Today’s the day, the sun is shining, the time has come – the Gators face their gymnastics rivals, the LSU Tigers! Four of the last six times these teams competed head-to-head, less than two tenths separated the winners from the losers. Florida hasn’t lost this meet at home since 2018, and that’s not a feeling they want to go back to. Both teams are tied (with Kentucky) for the SEC regular season championship right now, and whichever team loses tonight will likely lose out on that title.
The Gators are the only team in the nation that have increased their score every week, little by little. LSU, by contrast, has seen a lot of ups and downs, with 198s at their last three home meets, but nothing higher than 197.625 on the road. Still, the scores often fly high in the O-Dome to match the energy and the gymnastics – which team will come out on top?
For those familiar with this matchup over the years, the names to watch from the Tigers will be familiar, as they have a veteran team – Kiya Johnson, Aleah Finnegan, and Haleigh Bryant make up a powerful trifecta of all-arounders that make LSU hard to beat on any given event. Like Florida, they also have a few freshmen phenoms – Konnor McClain and Amari Drayton have both proved their mettle on their respective events already this year, with McClain already earning perfect 10.0s on both bars and beam and Drayton stepping in for a teammate in week 1 to become a regular in both the vault and floor lineups.
But there’s another name that will be even more familiar to most Gator fans – former Florida gymnast Savannah Schoenherr transferred to LSU this year for her final season of eligibility after having to redshirt her fifth year last year due to an ankle injury. Many thought she would return on bars in postseason, but she never returned to competition in the orange and blue, opting instead to heal further and transfer for one last year in purple and gold. This will be her first time in the O-Dome on the opposing team, which may be a little strange for all parties involved. Expect to see her on vault and bars for LSU, which were her usual events for Florida when she was healthy.
With the LSU portion out of the way, let’s take a look at what checklist items we’re still looking for from the Gators to gauge their progress as we’re about to finish up midseason with February coming to a close:
- Better vault landings across the lineup
- They’ve had two weeks of really solid scores, with a few hiccups last week likely due to podium. We’re looking for a return to dialed-in landings and solid amplitude – nobody should be undercooking things or taking big bounds forward, except maybe Victoria Nguyen, who hasn’t had as many reps in competition as the rest of the squad.
- 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
- Last week was the first truly six for six bars rotation this team has had all season. Another one tonight is sorely needed, both to beat LSU and to demonstrate that the vets have gotten all their yips out and can hit when needed.
- Nguyen breaking 9.9 on beam consistently
- One more and she will have hit three – I feel good about tonight for her – but she’s not consistent yet. The 9.875 last week was much better than her last down week, which was a 9.775 at Georgia.
- A strong leadoff routine on floor from Brubach, followed by higher scores from each subsequent athlete
- At the end of last week’s meet, I said I thought that the six they used in Missouri might be the final six. Live scoring setup indicates that Bluffstone and Richards will both be back in tonight, so I might be right? If so, tonight we hope to see a rotation much like last week – strong landings, good control, high-energy performance, and all counting routines 9.9 or higher. That’s what it may take to beat LSU – the Tigers are a force to be reckoned with on floor.
It all starts at 7pm on ESPN2, but if you can’t tune in, are busy with another meet, or don’t have access, we’ll have all the quick hits for you right here!
6:50pm: Lineups are out! We are going to see Nguyen on vault instead of Lazzari, but the rest of this does look identical to last week if I remember correctly.
7:03pm: Getting to get started on the broadcast! Here we go with rotation 1 – Florida vault, LSU bars.
Draser, VT: Y1.5, not much distance, just a little shuffle back on the landing – if she had been a little more patient, I think she could have stuck it, it looked like the landing was a surprise.
Jeffrey, UB: Maloney to bail, a little loose but handstand position is fine. A little short of final handstand, full in dismount, has to squat for it but holds the stick.
Blakely, VT: Y1.5, again just a little shuffle on the landing, but one of her good ones.
Cowan, UB: Tkachev to overshoot, well connected and floats nicely but I still don’t like that skill. DLO dismount, just a little bounce back.
Nguyen, VT: Y1.5, much cleaner in the air than the last two, good distance – just a little hop forward. Love to see that from her with this only her third or fourth time on vault at Florida overall.
Johnson, UB: Maloney to bail, pretty clean. Nice final handstand, DLO dismount, little bounce back.
Pilgrim, VT: Y1.5, looked stuck in real time, slow-mo shows just a little shift to the side. Excellent in the air!
McClain, UB: A little shy on opening handstand? Piked Tkachev to pak, gorgeous. Holds the final handstand, waits to make sure she doesn’t go over the wrong way, full in dismount – little adjustment with one foot. Still, a strong routine.
Ferris, VT: Y1.5, biiig distance but has to take a little scoot back.
Schoenherr, UB: SO strange seeing her in a purple leo here. Jaeger is great, bail fine. Last handstand is solid, little bounce on the dismount.
Wong, VT: Yhalf-on, pike half off, little slide back, pretty clean in the air.
Bryant, UB: Jaeger gets great amplitude. Bail is good. Double front half out is stuck! Their only one?
