By Wendy Haun
Register Sports Writer
LEXINGTON — Richmond native Hillary Ferguson had just one teammate to go and was sitting in first place on Friday in a meet with George Washington and Illinois State at Memorial Coliseum in the floor exercise with a 9.85. However, teammate Emily Green stepped up and delivered a special performance, scoring 9.9, leaving Ferguson with the silver in her signature event. “I love to do floor and at the end of the day, I just love to perform,” the University of Kentucky senior said. “If it comes with a title, that’s great. If it doesn’t, that’s great too.” Ferguson also picked up a second-place finish on the vault, tying with teammates Andrea Mitchell and Phylicia Reshard and Illinois State’s Tori Sarantakis, all of whom had scores of 9.8. The vault was a truly trying event for Ferguson, a graduate of Madison Central, this season. She underwent two surgeries this summer — one on her groin and one on her hip to repair old injuries — and didn’t begin training until late fall. “For her to put it together and compete at every meet, it’s incredible,” UK coach Mo Mitchell said. “It’s a testament to what kind of athlete she is. I knew she would be ready if she wanted to be ready. She’s definitely a phenomenal athlete.” Ferguson was honored with fellow seniors Green, Jacque Behrendt, Jamie Reimann and Emilie Rymer in the Gym Cats’ final home meet. However, it might not be the last time those five seniors grace the Memorial Coliseum floor. Kentucky is playing host to the NCAA Regionals on April 10, and with a strong showing at the SEC Championships on March 27, UK could find itself with home advantage and the ultimate prize on the line: a trip to the NCAA Championships for the first time in UK history. “We’ve got a great team and we’ve done some great things and I’m just hoping we can finish off the year better than we started it,” Ferguson said. “That would be the biggest accomplishment for me as a senior.” During her career at UK, the Madison Central graduate had 20 career individual titles — just one less than Green — and three this season. She won the vault on Jan. 9 against Texas Woman’s with a 9.85 and won the floor exercise against Ohio State on Feb. 29 and Kent State on March 5, both with 9.9 scores. “She’s had a great career here,” Mitchell said. “She’s been a super-positive influence for kids in the community. She’s worked hard and I think she’s going to go out with a band.” UK will have one more meet in the regular season — next Friday at Oregon State — before the SEC Championships.
