After years of wondering and asking… the Gators are finally competing on podium in regular season!
Tonight, Gator Gymnastics heads to St. Louis to compete in a neutral-site quad meet against conference-mates Missouri, fellow blue & orange team Illinois, and DII powerhouse Lindenwood who are unfortunately in their final season of competition. The Gators are easily the favorites to win tonight, but the win isn’t really what I (or you) should be concerned about tonight.
The Gators are competing on podium during regular season for the first time in program history.
This could be a huge boon as the season goes on, as it gives the athletes an opportunity to get used to competing on podium prior to the high-pressure competitions in postseason. Most of the other top national title contenders have been doing this for several years – Oklahoma, Utah, UCLA, even LSU and Alabama – but Florida has been a bit slower to add one to their schedule.
Time on podium now, even in a meet against “lower profile” teams, should be encouraging to Gator fans. It means Florida and its staff and coaches are taking additional steps toward clinching the national title again. They’ve been competing at the top of their game for many years, the question has often been asked – what else can they do? This. They can add new preparation steps that they didn’t have before.
Especially for as young a team as they have, this could be the difference between being fully on their game come postseason or not. We saw in 2019 how they were affected by the difference on podium at SEC Championships, when Megan Skaggs flubbed her dance series and Nya Reed couldn’t control her landings because the floor had so much more bounce. Counting a 9.75 instead of a 9.9, as both of them were capable of, cost them the meet, losing to LSU. Having more preparation in regular season – more opportunities to feel what their routines feel like with an air gap underneath the equipment, to find reliable places in an arena to spot during turns and saltos when they’re six feet higher in the air on every skill – could be the last inch this team needs to pass the likes of Oklahoma and recapture the national title for the first time in almost a decade.
There will be lots to watch out for tonight, so let’s go over the list we’ve been using for the last several weeks and add a few items to it:
- Better vault landings across the lineup
- Once is luck, two is a coincidence, three times is skill, as my choir director used to say. We’re looking for a third excellent vault rotation from the Gators tonight, and ideally, with six hits, not just five.
- Clean bars routines from the full lineup – no misses, no overarched handstands, no saves – and stuck landings, so that each score can build on the last
- Veterans need to start getting over the yips here soon. If Blakely and Nguyen are both going to stay in the lineup, they need to both starting hitting in the same week.
- Nguyen breaking 9.9 on beam consistently
- Her career high 9.925 last week was an absolute dream. Repeating it again this week would make her third 9.9+ mark in four weeks – if she can do it, I’ll call this one done.
- A strong leadoff routine on floor from Brubach, followed by higher scores from each subsequent athlete
- I expect to see a different six in floor once again tonight, especially since Wong did AA last week, but we won’t know til it’s game time, since there appear to be no live stats tonight… at a podium meet with three Top 30, Power 5 teams… anyway, Rowland is still in search of her final six on this event, and I don’t expect to see it tonight. We’ll hold tight on this one, but it’s more than a win if everyone hits and starts dialing in those landings.
- High-energy performances from the entire lineup, especially at away meets
- Tonight’s meet is apparently sold out, despite the inclement weather in St. Louis, so the Gators should feel right at home performing to a high-volume crowd. It may not be their home crowd, and their contingent will be much smaller than that of Missouri or Lindenwood – and maybe even Illinois – but they should still be capable of just as high-energy of performance quality as if they were in the O-Dome.
- Getting out the podium bouncies
- If some athletes, particularly the freshmen, have trouble sticking landings tonight, that’s okay. The key to watch for will be progress throughout the meet, especially for our AAers or three-eventers. The idea is to get used to it now so that when postseason comes, they’re more confident with the extra bounce.
It all starts at 7pm ET on SECN, but there’s some question as to how many of the four teams will be shown on broadcast tonight. I will of course bring you all the routines on broadcast, but if they leave out Illinois and/or Lindenwood, I will do my best to find the routines for those teams and bring you a complete account of the meet here. There also appear to be no live stats tonight, but if a link magically appears before game time, I will link it here! If not, I’ll do my best to include scores with each routine after the fact, though they may update a little slower than the routine breakdowns.