AFTER ONE: UF 49.6, LSU 49.275
7:20pm: Rotation two!
KJ Johnson, LSU VT: Yfull, just a little bounce back, but great amplitude.
Blakely, UB: Maloney to pak, really clean. Last handstand is solid – sticks her dismount cold! Her best routine so far this season.
Finnegan, VT: Y1.5 – she just started doing this vault – little shuffle on that landing.
Nguyen, UB: Maloney to pak, some leg separation on the pak. Little adjustment on the dismount it looked like.
Drayton, VT: Y1.5 – stuck cold! Holy cow! That’s going to be a huge score.
Disidore, UB: Short on opening handstand, recasts and does another but it’s not great either. Maloney to pak, those are clean at least. van Leeuwen is great – DLO dismount, just a shuffle back.
Schoenherr, VT: Y1.5, has to hop her feet back underneath her.
Lazzari, UB: Big Ray, strong handstand work on the high bar. Pak salto is lovely – low bar half pirouette has some trouble but recasts and covers well. Full in dismount is stuck! What an absolute pro.
Kiya Johnson, VT: Yurchenko double full – was that stuck? Holy cow, they are dialing in these landings – not quite stuck, just a small adjustment on one foot, it’s clearer in slow mo.
Pilgrim, UB: Maloney to pak, suuuper clean. No low bar problems for her, great handstand work. Full in dismount – just has to take the step forward. Still, a very clean routine up to that point.
Bryant, VT: Handspring pike half, it’s huge – just a little slide back on the landing. Commentator Bridget Sloan is right – that vault is a carbon copy almost week after week. It’s incredible.
Wong, UB: Solid low bar handstand. Maloney to pak, little leg separation on the pak salto. van Leeuwen is gorgeous. Good final handstand. DLO dismount floats down and she sticks it! That should be a huge score, which they need.
AFTER TWO: TIED AT 98.825
Hoo boy, we told y’all this was going to be a close one. That was a huge vault rotation for LSU, and the Gators couldn’t quite get things going on bars – a lack of sticks and those low bar troubles definitely cost vital tenths. It’s going to come down to the last routine for sure.
7:38pm: Rotation 3! Florida beam, LSU floor.
Draser, BB: Back handspring to layout-stepout (bhs loso) acro series. Switch leap to switch half, some flexed feet, a little shy of 180 on the half? Roundoff 1.5 dismount, little hop forward.
McClain, FX: Double layout (DLO) to start things off, a little bouncy on that landing, kinda skids a little. Love this Beyonce mix of music. Gorgeous extension on her dance series. 1.5 to front full, very clean, much better control.
Blakely, BB: Front aerial to bhs, good connection, very clean. Split leap to switch half to beat jump, good 180 positions but some feet. A little bobble on her full turn? Stays on but that won’t be a knockout score. Gainer full off the side, little adjustment on the landing.
Drayton, FX: DLO to lead off for her as well, much better control than her teammate before her. Punch front through to double tuck, really had to pull that double tuck around and did somehow, just a little low chest on the landing but well controlled. Single wolf turn to get the difficulty up to snuff. Switch ring to switch half, lovely extension on those and no landing concerns. That’ll be a solid score.
7:45pm: Pilgrim, BB: Candle mount from the springboard, love that. Bhs loso, super patient with it, just so steady. She looks really focused tonight. Beat jump to front aerial, a little hesitation in the connection but she leaves her foot hanging when she does the beat so I don’t think they can say she broke it. Switch leap to split leap, love that combo, great 180 positions. Gainer full off the side is stuck – that should be an excellent score!
KJ Johnson, FX: Full in to start, great amplitude and very clean in the air, landing is controlled. 1.5 to front layout, great twisting form and well controlled once again. Switch side to Popa, straddle positions hit well above 180. Double tuck to finish – that’s going to be a fantastic score, they should put her later in the lineup.
Lazzari, BB: Bhs loso loso, dead on this week, good for her. Switch leap to split jump, hits 180, although not oversplit like she usually is. Front aerial, and oh, she has a break! Leans and bends at the waist, but does not come off and doesn’t wave her arms too much. Gainer full off the side is stuck, but they’ll want to drop that.
Finnegan, FX: Double arabian to stag jump, great height on that pass. Goes right into a choreography section, performing like she’s at home. Dance series is gorgeous, just another level of finish from other competitors in those elements. 2.5 to punch front, just drops that front tuck in to basically stick it. That will be another great one – it’s going to be so tough tonight, y’all. She got the 10!
Nguyen, BB: Love her twisting roll mount. Onodi to bhs, thought she was going to bobble but she didn’t, keeps it so even-keeled. Full turn is fine. Switch leap to split jump, gorgeous 180 positions, incredible toe point. Bhs 1.5 twist is stuck – I think she usually does that off the other end of the beam with something else in between? I have to assume her start value will still be high enough, she wouldn’t have done that if it weren’t.
Bryant, FX: Double front, totally nails it, landing is well controlled. Dance series is great, 180 positions are fine and no landing errors. Front lay to Rudi is landed well too – with a 10 from Finnegan, where do you go?
