 9.825 individual scores on the event. UK led 97.100-95.200 after two rotations heading into intermission.
During intermission the crowd was electrified by the University of Kentucky National Champion cheerleaders as they performed their national routine. Spectators also enjoyed entertainment by the ever-famous Raising Cain jugglers and TNT Tumbling and Trampoline.
Kentucky then moved to the beam where they tallied a team score of 49.000 with all six competitors earning scores of 9.700 or better. Freshman Kristen O?Shields, competing in her first collegiate meet, posted an event-high 9.850 on the beam. Gales and Riley each posted 9.800 scores in the event.
?I could not ask for anything more from the freshmen,? Muhammad said. ?They came out and overcame obstacles, performed routines and passes for the first time in front of a large crowd, they were very impressive tonight.?
UK finished the meet by thriving on its patented floor exercises to ignite the 4,141 spectators in Memorial Coliseum. Riley posted a 9.800 score on the floor exercise, while freshman Crissy Cannon registered a 9.775 score in her first collegiate meet.
?The final score just reiterates that we have a good team and we deserve to win,? said Muhammad. ?Our hard work has paid off and proves that hard work does bring success.? The Wildcats now hold a 6-1 advantage over the Falcons in the all-time series.
Kentucky returns to action Friday, January 14, when it hosts Arkansas in Memorial Coliseum. Meet time is set for 7:30 p.m. and fans can follow all of the action with live stats on ukathletics.com.
UK gymnastics season tickets are still available for just $10 online at ukathletics.com, in person at the athletics ticket office in Memorial Coliseum or by phone at 859-257-1818 or 1-800-927-CATS.
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