Close, but no cigar – the Gators had an exceptional meet on Saturday night, but they ended up just shy of the title, placing second to Oklahoma’s champion.
At the start of the meet, this seemed like the least likely of outcomes. After a less-than-ideal vault rotation, Florida sat in third. Most of the vault squad’s Yurchenko 1.5s had come up just a little short of rotation, likely overcompensating for the bounding landings they had in semifinals. Star Trinity Thomas had stuck hers for a session-winning 9.9875, but one stuck vault does not a strong rotation score make. Even the triumphant return of junior Payton Richards to the lineup was only good enough for a 9.8125, and the Gators notched just a 49.35 after one rotation. Still, they stood above Oklahoma, who had a messy floor rotation with two routines out-of-bounds errors. The Sooners sat just short of two tenths back at a 49.1875. Auburn had somehow leapfrogged both frontrunners with a stellar bars rotation, with highlights from Derrian Gobourne and Sunisa Lee, scoring 9.9375 and 9.9125, respectively. In first, though, was Utah, who started on beam, its best event. The Utes earned a cool 49.5125 for their efforts on the often-make-or-break event. Despite being in third, Florida fans felt pretty positive about this start – the rotation score was an improvement over semifinals and vault has been pretty inconsistent over the course of the season. It seemed likely the Gators would only go up, while Utah and Auburn would likely go down. And Oklahoma? It didn’t seem the Sooners could have that big of an edge on the Gators to overcome that deficit.
The second rotation was much more normal than semifinals, with no equipment malfunction in sight. However, this time, it was Riley McCusker who had a fall, sitting her dismount despite her best efforts to save it. This lineup knows how to deliver under pressure, though, and all four remaining athletes hit fantastic routines, earning a 49.525 total for the rotation as they were able to drop McCusker’s score. However, Oklahoma came back from its disappointment on floor to notch an excellent vault rotation, including a 9.975 for Katherine LeVasseur, finishing with a 49.6625 event total. Auburn, meanwhile, had faded after a difficult beam rotation kept the Tigers stuck in the 9.8 range for all but one routine – Lee’s 9.9 – that left them with only a 49.2 for the event. Through it all, Utah hung onto a razor-thin lead, finishing floor with a 49.4625 thanks to a strong performance from Sydney Soloski, whose 9.9125 allowed the team to drop Maile O’Keefe’s uncharacteristic fall before her. At the halfway point, it was Utah in first with a 98.975, Florida with a 98.875, and Oklahoma with a 98.85.
The third rotation is where Oklahoma made its move. Florida’s beam rotation was stellar, but not as stellar as it could have been. In their final beam routines, Megan Skaggs and Alyssa Baumann went 9.9 and 9.9125, respectively, and pictures from the meet show just how textbook-perfect many of their elements were. Unfortunately, most of the Gators weren’t able to stick their landings, so there were just a few too many deductions they weren’t expecting to give up. A 49.5 is pretty normal for this team, and it would have taken a better-than-normal rotation to fight off the incredible wave that was Oklahoma bars. In each of their counting routines, the Sooners stuck every single landing and hit nearly every handstand, leading to a whopping 49.725, the highest single-rotation score of the entire meet. Utah, unfortunately, struggled on vault, with Cammy Hall sitting her Yurchenko 1.5 and Lucy Stanhope only earning a 9.7625. Auburn’s Gobourne and Lee again made a splash on floor, but the Tigers had to count two scores 9.825 or lower, continuing to limit their upward mobility. With only one rotation left, Oklahoma took the lead with 148.575, Florida trailed at 148.375, Utah fell to 148.2, and Auburn dropped to 148.0125.
Photo by Erin Long
Two tenths was still a deficit the Gators had hope of overcoming, especially as they went to floor while the Sooner had to contend with beam. Florida went lights out on floor – its 49.7125 was the second-highest single-rotation score of the meet – marked by Thomas earning yet another perfect 10.0 in the fifth spot, which was her fourth in a row. Even so, Oklahoma earned a 49.625 on beam, capped off by a 9.9625 from 2016 Olympic alternate Ragan Smith, which made the title unreachable for the Gators, no matter the score Richards got in the final lineup slot. She still went out and performed the routine she’s done all season, earning a 9.9 for her efforts, but it was too little, too late. The Gators finished their night with a 198.0875 – an incredible score, especially for a national championship meet where there are six judges per event instead of two. Oklahoma took the crown, though, edging out Florida with a 198.2.
