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Backed by a career night from Freshman forward Jordyn Merritt, the Florida Gators survived and advanced in the Women’s NIT with a 66-65 win over Charlotte on Friday.
The freshman from Plano, Texas finished with 17 points and 18 rebounds while senior Kiki Smith added 21 points in the effort.
How It Happened:
The Gators jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first two minutes of play and led by as many as 8 as the first quarter clock was winding down.
Florida kept control throughout play in the second quarter, but both teams traded baskets most of the way through. At the halftime break, the Gators led 35-32.
The Florida lead swelled to six by the media timeout in the third, but it took less than two minutes for the 49ers even the score. A buzzer beating basket by Charlotte gave the 49ers the advantage heading into the fourth.
The first half of the final period saw back and forth action from both squads. Florida did take a five point lead with 3:23 to play after a Merritt layup.
A turnover by the Gators was scooped up for an easy Charlotte bucket to tie the game with twenty seconds. A foul sent freshman Brynn Farrell to the free throw line with a chance to win the game. The Garden State native calmly sank both free throws to give the Gators a 66-64 lead. With twelve seconds remaining in regulation a foul send Charlotte’s Jazmin Harris to the line with a chance to even the game. Unlike Farrell, Harris only knocked down the first and Merritt grabbed the board to secure the victory for the Gators.
Individual Stats:
Smith: 21 P, 6 R, 4 A, 7 Steals
Merritt: 17 P, 18 R, 7-13 FG
Moore: 9 P, 5 R
What’s Next:
Florida will face Villanova in the second round of the WNIT on Saturday. The game will be streamed on FloHoops and will tip-off at 8:00 PM.
The Wildcats (16-6) defeated Massachusetts 78-51 in first round action on Friday.
On a 2-2 count in the top of the fourth inning, Florida redshirt junior Kinsey Goelz took Mississippi State right-hander Annie Willis yard over the left-center-field wall for her first career home run and the lone run of the night in Starkville, Mississippi.
The solo shot lifted No. 5 Florida to its first road conference win this season as Goelz knocked off her former team. The Mississippi State transfer spent two years — one of which she redshirted — in Starkville before coming to Gainesville following the 2019 season.
Florida right-hander Elizabeth Hightower hurled her fifth complete game and third shutout this season en route to a narrow 1-0 victory. The junior becomes just the sixth pitcher in the SEC to reach nine wins already.
The pitchers’ duel began with three scoreless innings in which half of the outs recorded were strikeouts. A pair of Florida singles and a walk loaded the bases in the top of the first with no outs, but Willis escaped the jam. The Bulldogs got back-to-back force outs at home plate before Willis struck out Florida designated player Emily Wilkie, leaving three baserunners stranded.
After Goelz’s solo shot in the fourth, neither team advanced a baserunner into scoring position across the last three innings. In the top of the seventh, the Bulldogs made a pitching change before Florida center fielder Cheyenne Lindsey led off with a bunt single. Lindsey, who leads the team with eight steals, tried for second base but got caught for the first time this season. Back-to-back strikeouts ended Florida’s night at the plate and any hopes of adding an insurance run, but Hightower delivered one more solid frame to seal the deal.
Final (R/H/E)
No. 5 Florida: 1 / 7 / 0
Mississippi State: 0 / 6 / 0
Pitching Decision
Win: Hightower (9-0)
Loss: Willis (7-1)
Individual Stats (season totals)
Hightower: 7 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (0.79 ERA/0.66 WHIP)
The Florida Gators clinched a series victory over Texas A&M with a 3-1 win on Friday. Florida RHP Jack Leftwich cruised through seven innings of work before turning it over to Christian Scott for the save.
How It Happened:
Sterlin Thompson got the scoring started in the fourth inning as he singled to the gap in left-center to plate Jordan Butler
In the top of the sixth Frizzell hit a solo homer that cleared the entire park and tie the game at 1.
The Gators responded in the seventh with a pair of runs as Mac Guscette continued his hot streak with an RBI single that scored Josh Rivera. Colby Halter scored three batters later on a Jud Fabian double play.
The Aggies were only able to scatter five hits throughout the game.
