With SEC competition behind them and another solely-owned regular season title under their belts, the Gators now must look elsewhere for new experiences to prepare them for postseason. This week, they find themselves in Lincoln, Nebraska, where they’ll face the 26-time national qualifier Huskers in a quad format with Eastern Michigan and Lindenwood, the latter of whom they’re meeting for the second time this season.
The Gators are certainly the heavy favorite to win this meet, because although Nebraska is a storied program, the Huskers’ nationals appearances have almost always been as an underdog, and the program has taken quite the dip since their last appearance in 2018. They missed regionals in 2022 and just barely squeaked in last year – they seem to have taken a step back up this season, but don’t expect them to challenge Florida should both teams have a normal day. Nebraska should theoretically be good to go as far as regional qualification is concerned, but they’ll definitely want a 197+ at this meet to make sure. They’d like to avoid a play-in situation, if at all possible.
Eastern Michigan and Lindenwood will both be interesting to watch tonight, not because they have any hope of contending with Florida or Nebraska, but because both teams are trying to qualify to Regional Championships. The play-in round is likely the best either team can hope for, but that would be a huge step forward for the Eagles and a massive triumph in the final season of competition for the Lions. Thanks to some research from College Gym News, we know that 196.125 is the final score EMU will be looking for to raise its NQS high enough to fend off some key competitors across the country, though the highest it can get this week is No. 39, and No. 36 will be the cutoff for play-ins. Lindenwood, unfortunately, is ranked a little too low for the scope of their research, but with a 195.7 – which it’s certainly capable of – it could be included in next week’s Bubble Watch.
But Florida isn’t just securely qualified to regionals, it’s a heavy favorite to qualify to nationals. So how will they use this meet? Well, it could go one of two ways – it could be a rest meet, a time to explore depth and let some of the frequent all-arounders take a break from the events that aggravate their old injuries, or it could be good practice for nationals. A quad meet with teams they’re not used to seeing, a broadcast team that’s unfamiliar, and an arena none of these women have competed in before? Sounds like a great opportunity to practice some of the competition conditions for national championships.
Whether we see a B-team or something close to postseason lineups tonight, we’re still looking for the same general things, because in the words of head coach Jenny Rowland, a team is only as strong as its weakest link, and something the Gators pride themselves on is always having someone who can step in when a teammate needs a break. So let’s take a look at our late-season checklist and see what we’re looking for tonight:
- Better vault landings across the lineup
- Last week saw good, not great, and a miss from Nguyen. This week, if Nguyen is in, they’ll want a hit out of her, and honestly, I would put her in again if I were Rowland and Burde. Give her a very low-stakes opportunity to compete again, give her more reps but remove some of the pressure, and I think she’ll get more comfortable with it. If there are more unusual faces in the lineup, we may not get the best landings, but ideally, they would be better than any appearances earlier this season they may have had too, as they’ve been working on details just as much as the six in the lineup.
- Dialing it in on bars – not just hits, but clean details and stuck dismounts such that scores build and the team earns at least three 9.9+ scores
- My eyes are on Lazzari tonight, with the hope that last week’s dismount issue was a one-off and she’ll be back in the 9.9+ region tonight. If we see any new faces in the lineup – Arana, anybody? – we’ll want to see confident routines from them as well, but any misses from non-typical competitors won’t be as concerning.
- A full rotation of confident, consistent beam work that Florida is known for
- Watching for Nguyen’s routine again to see if she’s capable of a 9.9+ away, and watching Draser to see if she can loosen up a little and really find a place of confidence on the beam – she’s seemed tight the last few weeks. As far as different faces in the lineup, could be Hurd, could be Arana, could be Bluffstone, but regardless, confidence and comfort are still the qualities we are looking for.
- A strong leadoff routine on floor, followed by higher scores from each subsequent athlete, and replacing Richards’ 9.9+ potential with an equally strong and clean routine
- The changes made to Hurd and Pilgrim’s routines last week were CLUTCH, and we’ll want to see that that’s working again come tonight’s meet. I am interested to see if the coaches play with lineup order at all now that those changes have been made, but if tonight’s lineup is not an attempt to get closer to the final six, then that may be a moot point. Performance quality will also be a big tell tonight, since Nebraska doesn’t typically draw crowds the way Florida does at home – can the Gators perform at their highest energy even to a smaller, lower-energy crowd?
