DULUTH, Ga. ? The Kentucky Wildcats scored a 193.850 to finish seventh in the 24th Southeastern Conference Gymnastics Championship in Duluth, Ga., Saturday night. Georgia claimed its third conference title in four years and its 13th in school history in front of 8,570 fans at the Arena at Gwinnett Center.
?The meet was awesome,? said first-year head coach ?Mo? Muhammad. ?There was a lot of energy and great gymnastics. We didn?t do as well as we could, because of the beam, but we are going to make some changes in the off-season that should help us in that department. We could have caught Arkansas for sixth-place in the meet with a better beam performance.?
UK junior Michelle Gales once again led the Cats with a 39.250 All-Around score, her sixth consecutive 39.000 or better All-Around performance. The Atlanta native is in position to qualify for the All-Around in the Central Region Championships, which will take place in Baton Rouge, La., in two weeks.
?Michelle did great,? Muhammad said. ?She held her own in this competition. She showed what we are trying to get our program to be like. I?m excited about her coming back next season to lead this team again. We are going to do some things in the off-season that will make us more competitive as a team in the SEC.?
Kentucky started the meet on bars in the second rotation after receiving a bye in the first rotation. Gales, freshman Krystle Cook and senior Julie Joy each posted 9.800 scores in the event. Freshman Alison Sarucci recorded a 9.750 in her first SEC Championships meet and the Cats opened with a 48.775 team score.
The Cats moved to beam in the third rotation where sophomore Bethany Strauch led off with a 9.625. Junior Kara Prestigiacomo followed Strauch with a 9.700 performance and Gales posted Kentucky?s highest score in the event with a 9.750 to lead the Cats to a 47.375 total. UK held a 96.150 after two events.
The fifth rotation featured Kentucky on floor exercise, which was one of its best events in the regular-season. The Wildcats scored its highest event team total of the evening with a 48.900, despite competing with a lineup that featured four freshmen, one junior and one senior. Gales recorded a 9.900 on floor, while freshmen Cook and Riley posted a pair of 9.800 scores. Kentucky trailed Arkansas, 145.575 ? 145.050, after three events each.
The Cats held its third and final bye in the sixth rotation and returned on vault for the final rotation of the night. Prestigiacomo led UK off with a 9.700 vault, while Joy turned in a 9.725 and Gales a 9.800. Cook, who is Kentucky?s leading vaulter on the season, registered a 9.750. Junior Lindsay Cameron was the Cats? final performer of the night as she tallied a 9.800 and Kentucky scored a 48.775 on vault. Arkansas pulled away from the Cats with a 49.150 on bars to finish with a 194.825 to Kentucky?s 193.850.
The Alabama Crimson Tide came into the meet looking to defend its 2003 crown and repeat as SEC Champions for the first time in school history. The Georgia Bulldogs, who posted a 6-0 record in the regular-season, had a different outcome in mind.
Bama recorded a 49.675 on floor exercise in the fourth rotation behind sophomore Ashley Miles? perfect 10.0 score that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Georgia responded in the fifth rotation by posting a 49.525 on beam and the Bulldogs held a 148.450 ? 148.325 advantage over the Cimson Tide after three events each. Alabama competed in vault in the sixth rotation with Georgia resting on a bye. The Tide tallied a 49.625 on vault and forced the GymDogs to score a 49.500 or better on the floor exercise in the final rotation to tie or win the meet.
UGA answered the challenge with a 49.725 on floor exercise behind a perfect 10.0 performance by senior Marline Stephens to claim the meet title in dramatic fashion.
Kentucky Scores Vault ? 48.775 Kara Prestigiacomo 9.700 Julie Joy 9.425 Alison Sarucci 9.725 Michelle Gales 9.800 Krystle Cook 9.750 Lindsay Cameron 9.800 Bars ? 48.775 Staci O?Keefe 9.475 Alison Sarucci 9.750 Krystle Cook 9.800 Sarai Sevier 9.625 Michelle Gales 9.800 Julie Joy 9.800 Beam ? 47.375 Bethany Strauch 9.625 Kara Prestigiacomo 9.700 Julie Joy 8.900 Michelle Gales 9.750 Rachel Riley 9.150 Staci O?Keefe 9.150 Floor ? 48.900 Alison Sarucci 9.275 Krystle Cook 9.800 Sarai Sevier 9.700 Rachel Riley 9.800 Julie Joy 9.700 Michelle Gales 9.900 Team Finish Georgia 198.175 Alabama 197.950 LSU 197.275 Florida 197.225 Auburn 195.925 Arkansas 194.825 KENTUCKY 193.825