Photo by Erin Long
So where do the Gators go from here? After everything was said and done on Saturday, Thomas had some hopeful words. “This team really had something special… we’re going to go back, and we’re going to be excited about second place, that’s OK. But I know that Florida has more to give.”
This team has no regrets, as head coach Jenny Rowland said. “Really, this team made the most of every day and made the most of this entire season.”
Alyssa Baumann agreed: “Absolutely no regrets… To go the whole regular season undefeated, win the SEC Championship, and finish second [at NCAAs], that’s pretty good. We had more fun this year than I’ve ever had. We were really ourselves. We just did it our way.”
The Gators left it all on the floor, and they seem pretty pleased with that. But don’t expect them to sit on their laurels – like Thomas said, next year, there’s more to give.
Will she be back? All athletes who were on an NCAA team in 2021 have the option to take an extra year of eligibility, though starting next season, it will count against the team’s scholarship totals. Thomas only had this to say: “We’ll see.”
That pretty nicely encapsulates the brief look toward the future the Gators seem to have allowed themselves in the moments following the meet. “We’ll see” what the offseason and preseason bring – there’s so much more this team is capable of come 2023.
After another blown save in the bottom of the ninth, Florida freshman Deric Fabian played hero with a solo homer to lead the Gators past Vanderbilt 4-3 in extra innings Sunday. The Gators avoided being swept in Nashville as a result of the blast.
Freshman pitcher Brandon Neely pitched a gem over the first six innings, allowing just one run over 6.1 innings of work. Additionally, he struck out seven and walked just one before turning the game over to Tyler Nesbitt.
The Gators struck early with a RBI single from Wyatt Langford in the first. BT Riopelle followed with an RBI groundout to put Florida on top 2-0.
Jud Fabian crushed his fifteenth homer of the year in the third and the Gators fielded a 3-0 advantage.
Vanderbilt cut into the deficit in the fifth as Neely made his only mistake of the afternoon.
Nesbitt retired the first seven batters he faced before allowing a single with two outs in the ninth. Then, Bulger homered to even things up to force extra innings.
In the tenth, Deric Fabian hit a 1-0 pitch over the wall in left to put the Gators back on top. Nesbitt completed the win by retiring the side allowing just one base runner in the final inning via error.
Florida improved to 22-14 overall and 6-9 in conference play. The Gators are tied for fourth in the SEC East currently.
Pitching Decision:
W: Tyler Nesbitt (1-2)
L: Christian Little (0-1)
Individual Stats:
J. Fabian: 2-5, HR, RBI, 2 R
Riopelle: 2-4, 3B, RBI
Neely: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 7 K, BB
Nesbitt: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 3 K, BB
On Deck:
Florida will face Stetson in midweek action at Florida Ballpark on Tuesday before welcoming the nation’s number one team, Tennessee for a weekend series. Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello will miss the first two games after being suspended for bumping an umpire following his ejection Saturday.
Florida catcher BT Riopelle delivered the best game of his career but Florida was unable to hold on to an early lead and dropped the contest 8-6 in Nashville Saturday.
Riopelle hit three homers to carry the team on his back Saturday. Unfortunately, the team’s pitching continues to struggle to find consistency inning to inning.
Riopelle got the scoring started with a home run to right on a 3-1 pitch in the second inning. Two frames later, Riopelle crushed the first pitch he saw out of the park to left, a two-run blast that put the Gators in front 3-0. Josh Rivera added a solo homer two batters later.
RHP Brandon Sproat cruised through the first three innings. He finally gave up a run in the fourth on a solo homer. The Commodores then got another back in the fifth as Bradfield scored on a single from Vaz.
A three run triple by Bradfield in the sixth gave Vanderbilt a 6-4 advantage and knocked Sproat out of the contest.
Riopelle laced his third homer in the seventh, a two-run shot that evened the score.
But, as we’ve seen over and over again this year, the Florida bullpen was unable to blank the ‘Dores.
Vanderbilt added one in the seventh and another in the eighth to claim the 8-6 victory and clinch the series.
