TUSCALOOSA | The University of Alabama gymnastics team was in no mood to make history Friday night, even if the gymnasts didn't know how close they were to putting a black mark on the program's storied history.

The fifth-ranked Crimson Tide avoided losing to Florida at home in a dual meet for the first time since 1979, coming from a quarter of a point behind in the final rotation with a strong floor exercise performance to knock off the third-ranked Gators 197.225 to 197.125.

The come-from-behind victory was pulled off with major contributions from three young gymnasts who brought the Coleman Coliseum crowd of more than 11,000 to its feet for the dramatic finish.

Freshman Kayla Hoffman ignited the fans with a sizzling floor routine halfway through the final rotation, drawing loud cheers as she bopped and tumbled her way to a 9.95. Kassi Price added more fuel, scoring 9.9. Fellow sophomore Morgan Dennis bounded high and far to close the show with a 9.925.

'We went out there, and we were aggressive and it paid off in the end,' Dennis said. 'We needed to go for the big score.'

Hoffman knew it was up to her to get things started if Alabama was going to rally.

'It's definitely in the back of my mind if I don't hit my full potential it's not going to be a big score,' she said. '[The coaches] have talked to us about the home advantage and how we can get the crowd into it.'

While Alabama was closing fast on the floor, Florida, the nation's top-ranked team on balance beam, was steady on its best event. The Gators had no major deductions on beam, but left an opening with some imprecise landings.

'When it's a tight, close competition like that you have to take away any kind of deduction you can,' Florida coach Rhonda Faehn said. 'Without a doubt no one likes losing, and especially here. Our athletes, I thought, did an amazing job.'

The Tide put up season-best scores on vault (49.45), beam (49.275) and floor (49.525) on the way to its best overall score of the season.

'Florida is one of the most talented teams in the country,' Alabama coach Sarah Patterson said. 'They are defending SEC champions. They have the highest score in the country.

'[UA gymnasts] are now just starting to get it that if they perform their best they have an opportunity to compete with the best. It means everything.'

The Tide got off to a rocking start on vault, with Hoffman going 9.95 and Dennis adding a 9.9. By the end of the first rotation, Alabama led 49.45 to 49.025 after Florida struggled on the uneven parallel bars.

Alabama fell behind with its own troubles on bars, going 48.975 with three gymnasts scoring 9.75 or lower and Price producing the top score at 9.85. Florida went 49.525 on vault and took the lead 98.55 to 98.425 midway through the meet.

The Gators enlarged their advantage in the third rotation, scoring 49.4 on floor while Alabama had a solid beam set that included a 9.9 from Price and three other scores of 9.85 or better. That left Florida up 147.95 to 147.7 going into the final rotation.

'We didn't now know exactly how far behind we were,' Price said. 'We knew we were a little. It really pushed us to do our best.'

As for the history lesson, no Tide gymnast was even close to being born the last time Florida beat the Tide in a dual meet in Tuscaloosa.

'I had no idea,' Hoffman said.

Price tied Florida's Corey Hartung for the individual all-around title, with both scoring 39.5.

Alabama will travel to California next weekend. The Tide will face Stanford and Nebraska in a tri-meet next Friday in Palo Alto, Calif., then go to UCLA to face the Bruins, Arkansas and Cal State-Fullerton on Sunday in Los Angeles.



Reach Tommy Deas at tommy.deas@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0224.



ALABAMA SCORES

Vault

Casey Overton 9.875

Kaitlin White 9.775

Ricki Lebegern 9.875

Kayla Hoffman 9.95

Kassi Price 9.85

Morgan Dennis 9.9



Uneven Parallel Bars

Kaitlin White 9.825

Ricki Lebegern 9.825

Morgan Dennis 9.7

Kayla Hoffman 9.75

Terin Humphrey 9.725

Kassi Price 9.85



Balance Beam

Casey Overton 9.8

Amanda Montgomery 9.725

Ricki Lebegern 9.85

Brittany Magee 9.85

Kassi Price 9.9

Morgan Dennis 9.875



Floor Exercise

Ricki Lebegern 9.875

Casey Overton 9.675

Kaitlin White 9.875

Kayla Hoffman 9.95

Kassi Price 9.9

Morgan Dennis 9.925



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