It all starts at 7pm on Big Ten+, but if you don’t want to pay the $9.99 for the monthly Nebraska-only pass (like I did) or have other plans tonight, keep refreshing this page – we’ll have all the routines right here for you from their quad-box stream.
6:58pm: Live stats are here!
7:01pm: My feed is live but completely black… we’re off to a great start.
Here we go! Just footage of warmups so far – Gators will be starting on bars.
Apparently the Gators have a pretty sizable cheering section, that’s great to hear! Commentators are sharing that Blakely is resting fully tonight – probably for the best, she’s done AA quite a lot this year.
Davis, Neb VT: Yfull, some knees, just a little slide back.
Draser, UB: Maloney to pak, pretty clean. Aaaaand a man walks in front of the camera. Last handstand is great. DLO, little step forward.
Bergen, EMU BB: Coming in partway through – acro series looks good, and dance series. Cat leap to front toss. Front gainer full off the end – gorgeous!
Hall, VT: Yfull, more amplitude but a little off to one side, little slide.
Nguyen, UB: Great first handstand. Maloney to pak, just the smallest leg sep on the pak, Maloney was the best it’s been all season. Great final handstand! DLO – that was her best routine all year!!
Sikon, VT: Yfull, better amplitude, much smaller adjustment on the landing.
Fisher, BB: Little bobble on her leap series as we join partway through. Full turn is clean. Cartwheel to gainer full off the side, stuck! A solid hit from what we saw.
Bacskay, VT: Y1.5, little stumble off to one side.
Disidore, UB: Maloney to pak, looking from the side it’s pretty clean. van Leeuwen is lovely. DLO is stuck cold! She’s been such a clutch performer in this lineup, what a star.
Spence, VT: Y1.5, much cleaner than her predecessor, just a little adjustment on the landing there.
Patterson, BB: A fall on her acro series, that’s a bummer. Split to split 3/4, those are lovely. Hitchkick to side aerial, another bobble. Full turn is clean. Gainer pike off the end, shuffle on the landing.
Comin, VT: Y1.5, big amplitude, just a hop forward.
We completely miss Lazzari’s routine, but see the slo-mo of her dismount – stuck cold, good for her.
McClelland, VT exh: Yfull, big slide back.
Pilgrim, UB: Great opening handstand. Maloney to pak, super clean leg form from what this angle shows. Last handstand maybe a little shy. Full in dismount, just drops it in, stuck cold.
Lowe, BB: Leap series looked clean. Dismount is a roundoff 1.5 twist, looked like a little hop from here. We see her acro series in slow-mo, a little balance check but stays on.
Wong, UB: Gorgeous opening handstand. Maloney to pak, maybe a little leg sep on the pak. van Leeuwen, legs glued together. Great final handstand – DLO stuck cold. Teammates screaming, chanting 10, but scores have been kind of all over the place so far.
Boris, BB: We join partway through, leap series is clean. Roundoff 1.5 twist, just a step back.
Double pike to close this Lindenwood routine on floor is really solid. Not sure who it is, commentators have not said.
Shibati, BB: The anchor – needs a hit to drop that fall. Full turn is gorgeous. Front aerial, leg up bobble but stays on. Bhs loso for her series, much steadier there. Another front aerial, this time in connection to a switch split to split. Bhs 1.5, leg buckles underneath her and she stumbles to the side, sits it down – thaaaaat’s a bummer.
We see a slow-mo dismount from Arana, who would have been Florida’s exhibition routine. Looked happy with it, so I assume it was a hit.
Joining this Lindenwood routine partway through, I think it’s Baechle they said, closing it out with a 1.5 to front full, very nice!
Exhibition routine from EMU, has some trouble with her acro series but stays on the apparatus. Cat leap to switch side, that’s really nice. Front toss – and she’s off. Gets back up, does her beat jump, but won’t get the connection bonus. Gainer pike off the end, just a step back.
Jones, LU FX: Gorgeous leap pass as we join this partway through. 1.5 to front layout to close it out, very clean, well controlled.
Exhibition routine for Lindenwood – front double full, a little skid on the landing but full rotated. Rudi to stag jump, travels a little but not terrible. Leap pass is fine, a little off axis on the wolf element. 1.5 to front tuck, missed her punch and ended up sitting it – that’s why it’s not in the lineup just yet. Still, good to get everyone those competition reps.
