In front of the largest crowd yet assembled for an Excite Night, the Kentucky gymnastics team shook off some nerves and put up its best opening night score ever to cruise to victory over three other schools.
“The atmosphere was amazing,” Coach Tim Garrison said of his team’s first appearance in Rupp Arena on Friday before an announced crowd of 10,006. “It was everything we hoped that it would feel like. … The fans were awesome. The arena felt like a postseason meet. For me, it felt like a postseason environment.”
And that might have been the plan all along.