Pitching Decision:
W: Leftwich (4-0)
L: Chandler Jozwiak (1-2)
S: Scott (1)
Individual Stats:
Guscette: 2-3, RBI
Halter: 2-3, R
Butler: 2-4, 2B, R
Leftwich: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 6 K, 2 BB
Scott: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K
On Deck:
Florida goes for the sweep on Saturday. Hunter Barco will be on the mound for the Gators.
The Florida Gators women’s volleyball team won an extremely tough matchup Friday afternoon against the Kentucky Wildcats. The Gators snapped the Wildcats 15 game win streak in the process. The final score was 3-2 Florida.
Background
Coming into this game, Florida was ranked No. 7, and Kentucky was ranked No. 3, making this a massive top 10 matchup. Kentucky came into this match undefeated with 15 wins under their belt, meanwhile Florida was on a 11-game win streak and had not lost since playing the Georgia Bulldogs in Nov. 2020. In this match, four of the top 10 kill producers in the country took the court.
How it happened
Set 1: 25-18 Kentucky
As expected, both teams came out strong as they matched each other’s action. However, three consecutive points and a failed challenge by Kentucky gave Florida the slight edge. The Gators were able to hold on to their small, two-point lead going into the middle of the set with a score of 14-12. Kentucky was able to regain their ground here and not only tie the game up, but surpass Florida. The Gators called a timeout when the Wildcats lead 17-14. Coming out of the timeout, Florida was never able to quite regain their ground, meanwhile Kentucky flourished. The Wildcats were able to hold the Gators back despite the additional Florida timeout, and Kentucky finished the set with a major 7-point lead and the first win of the day.
Set 2: 27-25 Florida
The second set resembled the first. The two teams came back out with toe-to-toe action until the Gators gained a slight two-point edge at 7-5. Kentucky once again caught up to Florida and tied the game up at 7-7. The next few points went back-and-forth between the teams until Kentucky starting pulling ahead 14-12 which caused a Florida timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Wildcats were able to strengthen their lead to 18-13 until Florida was forced to call another timeout. This time the Gators came back ready to tick away the Wildcat’s lead. Florida rallied to catch up with Kentucky as it became a one-point game at 20-19 which forced a Kentucky timeout. To no avail by the Wildcats, the Gators were able to pull ahead 23-22 and cause an additional Wildcat timeout. The teams continued to swap leads as they both reach match points. In the end, the Gators cinched the win and their first of the day.
Set 3: 25-17 Kentucky
Both teams went back-and-forth, consistently tying up the game. Kentucky was able to gain a slight advantage at points, but Florida was able to meet back up with them. Kentucky began to create a bigger lead after a media timeout that put them up three points over Florida at 17-14. This forced a Florida timeout to reassess their action plan. To no avail for the Gators, the Wildcats came back from this break fighting, and this caused them to jump ahead of the Gators. At a score of 21-16 Kentucky, Florida called another timeout in attempt to try to catch back up in this set. However, despite their efforts, Kentucky held it together to take the set win.
Set 4: 25-16 Florida
Florida came into the fourth set ready to battle. They immediately put up three points on Kentucky until Kentucky challenged a touch-no touch call and won. This helped to reverse the edge as Kentucky worked to gain a two-point lead at 5-3. However, Florida made a point to tie up the game at 6-6, and worked to regain advantage with a four-point lead at 11-7. This reversal of leads forced a Kentucky timeout. Despite a Kentucky timeout, Florida began to widen their lead and even hit a 4-0 run to put them up 16-9. The Wildcats called a second timeout. Florida continued to dominate the set and even put up a 10-point lead over Kentucky at 21-11. The Gators were able to close out the set with a nine-point lead and their second win of the day.
Set 5: 17-15 Florida
Coming right back out, the teams initially kept pace with the other. However, after a tie at 4-4, Florida began the process of pulling away. The Gators were up 8-6 at a media timeout. With the return of play, the Gators held their own and kept their lead. Kentucky knew it was time for a timeout when Florida went up 13-10. Florida’s strength prevailed and a won call challenge by the Gators did not help the Wildcats either. Kentucky called another timeout as Florida neared winning the final set and thus, the match. Kentucky pulled it together and tied the set 14-14. However, Florida kept their fire going and won a hard earned match.