6:43pm: We may have a live scoring link? I make no promises about the timeliness, but Road to Nationals may be operating stats for this evening.
Some tidbits to know about Florida’s opponents tonight:
Missouri: The program on the rise – watch for strong vault and floor from Celestine and Moore and bars from Titarsolej, and the jack-of-all-trades Schreiber is always a threat in the all-around. They have the highest percentage of black athletes on any NCAA gym roster outside of the two HBCU programs, at a whopping 40% of their team!
Illinois: A strong team overall, but a weakness on vault – the Illini have moments of brilliance on the other three events for sure. Watch for Takekawa and Knight on bars and beam, and Mueller and Townes on floor.
Lindenwood: We’ll talk more about this later in the meet when I have time, but they are in their last year, as the program is being cut as the school moves up to DI – if that sounds sus, it is, and you should be angry for them. They won DII Nationals last year, are former conference champions, and raised a huge amount of money to try and keep the program alive, but the school still said no. It’s incredibly discouraging when the school claimed to have done research on whether or not they could afford the shift up to DI without major impact to student-athletes… so either the cut was deemed acceptable or the research wasn’t very good.
Anyhow, the team is making the most of it, using this team to honor all the teams that came before them, and have been doing an incredible job of doing so. Watch for strong vault and floor from Griswold, bars from Appleget, and floor from Jones.
7:08pm: Okay, here we go! Rotation 1, split screen.
Schreiber, Miz VT: Yfull, basically stuck! 9.825?? Feels low.
Blakely, UB: Maloney to pak, a good one this week, if a little loose on the Maloney. Great final handstand, blind change is good. Double front, sticks it!! Huge way to start for the Gators! 9.875!
Townes, ILL BB: Switch leap to straddle 1/4, hits the 180 positions but maybe a little loose. Cat leap to side aerial, textbook. Bhs loso, really had to fight for that but did not bobble. Roundoff tucked 1.5 dismount, little hop. 9.775, that feels right.
Evans, LU FX: 1.5 to front lay, nice. Really giving it on the choreography here. Double tuck to close, front foot slide a little bit.
7:11pm: Light, VT: Yfull, little hop back but really clean in the air. 9.8, makes sense compared to Schreiber.
Nguyen, UB: Great opening handstand, Maloney to pak, looked like she was a little close on the catch on her pak but recovered well. Final handstand looked solid. DLO, pings it out far but just a little hop forward.
Kraus, FX: 1.5 to front lay, really had to pull that one around. Love the choreography to Bad Guy by Billie Eilish here. Last pass looked solid – they’ll take it! 9.8.
Knight, BB: Cat leap to switch leap, looked clean. Loso to bhs, that’s unusual but kinda fun, I like it. Side somi is clean. Gainer full off the side – stuck! Good step forward for the Illini. 9.875!
7:14pm: Davis, VT: Big height but not a lot of distance? Lands a little short almost. 9.8.
Disidore, UB: Maloney to pak, really floaty. van Leeuwen is excellent. DLO, just a little hop back. 9.925!
Mueller, BB: Bhs loso, very clean. Big bobble on her front toss but stays on! Roundoff 1.5, little hop. 9.675, they won’t want that.
Caffey, FX: Punch Rudi, not sure how she pulled that around but she did! Double tuck to close it out, well controlled on that landing.
7:17pm: Horton, VT: Y1.5, great distance if a little flat. Just a little hop forward – she’s going to be a star!
Lazzari, UB: Great opening handstand. Ray is solid. More good handstand work. Pak is good, half turn on the low bar almost goes over the wrong way! But she saves it! Gets the stick on her dismount too – that’s a veteran right there.
