The No.1 ranked Florida gymastics team overcame a rare stumble by super freshman Kytra Hunter on the beam and easily won the Raleigh Regional with a score of 197.325. Florida's favorite whipping boy, THE Ohio State Buckeyes were a distance second with a score of 196.225. The score may sound somewhat close, but a full gymnastics point is like 2 touchdowns in football.
Junior Ashanee Dickerson came up huge for the Gators, winning the all-around with a score of 39.650 and taking first place honors on the vault and bars (tying teammate Alaina Johnson for the top score on both events). Johnson placed second in the all-around with a score of 39.550. Junior Marissa King took top honors on the beam with a 9.925 and Hunter earned the highoest scre on the floor exercise.
The Gators next travel to Duluth, Georgia (the site of their recent SEC Championship) to compete in the NCAA Championships April 20-22. Twelve teams (top two teams from each of the six regionals) will compete on Friday, April 20, in two rotations, with the three highest scoring teams in each rotation advancing to the Super Six to compete for the national title the following evening.