Pitching Decision:
W: Nick Maldonado (2-1)
L: Tyler Nesbitt (0-2)
S: Thomas Schultz (5)
Individual Stats:
Riopelle: 3-4, 3 HR, 5 RBI, BB
Langford: 2-5, 2 R
Rivera: 1-4, HR, RBI
On Deck:
The two teams will meet in the series finale Sunday at 1:00 PM.
In perhaps the wildest series of events in program history, the Florida Gators qualified to the women’s gymnastics national championship final on Thursday, along with the Oklahoma Sooners, the Utah Utes, and the Auburn Tigers. Left on the outside were former national champions Alabama and Michigan, the latter of which is the reigning champion, after a shocking series of unfortunate events. Alabama had a disappointing vault rotation to finish its meet, resulting in coming up just short of qualifying. Michigan started the meet strong, but after being forced to count a fall on bars, the team couldn’t rally and had a disastrous beam rotation, resulting in another counting fall and ultimately an eighth-place finish overall.
What’s more bizarre than Michigan not qualifying was what happened to the Gators on bars. Team manager Shea Wheeler noticed, as she was pulling the springboard away after Savannah Schoenherr mounted the apparatus, that the podium was moving too much where the wires that anchor the bars go into the podium and to the floor underneath. She told assistant coach Owen Field, who told fellow AC Adrian Burde, who decided to sit on the podium where it was bouncing to try to keep it more stable during Megan Skaggs’s routine. Though an NCAA official tried to stop him, he explained the issue, but he was not allowed to remain there. Still, it alerted officials to the issue, and once they investigated, they discovered that the anchoring system for the apparatus, which weighs it down to the floor to keep it from moving around on the podium platform, was not attached correctly!
Hannah White/Florida UAA Communications
This picture shows how the weights should be bound to create one large block, rooting the wires of the bars to the ground, as they’re filled with either water or sand. Apparently, during at least Schoenherr and Skaggs’s routines – if not others, we still don’t really know when the malfunction occurred – the straps came undone so that not all the weights were functioning together. It took ten minutes or more for arena staff to remedy the situation while Trinity Thomas, Leanne Wong, and Kentucky’s Raena Worley, who was rotating with Florida, waited to take their turn. At one point, the Gators who had already competed on bars began to regrip, with a rumor going around the arena that they might get to redo all of their routines, as it was unclear when the equipment malfunction occurred.
Ultimately, the head judge on bars ruled that the routines already completed would stand as is, but the remaining athletes would be allowed a 30-second touch warmup, as it had been too long of a wait since they had last been on the apparatus. Thomas, Wong, and Worley, who had all put their sweats back on to keep warm and started cracking jokes, got their heads back in the game and mounted the bars one by one, each hitting an excellent routine.
Head coach Jenny Rowland said after the fact, “I was just glad it was Trinity next. She can remain calm, poised and just get up and do what she is capable of doing.” Many fans expressed similar sentiments – myself included!
The Gators were able to use this moment as a major reset point and went on to have stellar beam and floor rotations, ultimately coming back to win the evening session and qualify to today’s national final. They also were lucky enough to draw Olympic order once again, so hopefully with the repeated order from Thursday that they’re familiar with, they’ll be able to settle in a little better from the very beginning, dial in those landings, and have a much better start than in semifinals.
Competition starts at 1pm ET on the ABC Network and on ESPN3 online, but if you can’t make it, we’ll have every moment for you play-by-play here as well! We’ll share updates leading up to the meet as we receive them.
10:31am: Our friend Dr. Sam from Alligator Army is in Fort Worth and recorded this footage of the Gators’ sendoff just a little while ago! The team looks pretty focused and excited as they head to the arena.
10:57am: Florida just posted their final pre-meet hype video of the season, and it is a DOOZY. Make sure your sound is on to hear Gator Great Bridget Sloan narrate.
11:06am: Make sure you all check out Morgan Hurd’s Instagram Story takeover on the Olympic Channel – she’s giving us a behind-the-scenes look at the meet today featuring some adorable antics from teammates, parents, and fans!
12:12pm: It looks like the Gators are warming up floor, which means warmups are almost over. They’ll start on vault, Auburn will start on bars, Utah will start on beam, and Oklahoma will start on floor. That should mean that, barring any equipment malfunctions again or other odd delays, Oklahoma and Florida will be the last two teams competing when the meet is nearly finished, as beam and floor take the longest of the four events. Their last few competitors will know exactly what they need to beat Auburn and Utah, but it may go back and forth between these top two teams depending on what the scores look like by then. It could be a real nailbiter!
