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Gator fans, get ready for a wild meet – it’s Rivalry Night in Athens! No. 8 Florida will face the No. 21 Gymdogs tonight.

The last time these two teams met in Athens, disaster struck – two Gator athletes incurred season-ending injuries on the Stegeman Coliseum floor in warmups, including Ellie Lazzari, who could be poised to make her AA return tonight two years later. Gymdog at the time, but later Gator, Rachel Baumann also earned a 10.0 on floor that night after Georgia absolutely imploded on beam, while Florida still somehow eked out a normal score despite having to rearrange lineups last minute.

Everyone will be hoping for a much less eventful meet tonight, although Florida is certainly looking to post another improved score and put together a truly complete meet. There’s not much danger of losing to Georgia, but if they can’t compete cleanly, the Gymdogs could sneak up on them. Here’s what to look for to gauge the Gators’ success as we move into February:

• Better vault landings, especially from those with really dynamic, clean vaults like Ferris and Pilgrim
  • The vault squad definitely started to dial it in last week, but key performers like Ferris and Lazzari undercooked it a bit. They need to find their sweet spot by the end of the month, but they’d definitely rather overdo it than under – no more sat vaults, please!
• Clean bars routines from the full lineup – no misses, no overarched handstands, no saves – and stuck landings
  • This team can be a bars team if they can hit a fully clean lineup of six, but illness has clearly been a problem in early season keeping them from getting all their reps in and competing at 100%. The Gators need six hits tonight to show improvement, especially as strong as Georgia is on bars.
• A lineup order that works on bars – each routine building from the last, with a strong leadoff score above 9.85
  • Again, this team can be a bars team with six clean routines. Lineup order is something Rowland and Field are clearly still playing with, and maybe even composition – Arana could still enter back into the lineup after a miss on opening night, she has a quality routine if she can hit when it counts. But they need to find the right six in the right order by the time March rolls around, especially the right leadoff to help them build from a higher place. This team is too good to get stuck in the 9.8s.
• Nguyen breaking 9.9 on beam consistently
  • She was rewarded last week with her first 9.9+ score in her career – to do it again against her former team tonight would make it even sweeter
• More than just hits – strong, confident, “I own this beam” routines from the whole squad, but especially Lazzari and Wong
  • Hurd’s absence in the lineup last week was a little surprising, but regardless of who is in the lineup, they need to own the beam both at home and away. They are the number 2 beam team in the country – let’s start acting like it. I’m especially looking at Wong’s series, which has been problematic for her both last season and this season, as well as during the elite season in between.
• A strong leadoff routine on floor from Brubach, followed by higher scores from each subsequent athlete
  • Brubach is a great leadoff energy-wise, but she needs to set the tone execution-wise as well. Landings of opening passes have looked a little funky for several regular floor performers – February is when those need to start looking more comfortable.
• High-energy performances from the entire lineup, especially at away meets
  • They knocked this out of the park last week, but it’s really most important when they’re on the road, so keep your eyes peeled tonight for high-energy dance and showmanship.
• Ferris healthy and nailing whatever events she’s ready for
  • Whether she only does vault this season or is able to add floor later on, what Ferris does compete needs to be clean. February is the time for her to find that vault landing and decide whether floor is in the cards or not. If it is, I wouldn’t expect it before the last meet of the month – the all-important LSU meet.
• Lazzari’s expanded presence
  • Three events last week indicates that she’s well on her way back to the AA, but vault did not go as planned. Maybe tonight she drops back to two events? But maybe she’s ready to have another go. Going to Stegeman and knocking it out of park, whatever events she competes, will be a big psychological win for her, two years post-injury. She doesn’t have anything to prove, but that memory has to stick in her mind just a little bit.

Not all of this list needs to be checked off tonight, but we are looking for progress. February is considered mid-season now, so we want to see continued upward movement if this slow and steady, marathon-not-a-sprint approach from Rowland is going to work.