Leaderboard
Kills
Ceasar, 20
Forte, 12
Aces
Ceasar, 3
Carlton, 3
Digs
McKissock, 23
Ceasar, 12
Hall, 9
Blocks
Carlton, 4
Dooley, 4
What’s Next?
The Florida Gators return March 20 to take on the Kentucky Wildcats yet again for the second game in the two-game series. The match is slated to begin at 4 p.m. in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
With under a minute to play in overtime, Tre Mann slid around a screen at the top of the key. He feinted towards the basket before sliding back behind the three-point line and lofting up a shot, one fluid motion as Wilson found nylon.
Virginia Tech led most of the game Friday, but Florida overcame a 10-point deficit and a late flurry to hold on for a 75-70 win to move to the second round of March Madness.
As the opening match for the entire tournament, the Friday game got off to a poor start for Mike White and the Gators. For a second consecutive game, opposing ball movement kept the Florida defense on its toes and off-balance. The Hokies buried a few threes early, including a trio from sophomore Hunter Cattoor, and shot out to a 22-11 lead to start the game.
Florida didn’t allow the lead without a fight and a rally sparked from an unlikely place. Scottie Lewis, the sophomore wing whose headlines mostly focused on his disappointing second year, began to garner attention for another reason. He buried the Gators first three of the game, then made a layup and forced a turnover to start a 14-5 run that cut the Hokies’ lead to just one point.
However, Virginia Tech closed strong in the closing minutes to take a 33-27 lead to the locker room after the first half.
Tyree Appleby got the Gators started in the second half with a steal and a fast break layup, but had to leave the game midway through after Virginia Tech big man Keve Aluma’s elbow caught him in the forehead on a fluke pass. Appleby bled freely on the floor and the Gators announced his forehead required stitches in the locker room.
As the game drew towards its conclusion, three names kept flashing over and over again: Lewis, Colin Castleton, and Virginia Tech’s Nahiem Alleyne.
For most of the game, Alleyne kept the Gators at bay. Big shot after big shot kept the Hokies a possession in front for much of the second half as it felt Alleyne could take on the entire Florida team by himself. He finished the game with more points than anyone on either bench with 28.
Lewis kept his resurgance going with big baskets, and big man Castleton excelled in the second half once again.
15of Castleton’s team-high 19points came after halftime as he made contested layup after contested layup, getting to the line and sending a charge through the Florida bench over and over again. With about five minutes to play, he buried a pair of free throws to give the Gators their first lead since the opening minutes of the game.
A minute later, Scottie Lewis hit a jumper to put the Gators up four, part of a 15-point renaissance for the sophomore. When Mann hit his first dagger three, a step back from the left wing with less than two and a half minutes to play, Florida led by 5 and owned all momentum, the hammer coming down at the perfect time on a 10-0 run.
The game appeared over, but with less than two seconds to play, Alleyne found space and delivered a game-tying three to force overtime, the two teams deadlocked at 64 apiece.
Overtime was slow but the Gators began to overwhelm the Hokies as both Virginia Tech forwards fouled out. Castleton kept establishing himself, now more freely without Virginia Tech’s best big men to challenge him.
Then, with 23 seconds to play and Florida leading by one, the Mann dagger sealed the deal and cemented the 5-point victory.
Florida advances to the second round, likely securing a date with Big 10 runner-up Ohio State, the two seed.
The Florida Gators will face the Virginia Tech Hokies to open the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
The NCAA selection committee surprised a lot of people when they awarded Florida with a seven seed on Sunday, but the Gators face a very good Hokies squad.
The following are our staff predictions for the Florida – Virginia Tech matchup.