AFTER ONE: UF 49.4, NEB 49.225, LU 49.025, EMU 48.025
Wong leading bars with her whopping 9.975! And Nguyen leading the AA with her 9.875. Disidore also earned 9.875, Pilgrim 9.85, Draser 9.825, and Lazzari 9.8 – I really would like to have seen her whole routine.
I have switched to the quadbox feed to try and make sure I don’t miss a Florida routine again, especially since beam is one of the events that kept only getting partial routines last rotation.
Bacskay, Neb UB: Good opening handstand. Pak is clean. Low bar handstand work is nice. Van Leeuwen is pretty good too. DLO, just a step back. Nice start!
Draser, UF BB: Bhs loso, looks much more confident tonight than last week. Switch to switch half, hard to tell the 180 from here. Full turn, stays patient with it, doesn’t bobble. 1.5 dismount stuck! A great way to start, she looks much more confident than in past weeks.
Parton, LU VT: Yfull, just a small shuffle
Jencks, UB: Releases have been pretty clean. Solid final handstand. DLO, looked stuck from here!
Lazzari, BB: Weird that she’s going second, but okay. Triple series is excellent. Dance series looks much sharper this week, she’s feeling much more like herself. Split 1/2 from side stand, I do like that change. Cartwheel gainer full off the side is stuck! Big cheers from the team.
Two more solid fulls on vault for Lindenwood, one from Jones and one from Appleget.
A switch kip from the Nebraska athlete, looked like she had a little hiccup but I don’t think she brushed the ground? Not sure.
Hurd, BB: Yes! I thought we might see her tonight. Front aerial to bhs, little bobble but covered like a pro. Split to ring jump, gorgeous. Full turn, big lean. Roundoff double full, just a little slide on the landing. Good for her stepping in for Blakely, she’s a good seventh option.
Simpton, UB: Pak is solid. DLO, little bounce back. I didn’t catch what her first release was, but certainly a hit.
Big 9.9 for Baechle on vault, another Yfull I believe – career high for her!
Pilgrim, BB: Candle mount, very clean. Bhs loso, super steady and even. Switch to split leap, 180s look lovely. Bhs gainer full stuck! Another gorgeous routine from the freshman.
Spence, UB: Maloney to pak, looked clean. van Leeuwen is nice too, very easy swing. Full pirouette to double tuck is stuck!
Davis, UB: Maloney to bail, a little loose but hits handstand. Great final handstand! DLO, little slide back. A great final routine for the senior.
Nguyen, BB: Gorgeous roll mount, I do love that. Onodi to bhs, well connected this week. Maybe a little lean in the choreography but covers well. Switch to split, absolutely incredible 180 positions. Bhs 1.5, a little scoot back it looked like.
Gibson, UB exh: Maloney to pak, pretty clean. DLO with a pretty sizable bounce back.
9.95 for Nguyen! She can do it away!
Wong, BB: Still not doing the springboard mount. Switch leap to split leap, both gorgeous. Bhs loso, super steady. Front aerial to beat jump, super clean. Missed her feet on her punch on the end of the beam, she looks okay but that’s super scary.
It looks like maybe the beam cap came off – in the past with other teams, namely UCLA and LSU, that has meant that athletes have been allowed to go again. The question is will she want to? That fall looked pretty jarring.
Boris of EMU nailing her floor routine while we wait.
Arana, BB exh: Bhs loso, big lean but stays on. Front aerial, much steadier. Switch leap to switch half, very short of 180 on the half. Full turn is lovely though. Gainer full off the side, patient with it so maybe stuck? Hard to tell from this angle.
Carly, EMU FX exh: Rudi to layout to straddle jump, lovely. Leap series is gorgeous, great straddle positions. Another great split position in her tour jete half before her final pass. Front lay to front full, a little wild on the full but stays in bounds. Well done!
Wong may be going again?? I’m a little surprised because the fall was so bad but Wong is a known perfectionist, so maybe not that surprising.
Here’s a great slow-mo of what happened that led to Wong being allowed to remount and repeat her dismount:
AFTER TWO: UF 98.95, Neb 98.55, LU 98.0, EMU 96.875
A little wild that the judges decided to have Wong just repeat the dismount instead of her whole routine, but I have no idea what goes into that decision or what the technical rules are. I just know what’s happened before, and it’s always been the full routine or nothing.
