The scores continued to soar for the Arizona gymnastics team Friday night in Gainesville, Fla., against the Gators. The wins, however, remained elusive.
No. 7 Florida registered the highest score in Gator history with the 198.025-196.65 win over No. 9 Arizona in front of 1,536 people in the O'Connell Center.
"It's kind of interesting - these people keep having these amazing meets against us," Arizona head coach Bill Ryden said about Florida's record-breaking night. "We're headed in the right direction. We're focused on coming down the stretch."
The Wildcats (7-5-1, 2-3-1 Pacific 10 Conference) extended their streak of scoring 196 or better to seven consecutive meets in the loss, and are guaranteed a spot in the postseason.
"You either win or you learn. When you don't win, you learn why," Ryden said.
In team scoring, Florida took all four events, including vault (49.375-48.95). The UA was ranked fifth in the nation leading into the meet, with a season average of 49.225.
"We would have liked to score a little higher," Ryden said. "We know we have to earn it, and that's the way we want it."
Junior Monica Bisordi finished second on beam (9.925) in Arizona's highest individual finish. Bisordi (39.425) and senior Andi McCabe (39.4) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the all-around, while freshman Aubrey Taylor continued to score well, taking sixth (38.925).
It took the Wildcats 13 hours to reach Gainesville Thursday night. They arrived after 1 a.m. local time. Their flight had to be re-routed because of tornadoes in Texas and a mechanical difficulty departing Tucson. Arizona's luggage did not arrive until noon on Friday before the meet.
"To deal with all of that and still come through and put down a pretty good performance in a very hostile arena, the team did a very good job," Ryden said.
Arizona plays host to another SEC team when Arkansas comes to Tucson on Friday.