Don’t be fooled by the seeding in this matchup. Remember No. 10 Florida knocked off No. 7 Nevada and the talented Martin twins two years ago in the previous NCAA Tournament. Florida enters the tournament receiving zero votes in the AP Top-25 Poll, while Virginia Tech has been ranked dating back to Dec. 21. That said, the Hokies have played just five games since the beginning of February (2-3) including a first-round exit in the ACC Tournament. Still without SEC Preseason Player of the Year Keyontae Johnson, the Gators will ride the hot hand of Gainesville native Tre Mann (26 PPG, 42.9 3-PT% in SEC Tournament). But they’ll need to limit turnovers against a Hokies team that takes tremendous care of the ball (11.6 turnovers per game). Virginia Tech forward Keve Aluma (15.6 PPG, 8 RPG) is a menace in the paint, but he may struggle against a strong Florida interior defense led by 6-foot-11 forward Colin Castleton (2.18 BPG). Should Florida hop out to a comfortable lead, its elite free-throw shooting (75.7%) will carry the Gators to their fourth consecutive round of 32 appearance.
This is a tough matchup. The Gators may have been gifted a No. 10 seed, but the matchup on paper was no favor. The Gators enter as a one point underdog according to Caesars Sportsbook. I think Florida will need to play fast and rely on their defense to come away with a win. I think Florida wins today, but I wouldn’t put a large sum of money on the line. Gators, 67-59.
Surprised was a bit of an understatement when I saw the Gators announced as a seven seed for the tournament. The Gators could cut deep into the tournament if they play to their potential, evidenced by the wins over Tennessee and West Virginia.
However, I’ve always thought March was dominated by momentum. If a team is going in the wrong direction in the weeks leading up to the first round, it’s hard to find the spark come tournament time, and the Gators have lost four of their last five. A tougher draw like Virginia Tech, who was lower than I expected after living in the AP top 25 almost all year, doesn’t help. Tre Mann will be outstanding again, but against a Virginia Tech squad that’s pretty balanced, I don’t think him putting on his cape one more time will be enough. Virginia Tech wins, 68-62.
Whew boy. The Gators left some a little agape when they received a seven seed. Now they have a tough draw in Mike Young’s Virginia Tech team. They’re pretty hard to scout and boast a Top 55 scoring defense. The Hokies average about 72 points on offense. And the Gators live around 70 when it comes to points allowed. In fact, these two teams aren’t too different when going down the stat sheet. Keve Aluma and Wabissa Bede provide their own matchup problems and Aluma is enough to scare Gator fans. Florida has Tre Mann and Colin Castleton on its side to cause the Hokies their own issues. For now, I’ll go with the guy who’s never lost a game in the Round of 64 in Mike White. But this won’t be easy by any stretch. Don’t be surprised if Tech comes out on top and gives White his first ever loss in the first round. Florida 75, Virginia 70.
…
The Gators and Hokies are scheduled for a 12:15 PM tip from Indianapolis and can be viewed live on CBS.
Following it’s worst performance of the season, the Florida Gators baseball team put on a show for the fans on Thursday. The Gators pounced early and often en route to a 13-4 victory over Texas A&M to open SEC play.
How It Happened:
Florida struck first with three runs in the third. Nathan Hickey singled through the hole on the right side that scored Mac Guscette. Kirby McMullen followed with a single to left that plated Colby Halter and Jacob Young.
A solo homer by Ty Coleman in the top of the fourth was really the only mistake that Tommy Mace made on the night.
Even then, the Gators responded in the bottom half of the frame as Colby Halter crushed a two-run homer to right. In total, Florida would put up a five spot in the inning.
The Gators defense let Mace down in the sixth as TAMU struck for three runs, but only one was an earned run due to an error by Kirby McMullen. Jacob Young slipped in right field and was unable to recover in time to make a routine catch which allowed Austin Bost to reach second with an RBI double.
Once again, the Gators responded right away, plating four more runs in the bottom half of the sixth. Jud Fabian crushed a pitch to right center, a three run bomb that completed the scoring for the night.
As for Mace, he tossed 106 pitches in seven innings of work. He gave up two earned runs and struck out 11 while walking no one. Ryan Cabarcas threw a perfect eighth inning and Brandon Sproat closed the game out in the ninth.
Pitching Decision
W: Mace (4-0)
L: Dustin Saenz (3-2)
Individual Stats:
Guscette: 4-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R
Hickey: 3-4, 2B, RBI, R, BB
Fabian: 2-5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R
Halter: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
Mace: 7 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 11 K, 0 BB
What’s Next:
Florida continues it SEC Opening Weekend series with Texas A&M. Jack Leftwich will toe the rubber for the Gators. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM.
