197.300 not bad for the opening meet and a lot better than last years start if I remember correctly.
Good memory! Last season they opened at West Virginia with an abysmal 195.90, their worst meet since the 2010 season. Tonight they opened up strong, although gave up probably 3 or 4 tenths on vault due to opening night jitters, especially for the freshmen. But they settled down quickly, and by the second event, uneven bars, they put up the highest bars scores of any team in the country so far this season.
Someone asked earlier in the week who to look out for on this team, now that Alex McMurtry is gone. I can safely say the top freshman of the night was Trinity Thomas, who came in 2nd in the all-around with a score of 39.475, behind senior Alicia Boren's, 39.575. Trinity had an almost perfect 9.95 on her first ever collegiate bars, and a 9.90 on the floor. Great scores for a first-meet freshman.
Gators were missing sophomore Alicia Baumann, who fell from the beam in practice yesterday and had to be taken to the hospital. She is going to be okay, but she was still very sore in the neck and sternum so that sat her out of tonight's meet. She was slotted to be in the bars and beam rotations.
Overall, great night for the Gators!