No. 23 UK Gymnastics (6-6, 1-6) took a loss to the No. 2 Florida Gators (7-2, 5-2) on Friday, but put up a tough fight losing by just less than a point; 197.525-196.650. It was a record night for the Cats, with four gymnasts matching or beating their career highs, two of which getting season highs.

The Cats’ 196.65 was good for third in UK’s all-time team performance list.

Cori Rechenmacher led UK on the balance beam scoring a 9.875, while Montana Whittle scored a season-high of 9.85. Alex Hyland followed with a 9.85 and freshman Sidney Dukes had a solid performance of 9.825.

Danaea Davis led the team on vault getting a career high of 9.825 and landing the second spot. Katrina Coca preformed before Davis and scored a 9.65. Sydney Waltz competed third and earned a score of 9.7. Katie Stuart finished for the Cats with a score of 9.825, while teammate Aubree Rosa scored 9.775.

The Cats battled on the floor exercise as well. Taylor Puryear and Dukes both ended their performances with a 9.9, a season-high for Puryear and a career-high for Dukes. Hyland also finished the night with a career high of 9.85 on the floor.

Dukes claimed SEC Freshman of this week most likely because of her performance in this week’s match.

Just last week UK scored the team’s second highest score all-time with a 196.7 but lost to the Razorbacks. Head coach Tim Garrison said the two high scores are a great boost for the team’s confidence moving forward.

“Tonight feels good, and it feels even better to know we have made progress,” Garrison said. “I don’t think this was a fluke or that we got the benefit scoring. This is our team. This is who we are now.”

UK will end its regular season Friday at 7 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum. The Cats will host the Iowa State Cyclones and will honor its four seniors.