It all begins tonight on the SEC Network at 7pm ET, but if you can’t tune in, are watching another meet, or don’t have access, we’ll have all the quick hits here for you.

6:55pm: Broadcast will be starting soon! Live scoring link tonight appears to be broken, so I apologize if I’m a little late on score updates.

7:02pm: Broadcast is live!

Here we go, rotation 1 – Georgia on vault, Florida on bars.

LaClair, UGA VT: Yfull, a little loose in the air, small hop back.

Blakely, UB: Camera error caused us to miss her first handstand, some weirdness on her Maloney but pak was better. Final handstands were alright, double front was a little scary, lunge forward. Not her best, but not as bad as it could have been?

Cashman, VT: Looks like a little wait here? Not sure what for. Judges are conferencing… this is a great sign for the rest of this meet….

Here she goes. Yfull, piked down at the end, little hop back. Yeah, slow mo shows how piked she is in the hips, that should be deducted pretty heavily.

Nguyen, UB: Maloney to pak, legs glued together, much easier than last week. DLO, a little step back. Starting over after that hiccup from Blakely, who only earned a 9.575.

Smith, VT: Yfull, very nice in the air but doesn’t get a whole lot of amplitude. Little hop in place on the landing.

Disidore, UB: Maloney to pak, very patient with it, easy swing. van Leeuwen is clean, a little fingertip catch maybe? DLO, sticks it! That’ll be a good one, although her handstands weren’t as good as I know she’s capable of.

Scott, VT: Yfull, fantastic amplitude, but a big bounce back.

Pilgrim, UB: Strong first handstand. Maloney to pak, legs absolutely pasted together. What gorgeous lines she has! Can’t tell about her last handstand, camera was too zoomed in on her face. Full in dismount – she sticks it cold! What a star.

Finnegan, VT: Y1.5, great distance, pretty clean in the air, a little off to the side but hops forward at an angle to be more centered, never went outside the lines though.

Lazzari, UB: First handstand maybe a little shy? Gorgeous Tkachev to open. Pak salto is super floaty, legs perfectly together. Last handstand looks good. Full in dismount is stuck! Should be 9.9+ easily – as Pilgrim should have been, but she got a 9.875.

Wahl, VT: Y1.5, big hop forward but pretty clean in the air.

Wong, UB: Okay, this needs to be a big one. Great first handstand. Maloney to pak, some leg sep on the pak, weird. van Leeuwen is better. DLO, little slide back. Not going to be as big as it needs to be, but should still be ahead of Georgia no problem.

AFTER ONE: UF 49.35, UGA 49.15

Bars scoring feels… odd. Not tight exactly, but just weird – too harsh on Pilgrim, perhaps not harsh enough on Wong? Hoping it stays relatively tight for the home team as well, and that the Gators get the benefit of the doubt on vault like some of the Gymdogs did. If judging is going to be iffy, it had better be consistently so!

Live scores are now working… although being a little bit glitchy? Hopefully they’ll straighten out before rotation two begins. Find them here.

7:23pm: Rotation two!

Draser, VT: Y1.5, not a lot of distance but basically stuck, WOW! Little bend in the knees in the air, but just a small adjustment with one foot on the landing. 9.9!!

Howard, UGA UB: Good first handstand. Piked Tkachev to overshoot, fine. Full pirouette is pretty clean, to double tuck dismount – stuck. That’s a strong leadoff for Georgia.

Lazzari, VT: Y1.5, stands it up this week! Little hop forward. Much better – we love to see that. Lovely form in the air as we get a slow-mo replay.

Wahl, UB: Maloney to pak, legs glued together pretty well. Final handstand was a little shy? DLO is stuck though.

Pilgrim, VT: Y1.5, very clean in the air, just a little hop almost in place. They look DIALED IN tonight. This is fantastic.

Snyder, UB: Great first handstand. Huge amplitude on the piked Tkachev, overshoot is fine. Full pirouette to double tuck, stuck!