The Gators took a commanding four-run lead in the opening frame after freshman catcher Emily Wilkie capped off an epic two-out rally with her first career grand slam. Following back-to-back groundouts, Charla Echols singled up the middle before Julia Cottrill reached on an error and Avery Goelz drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases for Wilkie.
An inning later, center fielder Cheyenne Lindsey walked and stole her seventh base this season to put a runner in scoring position for the top of Florida’s batting order. Second baseman Hannah Adams drove in Lindsey on a single down the right field line, extending the lead to 5-0. Head coach Tim Walton moved Lindsey back into the nine-hole in the lineup after she led off for the past five games. During that stretch, Lindsey hit just 4-19 (.211) and scored only one run.
Florida left-hander Rylee Trlicek pitched the first four innings and picked up her first win this season. The sophomore southpaw allowed just four hits and one unearned run in the top of the fourth on a rare error by first baseman Kendyl Lindaman.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Gators answered North Dakota lone score with two insurance runs. A pair of walks led to a Lindaman RBI-single and an Echols sacrifice fly — her team-leading 23rd RBI this season.
The remaining go-to Florida pitchers — senior right-hander Natalie Lugo, fifth-year southpaw Katie Chronister and junior right-hander Elizabeth Hightower — hurled the final three innings. The dominant trio faced only 10 batters and struck out six en route to closing out a 7-1 non-conference victory.
Final (R-H-E)
North Dakota: 1-5-1
No. 5 Florida: 7-6-1
Pitching Decision
Win: Trlicek (1-0)
Loss: Jones: (4-4)
Individual Stats
Trlicek: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Lugo: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Chronister: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Hightower: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Adams: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB
Lindaman: 2-4, 1 RBI
Echols: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI
Cottrill: 1-2, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HBP
Wilkie: 1-2, 1 R, 4 RBI, 1 HR (2), 1 BB
Lindsey: 0-1, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 SB
SEC Road Trip
The Gators will head to Strakville ahead of their first conference road series this weekend against Mississippi State.
As the nation reflects on a full year of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s hard to not compare 2020 to 2021, especially in sports. The 2020 season was tragically cut short, and in the case of the Gator gymnastics team, its quest for redemption ended unceremoniously and without resolution. 2019 was riddled with uncharacteristic mistakes for the lady Gators – a trip at the finish line costing them the SEC title, a beam disaster that left them high and dry at regionals, and their first missed national championship meet since 2000. 2020 was supposed to be the comeback year: the year that proved that Florida was still a force to be reckoned with, that they wouldn’t be stopped by a fluke like that ever again. That team was well on its way to proving just that, notching an undefeated regular season, the regular season SEC title, and a final away meet where three Gators notched perfect scores. The stage was set for a mind-blowing postseason, and the numbers supported that sentiment, putting Florida ahead of Oklahoma, LSU, UCLA, and the rest of its competitors in most predictive statistic models.
But then the pandemic stopped everything in its tracks.
Fast forward a year, and the SEC has managed to put together a relatively safe conference-only-competition season with no meet cancellations and only one postponement, and the Gators aren’t just undefeated. They’re ranked number one in the nation as a whole, as well as No. 1 on beam and floor, and they have at least one individual ranked in the top 10 on every event, plus two in the all-around. They clinched the SEC regular season title outright with a win against Alabama in their final regular season meet, and since they’ve beaten every team in the SEC at least once this year to do that, they go into the conference championship this weekend as the significant favorites.
It hasn’t been an easy road to get here, though, so let’s take a walk down memory lane. The Gators came out of the gate strong in January, posting a massive 197.5 to kick off their season at Auburn. Vault now appeared to be their strongest event, with the vault squad dialing in their landings like it was March, not January. There were some misses on bars as the freshmen were getting their competition legs under them, but junior Leah Clapper emerged as a genuine three-eventer, joining the bars and floor lineups after being a beam specialist only for two seasons.
