After much anticipation, fans came to Rupp Arena on Friday night to watch the UK gymnastics team in the “Excite Night” match.

In their first match of the season, the Cats came out on top over Ball State, George Washington and Southeast Missouri with a final score of 196.075, earned in front of a raucous crowd of 10,006 at Rupp Arena.

Kentucky’s score of 196.075 was a school record for the most points scored in a season-opening meet.

The Cats finished 1.6 points ahead of Ball State. George Washington and Southeast Missouri finished third and fourth, respectively.

Aside from the event itself, fans were ecstatic at the sight of Nickelodeon star Lizzy Greene. Greene is a popular figure with millions of social media followers and Kids’ Choice Award nominations.

This is a team coming in with high expectations. The Cats came into the match ranked at No. 10 in the Coaches’ Poll, which is Kentucky’s highest ever ranking in their 37-year history.

Three players that had a lot of spotlight coming into the matchup were Mollie Korth, Alex Hyland, and Sidney Dukes. Korth and Hyland were All-Americans who represented Kentucky at the NCAA National Championships last year. All three girls were also All-SEC players, with Korth being last year’s SEC Freshman of the Year.

Dukes showcased her skills by having the highest overall score in the match with a 9.9 on the floor. The crowd was the most excited it had been all night when she topped all other scorers.

“There’s a lot of nerves and anxiety, and it’s just you up there by yourself so you just have to rely on your training,” Dukes said. “This is definitely a building block for us to use at other meets.”

Korth was the only all-around player deployed by head coach Jim Garrison. Last year, Korth was a second team All-American in the all-around and first team on the bars.

Although Korth is best known for her bar skills, the crowd was shocked when Korth received a 9.1. Nonetheless, she was able to tie with fellow teammate Danaea Davis for the overall high score in the vault with a 9.85.

Hyland met up to her expectations stemming back to last season with an overall beam score of 9.85. During last year’s SEC championships, Hyland was the beam champion with a 9.95 and was 13th in the country.

“As a starting point and a measuring stick, I feel really good about today’s results,” Garrison said. “We also liked experimenting and trying different lineups.”

The Cats will look to continue their early success on the road against the University of Arkansas on Jan. 12 at 8 p.m.