Blakely, VT: Y1.5, amplitude is nice, just a sizeable hop forward. Some knees at the end of her flight, and some leg sep, but harder to see in real time than in slow-mo like we just saw.

7:30pm: Finnegan, UB: Solid first handstand. Big Ray, went too big with it and had to take an extra kip in between to regain her momentum. Transition to low is clean, full in dismount – just drills it.

Wong, VT: Yhalf-on, pike half off – a little off to the side and I think one foot over the line. Little hop back too, and she didn’t hold it very long? I don’t know if they’ll deduct her or not.

9.925 – that feels generous, but Florida will take it!

Scott, UB: Tkachev to pak, WOW she just floats it. van Leeuwen is lovely too, legs glued together. DLO is stuck cold – that will be a big score for the Gymdogs.

Ferris, VT: Bring us home, Danie! Y1.5, almost overcooked her punch and ended up with her hands just on the very end of the table, but pulled it off – clean in the air, just a bound forward on the landing.

Smith, UB: Maloney to pak – just gorgeous. Full in, has so much time to spot the landing and just drop it in. Absolutely incredible form.

AFTER TWO: UF 98.8, UGA 98.6

THAT is the kind of vault rotation I was hoping for from Florida tonight. Those vault landings are much closer to what we want to be seeing midseason, and they should continue improving. Wong is the only one who didn’t do exactly what I expected, but her vault also fluctuates typically during the season and then figures it out just before post, so I’m less concerned about her.

7:45pm: Rotation 3!

Wahl, UGA BB: They’re not letting her start just yet? Even though broadcast seems to believe she’s about to start.

Okay, here we go. Back handspring-back handspring-layout stepout (bhs bhs loso), rhythm was a little funky but she’s rock solid. Side somi is clean. Switch to split 3/4, clean 180s there. Roundoff 1.5 twist, just a little hop forward on the dismount.

Draser, FX: Interesting, no Brubach this week? Punch front to double back, clean landing, although the camera angle was garbage so it’s hard to see exactly how she landed. Leap series is clean, 180 positions were solid. I’m not seeing the performance quality here I was hoping for, though. Double pike, strong landing there. Gator chomp to finish – I want more power out of that move from her!

Morgan, BB: Full turn off the top is clean. Bhs loso, clean. Sissone to switch half, little leg up check there, and maybe of 180 on the switch half? 1.5 dismount, another little hop.

Nguyen, FX: Front double full to sissone, muuuuch better connection this week, I feel a lot better about that one. Switch ring to switch half, gorgeous positions in the air, lovely extension through her toes. Y turn is also very nice, well controlled. 1.5 to front lay, takes it right to the corner, under control. Strong performance quality there too – much better. 9.9!

Turner, BB: Bhs loso loso to open, some knees but very steady, good for her. Switch to split, strong 180s there. Roundoff 1.5, not sure how she stuck that, she looked pretty off on the takeoff, but she did.

Hurd, FX: Punch layout to Rudi, just a little bounce on the landing, much cleaner this week. Switch ring to switch half, lovely leap series. Really bringing the drama in this choreography sequence – definitely upping the ante on performance quality. Double pike – took it all the way to the corner, stepped forward instead of back into the lunge it looked like? But camera angle was not conducive to seeing exactly how she landed. Still, one of their best – another 9.9! Wow! I think that’s Hurd’s career high?

Battle, BB: Full turn is nice. Split 1/2 from side stand, that’s a fun one we don’t see often in NCAA. Splits in her leap series are good, a little bobble but handles it like a pro. Another bobble at the end of her acro series, but again, takes it in stride, keeps her feet down. Gainer full off the side is stuck.

8pm: Pilgrim, FX: Punch front through to double tuck, a little underrotated there but covers well. Maybe a little under rotation on her last of those three dance elements? Hard to tell since her split is sometimes off axis, although always hitting or over 180 degrees. Double pike is super solid to close it out.