Ewald, BB: Switch leap to standing loso, that’s fun! What a unique dance series too, she has like a beat switch split jump in there, that was cool! Punch front full dismount too – I love how unusual the Illinois skill set is. 9.8.
Baechele, FX: I missed a lot of this but another hit for the Lions! 9.725.
7:19pm: Moore, VT: Y1.5, she did not get the block she wanted, pulls it around but big hop forward. 9.8.
Pilgrim, UB: Maloney to pak, so clean, legs just pasted together. Great last handstand. Drops that dismount in and sticks it cold!!
Nataraj, BB: She’s competed internationally for India! Bhs loso is strong, very steady. Switch to straddle 1/4, lovely 180 positions. Front toss, dead on. Roundoff 1.5 dismount, just a little hop forward. Much cleaner than anyone before her, well done! 9.825.
Jones, FX: Double pike to open, very strong! Punch front full to front lay, has to stumble back a little but saves it. Dance series is strong, hits her positions well. Combination pass to finish is much better.
7:22pm: Celestine, VT: Y1.5, much better than Moore, compensates well for the podium bounce. Just a little hop forward but really gets her height and distance! 9.9, she’s rewarded accordingly.
Wong, UB: Maloney to pak, some leg separation there. Great low bar handstand. van Leeuwen is great, so is the last handstand. DLO, just a little hop. 9.9!
Takekawa, BB: Side aerial loso, love that! Big bobble there on another acro element but stays on. Gainer full off the side, just a little adjustment of her feet. 0?? Trying to figure out what that’s about. Okay, it’s been updated to a 9.775.
Griswold, FX: Double pike, big slide back but nice in the air. Dance series is nice, doesn’t travel at all, although not huge amplitude. Combination pass in the middle, the twisting form is really clean. Double tuck to close, much better landing there. A great way to close for the Lions.
AFTER ONE: UF 49.425, MIZ 49.2, ILL 49.05, LU 48.925
7:34pm: Rotation 2!
Jones, LU VT: Yfull, not great distance but solid in the air, a little hop back.
Burns, MIZ UB: Good first handstand, blind change is clean. Jaeger to overshoot, clean. DLO, stuck! A solid start for the Tigers. 9.9!
Draser, BB: Bhs loso, steady. Switch to switch half, maybe a little shy of 180 on the second split there? Full turn is clean. Roundoff 1.5 dismount, patient with it and sticks it! 9.9 as well, these scores are FLYING.
Ewald, ILL FX: Front double full, really nice! Clean form and well landed. Rudi to loso, very floaty, we love to see that. A little “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” here, that’s fun.
7:36pm: Kraus, VT: Yfull, clean in the air but big hop back.
Patrick, UB: I missed all the elements she did but she nailed her DLO, super straight body position and stuck cold.
Blakely, BB: Front aerial to bhs, has to save it, big bobble as she completes that series. Split leap to switch half to beat jump, really clean through there. Gainer full off the side, little adjustment. 9.825, that feels high.
Ward, FX: Really pulled out that punch front somehow, took it all the way to the line and landed quite low but still landed it. Double tuck, big slide, but made sure not to put her heel down so she didn’t go OOB! Really sells the choreo there at the end.
7:38pm: Baechele, VT: Yfull, basically stuck?? Nice! 9.775.
Pilgrim, BB: Bhs loso, super steady. Beat jump to front aerial, floats that down. Switch leap to split leap, gorgeous extension. Sticks that dismount! 9.9!
Marshall, UB: Jaeger to overshoot, big amplitude but somehow caught it. Stuck her dismount, but she caught that Jaeger really close. Just a 9.5.
Berkeley, VT: Yfull, just one step on the landing. 9.75.
We are so off cycle, I’m trying to keep this as organized as possible, sorry y’all.
Mueller, FX: Double tuck to open, really clean on that landing. Really giving this choreo all she has. 9.875!
Lazzari, BB: Triple series, looked a little off in the air but doesn’t show a single sign as she lands. Front aerial, adjusts really well, just a small bobble. Cartwheel to gainer full of the side, maybe a lil hop in place?