The second meet showed those bars weaknesses may have been more than nerves, though, and that the previous week’s vault showing may have been a fluke. The only gymnast in the first two rotations to go 9.9 or higher was team superstar Trinity Thomas, despite competing in the O-Dome on their home equipment with as much of a home crowd as COVID protocols would allow. Beam and floor also showed some worries – Thomas fell on beam, her first fall in a year, and her first beam fall of her collegiate career, while sophomore Payton Richards fell on floor, crashing her last pass to her hands. Still, Florida defeated rival Georgia in its home opener, which is always a positive takeaway, and junior Nya Reed earned an SEC Specialist of the Week honor for her vault and floor performances.
Week three, fans finally saw shades of what this Gator team was capable of on bars, with all counting routines scoring 9.85 or higher. Vault also showed improvement, as yet a third Gator this season nailed her vault for a career-best mark and earned Specialist of the Week for it: Savannah Schoenherr. Thomas once again had trouble on beam, but fought to keep from falling, so there was definitely progress in the right direction. Floor saw a shakeup as senior Alyssa Baumann was held out of the floor at the last minute, bringing up alternate Halley Taylor. To Taylor’s credit, she was a last-second substitute and still scored 9.7, but she doesn’t have the same polish or presence that Baumann is known for, keeping her scoring potential limited. Reed was the floor squad’s sole 9.9+ score, taking a share of the event title for a 9.925. Senior Megan Skaggs also put up a conference-leading AA total of 39.5, earning her her first Gymnast of the Week nod. The Gators still hadn’t put together a complete meet, but the building blocks had finally all shown up.
The next week brought the Gators’ first pride meet, with a special celebration for Schoenherr, who came out publicly in the 2019 offseason in a touching series of interviews with both the Half In, Half Out podcast and UF Athletics. Sporting rainbow masks, the Gators faced Mizzou and earned a massive 197.85 for their efforts. Vault started a little slow, but bars brought three back-to-back-to back career high marks for Richards, Gabbie Gallentine, and Skaggs. At the time, it was the highest bars total in the nation this season. In fact, it’s still the third-highest to date, behind only California and Denver and tied with Michigan as of the end of regular season. Sydney Johnson-Scharpf had a miss on beam, but this beam squad was resilient – freshman Ellie Lazzari went up next and hit that all-important reset button for a 9.875, getting the rotation back on track. She also made her floor debut for 9.85, and teammates Reed and Thomas closed out the night with a 9.925 and 9.95, respectively. The Gators went into their built-in bye week on a season high score still ranked No. 1, as they had been all season, with a major matchup looming ahead of them after a week of rest – LSU.
After a week off from competition, it was time for the biggest meet of the regular season: No. 1 vs No. 2, Florida at LSU. We got a taste of what SEC Championships and likely the national championships will look like that night, with both teams absolutely on fire, battling to the very last routine to see who would take the W. The Gators trailed after two despite a pretty normal bars rotation and an excellent vault performance. The freshmen struggled a little on bars to start out with, but Schoenherr and Thomas stepped up with a 9.925 and 9.975, respectively, while every counting vault score was 9.875 or better, including another 9.975 from Thomas. The Gators went to floor next, where Baumann returned to the lineup for a 9.9 and Thomas earned her first perfect 10.0 of the season! In the final rotation, the Gators gave it everything they had on beam, and despite a fall from Skaggs, all the counting routines went 9.9 or higher with Lazzari and Thomas both notching 9.95s. It was close, but due to a fall from LSU’s final gymnast on floor, Florida pulled out the win by a mere tenth, earning their highest score of the season thus far with a 198.15 to LSU’s 198.05. Thomas earned another Gymnast of the Week honor for her enormous 39.9 AA score, and Reed earned her third Specialist nod of the season for her 9.925s on vault and floor.