Smith, BB: Front aerial to bhs, apparently usually she does two but just one this week. Switch to split leap, maybe a little shy of 180 on the leap. Front toss, finesses that landing, doesn’t show if she was having trouble with it. Gainer full off the side, sticks it.

Blakely, FX: She looks like she’s in the zone tonight. Punch front through to double pike, a little shy of rotation there, has a little weird bounce stumble moment. Leap series is gorrrgeous. 1.5 to front full, perfect landing on that one. Ended a little bit before her music? She looks a little shaken – this floor, man! I do not like it. They need to be able to walk out of Stegeman tonight with no injuries please.

Scott, BB: Full turn is lovely. Front handspring – bobble, has to reset and go to a backup series. Bhs loso is much more steady. Front aerial to split jump to bhs. Split leap to switch leap, gorgeous extension on those. Front handspring front full dismount – don’t see that every day! A little shuffle forward on the dismount.

Richards, FX: The super senior is back! DLO, one of her good ones! Dance series is clean, great straddle positions, well above 180. 1.5 to front half to straddle jump – I think that’s new, that’s really fun. Performance quality was a little muted but I’ll take it after two weeks out of the lineup, at least one of those not feeling well.

AFTER THREE: UF 148.1, UGA 147.825

A solid floor rotation from the Gators – a few issues, including Blakely’s opening pass and still needing a stronger leadoff score, but having Richards back is definitely a big help. Wong resting this week makes sense – she doesn’t need to be doing AA every week while she’s also training elite – but Florida will want her in the final six for sure. This lineup is definitely still in flux, but it is trending upward, and that’s what we needed to see tonight.

8:19pm: Rotation four, here we go!

Draser, BB: Bhs loso, so solid. Very satisfying. Switch to switch half, solid positions in the air. Roundoff 1.5 twist, little hop forward. A good start for the Gators. I just want more command and confidence out of her – I can see it’s in there!

Williams, UGA FX: 1.5 to front lay, very clean to start. Double pike for her second pass, went out of bounds (OOB) – angle made it hard to see if it was one or two feet. Double tuck – she’s doing three passes! – stuck that one cold, wow.

Blakely, BB: Front aerial to bhs, very confident, very steady. Split leap switch half, a little off axis but definitely hits 180. Switch to gainer full, little hop in place on the dismount.

LaClair, FX: Punch front full through to double full, that’s fun! Don’t typically see that combination. Dance series is very crisp. Lots of walking in this choreography. Rudi to loso is solid to close it out, well controlled.

Pilgrim, BB: Bhs loso, so calm and clean, perfectly straight legs. Full turn as we hear one of her teammates call out “you’re beautiful!” Beat to front aerial, lovely. Switch to split leap, just floats it. Bhs gainer full off the side, sticks it cold! Well done.

Fitzgerald, FX: Ooh, a Britney routine, this could be fun. Rudi to loso, reallllly crooked in the air as she punches from one element to the other. Dance series is a little crooked too on the wolf element, but fully rotated certainly. Double tuck to finish, big slide back as she lands – I couldn’t see if she went OOB because of the camera angle, looked like she was close but maybe not quite.

8:30pm: Lazzari, BB: Looks like a little bit of a wait after Pilgrim’s routine? Wonder what that’s about.

Here we go – still looks cool as a cucumber, bhs loso loso, just gorgeous. Switch leap to split jump, clears 180 degrees no problem. Front aerial, little bobble, brings her foot up but not high, no break at the hips. Full turn is clean. Cartwheel to gainer full stuck! Yes ma’am.

Cashman, FX: 1.5 to front layout to start, very clean, well controlled. Choreograph here is very simple but her lines are lovely. Dance series is lovely, very clean in her positions. Double tuck to finish – very strong.

Nguyen, BB: Onodi to bhs, she was a little off but moved through the connection okay in my opinion. Switch leap to split jump, just gorgeous positions in the air, lovely extension. Another little wobble on choreography? Unusual for her. Bhs 1.5 twist dismount, tried to fight for the stick but had to shift a little bit.

