Utah Gymnasts Will Host No. 1 Florida On Friday

March 5, 2007

SALT LAKE CITY -

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THE MEET

No. 7 Utah (8-2) hosts No. 1 Florida (12-0-1) on Friday, Mar. 9 starting at 7 p.m. in the Huntsman Center. Tickets to the meet are available online, by phone (801-581-UTIX) and at the box office.

QUICK STICKS

Utah and Florida last met at the 2006 NCAA Championships, where the Utes finished second and the Gators fourth ... Utah is 6-0 in the Huntsman Center this season ... Utah and Florida have met three common opponents this season. Utah is 1-2 against Arkansas, Georgia and Nebraska (beating Arkansas and losing to Georgia and Nebraska), while Florida is 3-0-1 against the trio (beating Arkansas twice, Nebraska, and tying with Georgia) ... Utah's No. 7 national ranking is its lowest since the 2003 Utes entered postseason play ranked No. 8. That team went on to win the NCAA regional title and finish sixth at the NCAA Championships.

UTE NOTES

Seven-time All-American Nicolle Ford hopes to return to the bar lineup as soon as this Friday, after sitting out last week with an ankle injury suffered against Michigan on Feb. 23. She is listed as doubtful on the other three events. Ford owns Utah's best scores of the year on beam (9.925) and floor (9.95), and the second-best mark in the all-around (39.625) ... Freshman two-event starter Annie DiLuzio is doubtful to compete for the third straight meet with an Achilles strain ... Kristina Baskett hopes to return to the all-around lineup for the Florida meet if her foot injury continues to improve. She was limited to vault and bars Sunday at Nebraska and has not trained for over a week ... Utah did not count a fall at Nebraska for just the third time all year. It snapped a string of five meets in which Utah had to count a fall ... Ashley Postell has scored a 9.90 in six of her seven floor routines ... Three Utes have combined for all of the team's individual titles this year: Baskett (14), Postell (12) and Ford (11) ... Baskett has won at least one individual title in every meet to date ... Baskett has the best all-around mark by a Ute this year (39.70), followed by Ford (39.625) and Postell (39.55).

SUPER SIX

Utah's six freshmen have come on strong of late and five competed Sunday at Nebraska, combining to "hit" 11-of-11 routines. The only one who did not compete, injured Annie DiLuzio, normally starts on vault and floor. Earning career highs on the road were Daria Bijak on beam (9.80) and floor (9.775), Jamie Deetscreek on vault (9.65) and beam (9.75), Stephanie Neff on floor (9.80) and Sarah Shire on floor (9.80).

UTE RANKINGS

Kristina Baskett is ranked No. 5 in the nation on both vault and bars (tied) this week, with regional qualifying scores of 9.910 and 9.895, respectively. Utah's trend toward fading in the second half of meets is portrayed in the apparatus rankings. The Utes rate fourth on bars (49.255 RQS) and fifth on vault (49.265), but check in at No. 8 on floor (49.050) and No. 9 on beam (48.860).

LAST WEEK

A freshman-dominated lineup performed well, but lost to Nebraska 196.675-196.100. Injuries to starters forced freshmen to compete 11 routines, and they hit them all. Utah trailed by less than a tenth of a point (.075) going into the final rotation before losing ground on floor. The Utes hit their first 23 routines and did not count a fall. Injured all-arounder Kristina Baskett competed on two events, scoring a 9.90 on vault and 9.925 on bars. She won Utah's only event title of the night (on bars).

SERIES SHORTS

Utah holds a 27-6 all-time advantage over Florida and is 15-0 against the Gators in the Huntsman Center. Since 2001, Utah leads 4-2. The teams split last year, with Florida winning in Gainesville (197.325-196.675) and Utah responding with a victory at the NCAA Championships in Corvallis, Ore. (196.800-196.275).

GATOR REPORT

Florida (12-0-1) has been ranked No. 1 in the nation for most of the season ... tie came against Georgia on Jan. 27 (197.25) ... Florida went undefeated in SEC play (5-0-1) for the first time in school history ... Gators have seven All-Americans on their roster ... top all-arounders and their season high: Ashley Reed (39.675), Amanda Castillo (39.50) and Corey Hartung (39.375) ... Melanie Sinclair is ranked No. 1 in the nation on the uneven bars this week (9.955 RQS) ... head coach Rhonda Faehn is 92-25-1 in her fifth year.

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