April 22, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – University of Kentucky sophomore Whitney Rose tied for 16th on vault with a 9.850 at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships on Thursday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on the campus of the University of Florida.

Rose does not qualify for final-round competition as she did not finish in the top four finishers on vault during her session. She was UK’s first performer at nationals since 2006 when Krystle Cook finished 21st on vault.

The Frisco, Texas native tied nine other gymnasts for 16th-place. Florida’s Ashanee Dickerson finished first in the event with a 9.950. Stanford’s Blair Ryland and Missouri’s Blair Ryland tied for second at 9.925. Six gymnasts tied for fourth at 9.900.

“Whitney did a great job,” UK head coach Mo Mitchell said. “She performed well on vault all season long and did a great job of representing Kentucky at nationals. She helped our program take a step in the right direction. Hopefully, now she has helped paved the way for our team for next season.”

Alabama (196.850), Florida (196.775) and Stanford (196.300) advanced out of the second semifinal session to join UCLA (196.875), Utah (196.625) and Oklahoma (196.550) who qualified earlier Thursday. The six teams will compete in Friday’s final round at 6 p.m. ET.

Individual finals are scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.

Additional photos of Rose’s experience at nationals are available at “UKGymnastics” on Facebook.