Wahl, FX: Full in, looks like she might have gone OOB but commentator Kennedy Baker says she stayed in? Leap series like fine. Loso to a half turn somersault as choreography, that’s kinda fun? Last pass is clean, a better landing there.

Wong, BB: Switch leap onto the mount but she misses her foot! Somehow stays on the beam?? Gets up, readjusts, continues her routine. Repeats the element for credit, that’s a smart athlete. Bhs loso is dead on this week, good for her. Full turn, steady. Front aerial, textbook. Roundoff double full, little bounce on the dismount.

Smith, FX: Front double full, so clean, wow. 1.5 to front lay, gorgeous twisting form, legs rod straight. She has lovely extension in her dance series, maybe the best wolf jump I’ve seen. Choreography really emphasizes her lines but does almost nothing with them, Georgia needs a new choreographer ASAP. Rudi to straddle to finish it out, lovely.

FINAL: UF 197.475, UGA 197.3

Pilgrim and Wong tie for the vault title with a 9.925, and Blakely and Lazzari tie for the beam title with 9.925. Lily Smith took bars with a 9.95, floor at 9.925, and the AA crown at 39.6.

Only a little higher than last week, but some major improvements this week that Florida will be really happy with. Not the most complete meet, misses from Blakely on bars and Wong on beam aren’t exactly encouraging, but there’s still plenty of time to straighten things out.

Let’s take a look at our checklist:

• Better vault landings, especially from those with really dynamic, clean vaults like Ferris and Pilgrim
  • Much better landings all around tonight! They can get better, but the squad is in a much better place for midseason than they were last week.
• Clean bars routines from the full lineup – no misses, no overarched handstands, no saves – and stuck landings
  • Blakely’s miss tonight is her second this season… it takes three to make a pattern, but it doesn’t feel great for a vet like her to be having weird hiccups like this. Maybe she comes out of the lineup for a week?
• A lineup order that works on bars – each routine building from the last, with a strong leadoff score above 9.85
  • Lazzari was the only athlete to break 9.9 this week, and last week it was only her and Wong. This team has to get off to a faster start so judges are more willing to go higher. Focusing on some stuck dismounts and sharper handstands for certain athletes will also help.
• Nguyen breaking 9.9 on beam consistently
  • Some issues tonight for her on beam – it wasn’t going to happen tonight. Hoping to see her bounce back next week.
• More than just hits – strong, confident, “I own this beam” routines from the whole squad, but especially Lazzari and Wong
  • I got a lot more confidence off of those beam routines than in previous weeks – Wong’s fall was a total fluke, I can’t imagine that happening again. Would love to see Draser spend some time with her teammates, especially Blakely and Lazzari, to find some of that ownership mentality.
• A strong leadoff routine on floor from Brubach, followed by higher scores from each subsequent athlete
  • Brubach missing from the lineup this week is interesting, and I do wonder who they’ll take out for Wong when she’s ready to do AA. I think this was a solid group, although I think Nguyen and Hurd scoring so well may be an indication that Rowland ought to move them back a little.
• High-energy performances from the entire lineup, especially at away meets
  • Some yays, some nays, but they’ve got more away meets to work on it – I’ll be especially interested to see how things go at the “Mizzou to the Lou” quad, where I’ve heard a rumor that they may be on podium!
• Ferris healthy and nailing whatever events she’s ready for
  • Vault this week was a step in the right direction – next week, we’ll want to see vault a little more normal, since she almost overshot the table tonight.
• Lazzari’s expanded presence
  • She did, in fact, stick with three events tonight, which is fantastic, and nailed all three. Two years after her injury, almost to the day – Ellie Lazzari is freakin’ back. Check this one off the list, y’all.

We’ll be back here at 7pm ET for Link to Pink next week, Friday the 9th, on ESPN – see you then!