NOTES
This Weekend?s Meet
The No. 18 University of Kentucky gymnastics team (7-2, 1-2) hosts No. 5 Florida, Fri., at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum. The meet will mark the 47th meeting between the two schools.
Meet Promotions/Info
The meet has been designated Father-Daughter Night. Fathers are encouraged to bring their daughters to the meet with those in attendance having a chance to win prizes and giveaways courtesy of our sponsors. Other promotions include — Girl Scouts receive free admission and 200 sets of trading cards will be given away at the gazebos. The junior class of the gymnastics squad will also be signing autographs following the meet. Tickets for the event are $5 for adults with $2 tickets available for youth and seniors. Children up to the age of five get in free. Parking Structure 5 will be open for fan parking from 6:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Rankings
The Wildcats check in at No. 18 in the recent GymInfo Poll (2/13). All seven schools in the SEC who sponsor gymnastics are represent in the rankings. Defending National Champion No. 1 Georgia, No. 3 Alabama, No. 5 Florida, No. 13 LSU, No. 17 Auburn, No. 18 Kentucky and No. 21 Arkansas all reside in the top 25.
History
The last time UK defeated Florida was 1998. Later that season, Florida went on to finish runner-up at the NCAA Championships.
Regional Rankings
Regionally (Central) UK ranks fourth behind national powers Alabama, LSU and Auburn. Individually, Krystle Cook ranks fourth in all-around competition, second on bars and ninth on floor. Kristen O?Shields and Heather Hite ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, on beam. The team ranks second behind No. 2 Alabama for beam average (48.475).
UK Gymnast of the Week
Sophomore Kristen O?Shields was named UK Gymnast of the Week as nominated by the coaching staff. O?Shields tied a season-best on beam with a 9.825 vs. LSU last weekend. The Cartersville, Ga. native currently ranks fourth regionally and 21st nationally for season beam average (9.78).
Scouting Florida (8-2, 2-2)
The Gators are coming off of a quad-meet victory last weekend vs. West Virginia, North Carolina and Arkansas. In the victory, UF put up an impressive season-best team score of 196.950. Individually, freshman Corey Hartung ranks 18th nationally (39.081) in all-around competition. Other notables include; Samantha Lutz (t-23rd floor, 24th bars), Chantelle Tousek (t-10th beam) and Tiffany Murray (t-10th vault). At last season?s dual meet the Gators defeated the Cats in Gainesville, 196.925-193.150.
Looking Ahead
The Cats travel Fayetteville, Ark. for an SEC showdown vs. nationally-ranked Arkansas, Fri., Feb. 24, 6 p.m. CT. The meet will be televised on a taped-delayed basis by FOX Sports South and shown March 4, at 6 p.m. ET.