Schreiber, UB: Maloney to bail, legs form is pretty clean. Solid final handstand. DLO is stuck! That’s a great recovery for Mizzou. 9.9
7:44pm: Caffey, VT: Yfull, just a hop back. 9.825.
Fitzgibbon, FX: Combination pass to open, solid form and control. Double pike, really excellent! 9.875
Nguyen, BB: Onodi to bhs, clean and well connected this week. Switch to split, just lovely. 1.5 dismount is stuck!! That should be another huge score. 9.875
Moore, UB: Solid opening handstand work. Ray to pak, really aggressive, well connected. Stuck full in! That’s a great recovery for Mizzou. Also a 9.9!
7:46pm: Griswold, VT: Y1.5, buckled at the knee and had to take a huge lunge forward, but doesn’t fall, stays on her feet. 9.65.
Wong, BB: Sticks with the easier dismount this week, gorgeous splits in her dance series. Bhs loso, so steady. Front aerial to beat jump, super clean. Roundoff double full, looked stuck from here! 9.975!!
Morgan, FX: Double pike to open, nicely done, take it right to the line. Combination pass is nice and clean. Last pass also hit – another solid one for the Illini!
Titarasolej, UB: The finish on this routine is just unmatched Maloney to pak, that’s just a cut above anything we’ve seen tonight, I’m sorry, y’all. Perfect full pirouette on top of the bar to immediate double tuck – she points her toes in her double tuck! She is appropriately rewarded – a perfect 10.0!
Townes, FX: Rudi to straddle jump, that just floooats, gorgeous. Really having a ball out here, grooving with her team on the floor. 1.5 to front lay, well controlled. Oh my gosh, the team has signs reading I-L-L-I-N-I on the sidelines to chant during the floor routines. Incredible. Her dance series is how she finishes – straddle positions are fantastic and she gets great height and rotation. 9.9! Correct!
Titarsolej’s 10.0 is the first-ever on bars in Mizzou’s program history! Fun fact – Titarsolej holds that honor at two programs now, having earned one with prior team LIU.
AFTER TWO: UF 98.975, MIZ 98.7, ILL 98.275, LU 97.725
Mizzou earned their highest bars total in program history – even with the miss from Marshall.
8:00pm: Rotation 3!
Takekawa, ILL VT: Yfull, not much distance but great landing, just a small shuffle. 9.75 I believe.
Moon, LU UB: Good opening handstand. Maloney to bail, big leg sep on the Maloney but better on the bail. Pretty short on the final handstand. DLO, just a little shuffle back on the landing. 9.675.
Celestine, MIZ BB: Single wolf turn, clean. Bhs side aerial, that’s an unusual series, fun. Front toss, lands it basically standing up. Stuck gainer full off the side!
Nguyen, FX: Front double full to sissone, much better landing this week! Gorgeous leap sequence as usual. Just the single Y turn this week, she knew her connection was right. Last pass is also really solid! Her best routine this season except maybe week one? 9.9!!
8:03pm: Nataraj, VT: Yfull, better dynamics than Takekawa, just a little hop. 9.8
Jones, UB: Tkachev to overshoot, some leg sep there? DLO, little step forward.
Light, BB: Bhs bhs loso, little lean to the side but covers well. Dance series was clean. Gainer pike off the end, stuck!
Bluffstone, FX: She’s in tonight! Heck yes! My favorite routine on the team this season. Full in, well controlled and rotated. Punch front full front full, very clean, well connected. Dance series is clean, well rotated and positions are clean. Really selling this finishing choreo – YES! She nailed it! I bet that stays in, that’s more fun than Brubach in my opinion. 9.875!!
8:06pm: Townes, VT: Yfull, pretty sizable bounce back but another improvement in amplitude from previous vaulters.