But 2021 wasn’t done throwing the Gators curveballs yet. Just as the team hit its stride at LSU, key athletes Johnson-Scharpf, Schoenherr, Reed, and Thomas were all sidelined due to COVID-19 contact tracing protocols, as well as head coach Jenny Rowland and volunteer assistant Jeremy James Miranda. The decision was made only hours before the event, so the team had to adjust lineups and mindset quickly, knowing how deeply they would have to pull from their roster. Three gymnasts made their season debuts on vault – Taylor with a 9.675, Baumann with a 9.825, and Jazmyn Foberg with a 9.8. On bars, Baumann returned to the event for the first time since 2016, when she injured her elbow while training bars and had to withdraw from Olympic Trials and defer from Florida for a year to heal. In one of the most emotionally charged moments of a season chock-full of them, she scored an enormous 9.925 after nearly 1700 days away from competition on bars. Taylor returned on beam for her second collegiate debut of the night, earning a 9.825, and despite Thomas and Johnson-Scharpf being out, the beam team earned a massive 49.675, the highest beam score in the nation at the time, including a 10.0 from Clapper in the fifth slot. The team closed it out on floor to earn a 197.5 overall for the night, matching the score from the first meet of the season despite missing so many key routines. Baumann went 39.65 to win the all-around title for the night, breaking the program record for the highest Gator AA debut.
A week later, the Gators were back to full strength and hungry to build on what their depleted team had shown the week before. Against Auburn, they soared in the final home meet of the season, honoring seniors Baumann, Foberg, and Skaggs as they each made at least one competitive appearance. Skaggs earned a career high on vault with a 9.925, while junior Schoenherr tied her own career high with a 9.95 to win the event title. On bars, Baumann showed that she’s carved out a place in this lineup with a 9.9, and Thomas was finally rewarded for the perfection she’s shown all season with her first bars 10.0 of the year. On beam, all counting scores were 9.925 or higher, with freshman Lazzari setting herself a new career high of 9.975 and tying teammate Clapper for the event title. The beam squad posted a new program record – an enormous 49.7, which is still the highest beam score to date in the nation this season. To finish out the night, Lazzari posted another career best, this time a 9.9 on floor, and Thomas scored a second perfect 10.0, just the second Gator ever to score multiple perfect 10.0s on the same night after Alex McMurtry. Finally putting together a complete meet where all four events were turned up to 11 on the same night brought this team the nation’s highest score of the 2021 regular season – 198.275 – and led to Florida being ranked No. 1 in the nation overall and on every single event.
Week nine brought the Gators to Tuscaloosa to put the cherry on top of an undefeated season: outright ownership of the SEC regular season title. Competing at powerhouse Alabama is never easy for a Gator – it’s downright hostile sometimes – but this time around, there were more than the usual challenges in store. Thomas went down just moments before the meet began in the touch warmup for bars with an ankle tweak, leaving the team to scramble lineups at the last minute. Understandably, scores on bars were unusually low after Baumann’s fall on her dismount caused Florida to count a 9.7 and a 9.725 from Richards and Gallentine, respectively. On vault, though, the team bounced back, posting three 9.9s from Skaggs, Lazzari, and Reed. The Gators stayed hype on floor, with Reed and Baumann closing out for a 9.95-9.975 one-two punch. Johnson-Scharpf also finally returned to the lineup after a few weeks away after a hip flexor strain and COVID tracing protocols had kept her out. Closing out the meet on beam, the Gators finished strong with every routine scoring 9.85 or better, including Schoenherr in her collegiate beam debut! She anchored for a 9.875, sealing the deal for Florida to win the SEC regular season title outright and keep the undefeated streak alive.
So there you have it – the 2021 regular season blow by blow. The mantra for the Gators this season has been normalcy, controlling the controllables and letting go of everything else, and it’s been put to the test as they’ve had surprise after surprise thrown at them throughout the last ten weeks. They’ve been able to roll with the punches so far, staying on top despite all the adversity, but how will they fare come postseason?
When asked what changes for postseason, head coach Jenny Rowland insisted that very little does. “We’re preparing just like we would for any other competition,” she said last week. This team actually has five athletes that have never experienced any form of postseason – the four freshmen and Richards, the lone sophomore – but only the seniors have ever been to nationals in a team environment. Still, Rowland said, “This team’s mindset is postseason [goals are] no different than our regular season goals. It’s really ‘stay focused on the Orange and Blue,’ control what we can control, just go in and enjoy the moment and make the most of it.”
A lot of these lessons echo what they’ve been through the last several years – trying too hard to match other teams has caused past teams to lose sight of the steps they had to take to get there. There are so many factors out of their control that preparation and flexibility in the figurative sense are key to success: “We have to be ready whenever our name is called… no matter the circumstance,” in the words of junior Schoenherr. She also finally revealed the meaning of the team hashtag this year, #4CTION, encouraging them to act with the 2020 seniors in mind, as the four of them are represented by the 4 in the motto.