8:01pm: Sikon, Neb BB: Acro series, little bobble there. Cat leap to switch half, another bobble. Bhs tucked 1.5 dismount, stuck it – looked like her legs buckled but she handled it.
Brubach, UF FX: Front lay to Rudi to open, solid. Leap series looks clean from this reaaaally zoomed-out angle. She seems to be selling the performance. Double tuck looks well controlled from here, closes it out with her double chomp and finishing choreo. A good start!
Nguyen, FX: Front double full to sissone, one of her best so far this year! Leap pass is gorgeous per usual, as is the Y turn. 1.5 to front lay to finish it out, well controlled, lovely twisting form. Should be another excellent score.
Boone, LU UB: Solid opening handstand. Maloney to bail, hits handstand well. Final handstand a little shy? DLO is stuck! Wow!
Bacskay, BB: Bhs bhs loso, gorgeous and steady. Leap series is nice. Roundoff double full is stuck cold! Wow, that’s a great routine!
Bluffstone, FX: Full in to open, nice and high, control is hard to gauge from this high up angle. Combination pass to close out is solid. Leap pass to finish everything out – I do like this routine a lot.
Hurd, FX: DLO! Gorgeous! That switch ring in her dance series is just fantastic, will never get over it. Really milking her musical moments in the choreo here, nailed the jump up after the silent moment again this week. Love that she’s practicing that. Front lay to front full I think – hard to tell from up here – really well done.
Spence, BB: Candle mount, fascinating that these are becoming so much more prevalent in NCAA too. Wolf turn is pretty clean. Front aerial to bhs bhs, good connection. Dismount looked stuck!
Draser, FX: Double tuck, nicely controlled. Wolf turn looks clean from here. Punch front through to double pike, a little crunchy maybe?
8:15pm: McClelland, BB: Double wolf turn, well controlled. Acro series, just a little bobble there. Leap series is nice. Bhs tuck 1.5, little hop on the dismount.
Pilgrim, FX: 1.5 through to double back, what a smart change, has plenty of power to get it done. Dance series is clean again this week. Orphan front tuck, okay. Double pike to finish is a little slidey as she lands. Won’t be the 10 it was last week, but should still be decent.
Jencks, BB exh: Bhs loso, a little off line but fixes it midair. Full turn is lovely. Punch front is super clean, love that. Switch to split 1/2? Second leap was very indistinct, she started turning before she was even in the air. 1.5 dismount is good!
Ferris, FX exh: YES! Full in to open! I’m so excited to see her healthy enough to do this, holy cow. Triple leap series, third element looked little funky. 1.5 to front lay to finish things out, she looks so happy to have done her first routine and so is the team – that’s HUGE. HUGE to have her almost ready to come back on floor.
AFTER THREE: UF 148.175, NEB 147.7, LU 147.225, EMU 145.275
Got clarification on Wong’s repeat situation – shoutout to CGN correspondent Alyssa Van Auker and analyst Jenna King for finding this!
8:26pm: Rotation 4! Last one best one, let’s see some good vault landings!
Draser, UF VT: Y1.5, just a little slide forward, knees looked better this week too.
Jencks, Neb FX: Front lay to Rudi, well controlled, twisting form looked clean. Leap series was nice, good split positions. Double tuck, really had to pull it in not to go OOB but succeeded! A good start.
Lazzari, VT: Y1.5, a little off to the side but much more confident than previous weeks.
Lindenwood having a great leadoff on beam over here, not sure who it is.
Nguyen, VT: Y1.5, one of her good ones! Just a little step forward.
Rourke, FX: I didn’t see her first pass but it’s a hit so far. Triple dance series, all elements looked like great 180 positions, not sure about rotation from this far above. Double pike to close, very well controlled! Another great score for Nebraska.
Pilgrim, VT: Y1.5, STUCK! YES MA’AM! 9.95!
Lindenwood sticking another landing on beam – they look great!
Ferris, VT: Y1.5, a sizable hop forward but great amplitude.
Bacskay, FX: 2.5 to punch front, gorgeous. Dance pass is nice, well above 180 on her splits. Last pass is a hit too!
Wong, VT: Yhalf-on, pike half off, swam for it, but didn’t move her feet. Not sure what they’ll do with that.
Edwards, VT exh: Yfull, big amplitude, but a big bounce back.
Comin, FX: Big full in to start! Nice! Really nicely rotated wolf jump fulls in her leap series, that’s fun. 1.5 to front lay to finish it out, love her performance. What a great routine!