Newsome, UB: I missed her release elements but she stuck her double front dismount!! 9.825
Marshall, BB: Fun little springboard mount where she hops over the beam backward, that’s cool! Series is dead on. Gorgeous extension in her splits in her dance series. Front toss, such a satisfying noise when that’s so dead on. Bhs gainer full off the side is stuck!
Pilgrim, FX: Punch front through to double tuck to open, great power and control. Dance series looks clean tonight. Double pike to finish – should be another great score – 9.9! Yes!
8:08pm: Byrne, VT: Yfull, big bounce back but nice amplitude!
Schaffer, BB: Bhs bhs loso, riiiight to the end of the beam. Dance series is lovely. Roundoff 1.5 twist – slide back. 9.8.
Kraus, UB: Tkachev to overshoot, some leg sep there. Full in dismount, pretty short, has to lunge forward.
Blakely, FX: Punch front through to double tuck, nice and well controlled this week. Really giving to us on performance this week. Dance series is good, maybe a flexed foot in there? One of her great double tucks to close – she nailed that landing! This will be a big score. 9.925!!
8:12pm: Mueller, VT: Yfull, excellent control, just a small hop. 9.875!
Cooper, UB: Back-to-back falls here – falls on her Tkachev. Remounts and does not repeat – she won’t get the connection value, they’ll want to drop that because it won’t start from a 10 and the fall will be a full five tenths.
Davis, BB: Bhs loso, has to hop off!! Beat to sheep, not a terrible one either. Little adjustment on the dismount. 9.2
Ward, VT: Y1.5, just a little step forward, but great height and distance. 9.875
Richards, FX: DLO, took it riiiight to the line but did not go out. 1.5 to front full, nails it. Another strong one for her! 9.925!
Schreiber, BB: Bhs loso, super steady – apparently they’ve downgraded this, she used to do a triple series. Love that split 3/4 she does in her dance series, really well extended. Dismount looked stuck from here?? 9.9!
Appleget, UB: I missed most of these skills but it was a hit! They just need one more to drop the fall. 9.85!
Wong, FX: DLO to open! I’m so happy with this new opening pass, it’s fantastic. Really nails her dance series, just gorgeous finish in all her dance throughout. Whip half to front full, no issues this week, well controlled. Little fist pump from Burde in the corner and the Gator Chomp to close – this will be a big number, y’all…
AFTER THREE: UF 148.575, MIZ 147.95, ILL 147.325, LU 146.475
A 49.425 on vault would give the Gators their first 198 of the season – can they get there?
8:29pm: Rotation 4 here we go!
Lazzari, VT: Y1.5, a little overcooked this week, lunge forward and off to the side.
Mueller, ILL UB: I missed what her releases were, but she hits her DLO! Just a lil slide back.
Griswold, LU BB: Cat leap to switch half and she falls! Ouch. Gets back up,
Schreiber, MIZ FX: Punch front full to front lay to sissone, somehow saved herself from going OOB? Rudi to super floaty layout to straddle jump. Dance series to close, that’s a GREAT opener for Mizzou. I love that music mix too.
Draser, VT: Y1.5, ooh short on that one. Not as worried – figuring out how to adjust on podium.
Denning, UB: Lovely lines but I completely missed what the releases were. I’m sorry, y’all, this is moving so fast for a quad, I am out of practice! 9.8
Moon, BB: Bhs loso, steady. Dance series looked clean – stuck dismount too!
Light, FX: 2.5 to punch front, wow! Double pike to close, well controlled. 9.85
Blakely, VT: Y1.5, YES! Some leg separation at the end of her flight and just a little hop of her feet together. What a night for her! 9.925
Knight, UB: Great opening handstand work. Maloney to bail, small leg sep but good handstand. Short on the final handstand. DLO, tried to hold onto the stick but a little step forward. 9.825.
Rush, BB: What a gorgeous hold mount! Don’t see that all the time. Cat leap to side aerial, shifts to side stand on the landing. Bhs loso, big bobble and she has to hop off. Lindenwood will have to count a fall.