And in terms of making the most of it and enjoying the moment, one phrase has been repeated throughout Rowland’s interviews this year: “tomorrow is not promised.” It’s something most know deep down, but that lesson was really brought to the forefront with the cancellation of last season, and Rowland has continued to instill that in her athletes. They are so happy to have a season at all and to be given the chance to compete whenever they can is a gift, and they are recognizing and relishing that more than ever this year. It’s evident in their performance – every hit landing, every new achievement no matter how small is celebrated like the biggest deal.
This newfound appreciation for each new opportunity to compete coupled with the mindset of taking postseason just like any other competition puts Florida in a unique position to seize the moment and achieve the goals it’s been chasing for nearly two years now. The Gators just need to keep these lessons they’ve learned close to heart, take it one step at a time, and remember how far they’ve come. The first step is winning SEC Championships for the first time in five years – they’ve beaten all of these teams already (Auburn twice!), all they have to do is do exactly what they’ve already done. After that? Then we can talk about regionals and nationals.
Until then, make sure you tune in on Saturday at 3:30 and 8pm ET for Caroline’s liveblog of SEC Championships, held in Huntsville, Ala. The Gators compete in the evening session on the SEC Network, so tune in if you can, and keep ChompTalk open on your phone or laptop if youcan’t! Make sure you’re following @chomptalk and @mycluttereddesk on Twitter for all your up-to-date Gator Gymnastics news – Caroline tweets a live update thread from coaches and athletes at the team’s press conferences at least once a week.
Florida head coach Tim Walton utilized his entire pitching rotation in the exhibition. “I’m pleased with our pitching staff,” Walton said after the game. “We’re in every single game, and eventually we’re going to click on a lot of different cylinders.”
Sophomore southpaw Rylee Trlicek got the start, but Walton wasted no time bringing in junior right-hander Elizabeth Hightower with two outs in the second inning. “Rylee [Trlicek] did a really nice job, she located well, threw good pitches,” Walton said.
In the top of the fourth, USA advanced its first runner into scoring position as Hightower gave up a leadoff single that led to a sacrifice bunt. The next batter hit a chopper that fortuitously sailed over the head of Florida third baseman Charla Echols and turned into an RBI-double, breaking the 0-0 tie.
After striking out the first batter in the top of the fifth frame, Hightower exited the game for freshman left-hander Haley Pittman. “With an exception of the one bouncing ground ball over Charla’s [Echols] head, everything else was really good,” Walton said. “I thought we probably only made one, maybe two bad pitches on the entire day.”
In her collegiate debut, the only two batters Pittman faced were a pair of former Gators — Aubree Munro and Kelsey Stewart. She walked both batters and threw two balls to the following batter before senior right-hander Natalie Lugo took the rubber in Pittman’s relief. “Definitely nice to give Haley [Pittman] her first go at it,” Walton said. “You just can’t give those guys that many free bases.”
But three at-bats later, Lugo surrendered a two-out, bases-clearing double that extended USA’s lead to 4-0. In the top of the sixth, Florida made its fourth and final pitching change as left-hander Katie Chronister entered the circle and recorded the last five outs.
USA southpaw Cat Osterman kept Florida’s bats in check all night. The 36-year-old gold medalist struck out eight batters across 5.2 shutout innings.
Florida center fielder Cheyenne Lindsey snapped Osterman’s no-hitter in the bottom of the third on a two-out, two-strike single that got through the right side. But the Gators’ offense generated only four hits and seven baserunners the entire night.
Final (R-H-E)
USA: 4-5-0
Florida: 0-4-0
Individual Stats *do not count toward season stat totals*
Trlicek: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Hightower: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Pittman: 0 IP, 0 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
Lugo: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Chronister: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Lindsey: 1-4, 1 K
Adams: 0-3, 2 K
Lindaman: 1-3, 1 K
Echols: 1-3
Cottrill: 1-2, 1 BB, 1 K
Weekday Back-To-Back
The Gators face a quick turnaround as they’ll host North Dakota Wednesday at 7 p.m. on the SEC Network.
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