Wong, BB: Switch leap to split leap, sticks to just a simple mount still. Bhs loso, series is so clean. Front aerial to beat jump, connects it well. Roundoff double full dismount is stuck! Holds it for good measure and the crowd is chanting 10 – we’ll see! They could certainly use it. Nope, just a 9.975 – so close.
Kiya Johnson, FX: Full in to open, well landed. Combination pass immediately after, also very clean. Switch side to Popa, great straddle positions, no landing or rotation concerns. Double pike with a cold two-foot stick! Wow! That’s a way to finish that rotation…
AFTER THREE: LSU 148.6, UF 148.45
The Gators have a tenth and a half to make up in this last rotation – they’re going to need a STRONG floor rotation to do it. Florida needs to do what it did last week, and maybe then some.
8:07pm: Last one, hopefully best one! Let’s go!
Ballard, LSU BB: Bhs loso series, a lean to the side but doesn’t wave her arms. Sissone to switch half, strong. Front toss, dead on. Roundoff 1.5 dismount, big lunge forward on the landing.
Nguyen, FX: Such an elegant routine. Front double full to sissone, a little wild in the twist but landing looked okay? The camera angle made it a little harder to tell. Switch ring to switch half, the toe point is just unmatched. Y turn is clean as well. 1.5 to front lay, just places her foot into almost a ballet B+ position behind her rather than stepping forward. A good start.
Beard, BB: Bhs loso, big bobble, leg comes up and arms circle. Stays on though. Switch leap to straddle half to beat jump, nicely connected, positions solid. Side aerial, another balance check, looked like she just didn’t make it all the way around before her body got vertical. Cat leap to gainer full was stuck, but they won’t want to count that one if they’re going to beat Florida. We’ll see how the rest of their rotation goes.
Pilgrim, FX: Punch front through to double tuck, nice and high, controlled on the landing – does not move the front foot one bit. Leap series maybe had one cheated rotation? It looked better than usual though, I was going back and looking at past routines to see just why that leap series always looked funky to me and it’s because she doesn’t always quite make it all the way around. Double pike, slides on that one – won’t be quite as lights out but still a good routine.
8:15pm: McClain, BB: Switch leap to switch half, gets suuuuch a big oversplit on both of those, just gorgeous. Front aerial to bhs, well connected, super clean. Wolf jump – nobody does those in NCAA and honestly they shouldn’t because no one else’s looks like hers. Gainer full off the side is stuck! That’s a great reset for this team, well done for the freshman.
Bluffstone, FX: Let’s see how Red does in her second outing! Full in was a little low in the air but she still pulled it around somehow, wow. Front full to front full, came a little short on the second one but just a small little foot shuffle, did her best to cover it. She looked almost a little more nervous than last week – maybe the higher pressure environment? Another good, not great.
Kiya Johnson, BB: Bhs loso, a check to one side, arm circle, but keeps it small. Dance series, also looked like a small bobble there? Front toss is dead on though, so satisfying. Roundoff double full, just a little shuffle of the feet.
Blakely, FX: Punch front through to double tuck to open, one of her good ones, well controlled. Really hitting all her moments in this choreo section. Switch ring half is much better this week, that’s nice to see. 1.5 to front full, very clean on that last pass. Should be an excellent score for her!
Bryant, BB: Front aerial to bhs, ignores the crowd like a pro. Switch leap to switch half, very clean positions, some feet? Punch front, super steady. Punch Rudi dismount, looked stuck to me!
Richards, FX: A little music error as she tries to start. Second time is the charm, here we go. DLO, pikes a little at the end, it looks good but then she steps and she’s down. Oh god. I can’t tell if it’s her thigh or her knee, but she’s kneeling instead of sitting, so I’m not sure what kind of injury that could be.
They showed the slow-mo of her landing afterward and I couldn’t tell if it was her ankle or her thigh that immediately bothered her when she stepped forward into choreo after that landing. So disappointing, hope it’s just a cramp or something minor, would hate for her to miss her last season.
Finnegan, BB: Bhs loso loso, another bobble – is the beam crooked or something? Gets it back with her dance series, much better. Front aerial, another balance check – unusual for her for sure. Gainer full off the side, a little hop on the landing.
Wong, FX: Double wolf turn to open, nice and clean. DLO to open – she does it into the same corner where Richards got hurt but shows no sign of concern or fear. Ice in her veins. Dance series is clean as usual, so elegant. Whip half to front full to finish it out, takes it right to the line but does not go over. That should win it and the sold-out crowd in the O-Dome goes WILDDDDDD!
IT’S A TEN! WONG GETS HER GYM SLAM!
FINAL: UF 198.15, LSU 197.95
What a rollercoaster of a night, man. LSU/UF is never a dull night, that’s for sure.
Wong takes the AA crown at a whopping 39.875, plus bars at 9.95 and floor at 10.0. She also ties for beam at 9.975 with teammate Pilgrim, and Tiger Amari Drayton takes vault at a huge 9.975.
With next week moving into late season, I’ll have lots of adjustments to the checklist to look for, so we’ll go over those before the meet next week starts. I’ll see you all then – Sunday, not Friday, at 2p at Kentucky!
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