Horton, FX: Biiig full in, she flies. Good amplitude and positions on her dance series. Punch front through to back 2.5 twist, she twists really quickly, wow. That should be a great score, and I’ll say it again – she’s going to be a freakin star for them.
Pilgrim, VT: Y1.5, big hop forward. That’s unusual for her. 9.825, ouch.
Ewald, UB: Lovely swing in her transition elements. Pings off the bar quite powerfully on her dismount, just a shuffle forward there on the dismount.
Jones, BB: Bhs loso, steady. Cat leap to switch leap, very short of 180 there. Looked like a stuck dismount though!
Celestine, FX: Full in to open, incredible. Dance series is clean, love a dive roll in the choreography here! Double tuck to finish – she is PUMPED after that routine. 9.95!!
8:40pm: Ferris, VT: Y1.5, great landing, just a little hop together. 9.9!!
Takekawa, UB: A little shy on opening handstand, blind change is better. Piked Jaeger is lovely, bail is a little loose but hits handstand. DLO dismount, stuck! 9.925 – good for her!
Appleget, BB: Back extension roll, that’s fun, very retro. Switch leap to switch leap, shy of 180. Beat to standing loso, nice. Roundoff 1.5, stuck!
Griffin, FX: Punch front through to double tuck, well controlled. Really having fun with this choreography, I love a Destiny’s Child routine. Double pike, another one with great control. Mizzou really coming through on these tumbling passes. She gave it everything on that one.
8:43pm: Wong, VT: Yhalf-on, pike half off – somehow pulls out a great landing?? Not the block we’re used to her getting, very flat vault but still gets okay distance. 9.9?? We’ll take it.
Saltness has to hop off on UB after a flub on her pak, just a 9.25. Kraus nails her BB routine to finish things out for the Lions – that’s a great way to end things for them. 9.9 for her!
Moore, FX: DLO is what dreams are made of, incredible power. Really love this choreography. Punch front through to double back to finish, well controlled – that should be another fantastic score.
FINAL: UF 197.925, MIZ 197.35, ILL 196.55, LU 194.825
The top three are all season highs! This means Florida continues to be the only team in the country to continue improving their score every single week so far this season.
Wong wins AA with a 39.725 and BB with a 9.975. She also ties for the floor title with Celestine at 9.95. Titarsolej of Mizzou takes UB with that perfect 10.0, and I think Blakely won VT with her 9.925? I don’t think anyone got 9.95 or better, but because I don’t have scores to look back at and no one has posted them… so don’t take that at 100%, I’ll update in a little while if I can find it.
Let’s take a look at our checklist from before the meet:
- Better vault landings across the lineup
- Well, given the podium tonight, I’m not surprised the Gators didn’t nail this tonight. We’ll wait and see how they do against LSU next week.
- Clean bars routines from the full lineup – no misses, no overarched handstands, no saves – and stuck landings, so that each score can build on the last
- No yips tonight! Lazzari scared us a little, but a complete bars rotation tonight felt really good. I’ll reserve judgment until next week, but hopefully they are past this hurdle.
- Nguyen breaking 9.9 on beam consistently
- She hit 9.875 tonight – so close! I’ll hold onto this one, but I feel good about her chances next week.
- A strong leadoff routine on floor from Brubach, followed by higher scores from each subsequent athlete
- Another change-up as expected, and tonight brought out Red! I think tonight’s group might be the six, I was really impressed.
- High-energy performances from the entire lineup, especially at away meets
- Performances tonight definitely felt top-notch; I’ll want to see that again at Kentucky and Nebraska the two weeks after LSU next week.
- Getting out the podium bouncies out
- I’m chalking up vault to this and calling it a night – don’t overthink it, the Gators still increased their score week-to-week and got podium experience before postseason. We’ll see how valuable it was come SECs.
That’s all for me tonight, y’all! See you next week for Rowdy Reptiles Night when LSU comes to town!