Fall from Lindenwood on beam on a series. Ouch, they were doing so well.
Boris, EMU: Piked Jaeger, caught too close and had to take an extra swing to get her momentum back. Overshoot is fine, so is the dismount, but not what she needed at all.
McClelland, FX: Front double full, very nice! Gorgeous straddle positions in her leap series. Really pretty choreo throughout this routine, and she’s really selling it. Rudi to very floaty loso, gorgeous. Reverse worm to finish out the choreography – that’ll be a great score.
Appleget, BB: Switch leap switch leap to pike jump, did not hit 180 on those switches but that was fun! Bhs loso, very steady. Roundoff 1.5 is stuck! Good for her after that fall.
8:40pm: Spence, FX: Closing it out for Nebraska here. Punch front through to double tuck, very nice. Giving us music from the movie Burlesque here, love that. Double wolf turn, pretty clean. Switch ring to tour jete half, very nice. Really milking this last choreography. Double pike to finish, big cheers from the team, good control.
Kossuth hit a great final routine for Lindenwood as well – should be able to drop the fall no problem. What a great night for the Lions!
Gard, FX exh: Double pike to open, strong there. Front lay to front full, big step forward, almost went OOB but just stepped on the line. Double tuck to finish – that’s a great seventh option for them!
Parton, BB exh: Great acro series to start. Switch leap to ring stag, would like a little more head release there. Gainer full off the side – well done!
FINAL: UF 197.7, NEB 197.15, LU 196.325, EMU 193.6
The Gators’ streak of increasing their score every week was going to end sometime, tonight made sense as a rest meet and a low-pressure meet, so it makes sense that it would break now. Still, lots of promising things tonight, including the appearance of Danie Ferris on floor! Very interested to see if she now makes the lineup in the coming weeks.
Pilgrim won vault (9.95), Wong won bars (9.975), Nguyen won beam (9.95), and Nebraska’s Emma Spence won floor. Nguyen also wins the all-around! A big 39.625 – might be career high?
What a great night for Nebraska to close out their home season and celebrate their seniors, and what a HUGE night for Lindenwood! That will raise them a whopping three tenths in their NQS, bringing them from No. 49 to No. 42 if no one in between shifts ahead of them. That’s a massive jump and should definitely bring them into contention for a play-in, especially if they can go 196+ again next week at Illinois State.
Unfortunately, EMU did not have as great a night – 193.6 is their second-lowest score of the season. Tonight just wasn’t their night. But they’ll have two more chances to increase their NQS and try to make regionals before the end of regular season.
Let’s take a look at our performance markers for Florida for late-season:
- Better vault landings across the lineup
- Landings this week on vault looked fantastic, especially from Nguyen, Pilgrim, and Draser. Lazzari and Wong got a little benefit of the doubt, from what I could see, and Ferris has done better, but definitely a serviceable set. And that’s without Blakely in the lineup. Huge.
- Dialing it in on bars – not just hits, but clean details and stuck dismounts such that scores build and the team earns at least three 9.9+ scores
- Bars suffered a little tonight, though the team total may not look it thanks to Wong’s 9.975. Lazzari’s 9.8 is again concerning, though not as bad as last week – maybe still recovering from illness? The rest of her night looked better, so I’m a little less concerned. But Pilgrim and Nguyen should be going 9.9+ for sure – they’ll want to tighten up those details and dismounts in practice this week.
- A full rotation of confident, consistent beam work that Florida is known for
- I think Draser looked much more confident this week, and Lazzari looked much more like herself. Hurd had a 9.7, but with Blakely in, I think that lineup will be set for sure.
- A strong leadoff routine on floor, followed by higher scores from each subsequent athlete, and replacing Richards’ 9.9+ potential with an equally strong and clean routine
- I think Ferris bought herself a spot in the postseason lineup with tonight’s exhibition, which should be the Richards replacement they’ve been looking for. With Blakely and Wong back in, and a normal night from Pilgrim, I’m not as worried about this lineup either. I was also thrilled with the performance level tonight, at least what we could see of it. They’ll get a lot more energy from the crowds in postseason, regardless of how big the Gators’ cheering section is, so if they did that tonight, I’m not concerned.
Thanks for joining me tonight! Come back on Friday night for the senior night quad – lots of emotions, and the last regular meet before SEC Championships! See you then.
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