Skaggs, VT: Yfull, little hop in place, great start.
Morgan, Utah BB: Acro series solid. Lovely low beam choreo! Beat to side aerial to back full stuck! Very calm, good for her.
Johnson, OU FX: Front lay to Rudi, strong start. Double tuck, clean leanding there. Hate how they front load these passes and only dance for the second half, but it’s not illegal or anything. Ugh.
1:08pm: Schoenherr, VT: Y1.5, good in the air, stutter steps under herself.
Groth nailed bars for Auburn, if a little late on her full pirouette before her dismount.
McCallum, BB: Double wolf turn, strong. Bhs loso, steady and calm, some knees. Switch to stag jump, positions are fine but nothing wow. Side aerial back full, college stick, would not give the full control to her.
Wong, VT: Podkopayeva, little step to the side. Strong shape in the air again today, good for her.
1:12pm: Reed, VT: Y1.5, underrotated and had to stumble back. Ouch. Not the way she wanted to hit.
Paulson, BB: Lovely mount sequence. Switch to split, lovely extension. Sticks her dismount!
Fletcher, FX: Whip double tuck, big lunge but doesn’t move the front foot. Front lay to front full, clean form through those. Gorgeous straddle positions in her leap series. 2.5 twist to finish, good control on her landing – that’ll be a strong score for the Sooners.
Thomas, VT: Y1.5, STUCK COLD! YES MA’AM!
1:15pm: Gobourne, UB: Good first handstand. Tkachev to pak, some flexed feet there. Last handstand looked a little shy. Full in stuck! Auburn picking it up here.
Richards, VT: Her first vault this season – Y1.5, little slide back but she is STOKED and so is Adrian! They should be able to drop Reed’s vault, which only earned a 9.7.
Lee, UB: Maloney to pak to van Leeuwen, looking effortless. Full in dismount, little scoot back.
Eaker, BB: She just has such a lovely presence. Side aerial loso, dead on. Dance series, lovely. Cat leap side aerial back tuck full is stuck! What a great routine.
1:19pm: Bowers, FX: Double pike, textbook form, wow. Front double full to punch front, and she’s COMPLETELY out of bounds! Wow! Great leap series as she recovers, but that’s a big bummer – OU will not break into the 9.9s just yet. One more left for the Sooners.
O’Keefe, BB: Gorgeous acro series, side aerial loso. Switch to split leap, great 180 positions. Full turn is nice and calm. Lovely high toe work. Cat leap side aerial back full, little adjustment as she tries to hang onto the stick.
1:22pm: Smith, FX: Double tuck to open, big slide back and she goes over the line! Oh boy. Combo pass is nice, maybe a little whippy on the front lay. Double pike to finish, better control there.
AFTER ONE: UTAH 49.5125, AUB 49.425, UF 49.35, OU 49.1875
Utah starts with its best event, but now has to contend with an order of events that corresponds with a decreased in national ranking – they finished the regular season No. 4 on floor, No. 5 on vault, and No. 6 on bars in the nation. Florida, meanwhile, gets to progress into its better events, but so does Oklahoma.
Better start for the Gators today as they move towards their higher scoring events!
Blakely, UB: Maloney to pak, solid. Strong final handstand! Toe blind is strong. Double front, looked like a small step. Love to see her rebound!
Paulson, Utah FX: I missed her first pass. Lovely dance series. 1.5 to front lay, nice and floaty. Strong start for Utah on floor, they’ll like that.
Stern, OU VT: Y1.5, no stick today but small adjustment.
Hollingsworth hits BB for Auburn.
LeVasseur, VT: Y1.5, basically stuck. That’ll help turn the tide for them.
1:35pm: McCusker, UB: Gorgeous releases, stalder is well timed, double tuck – oh no, she stumbles back and sits it! Oh boy. Pressure situation.
Bowers, VT: Y1.5, little hop in place. Will be another strong one for OU.
Schoenherr, UB: Strong Jaeger. Bail is dead on! Good final handstand, not going too hard on them. Double front half STUCK COLD. CLUTCH!
Sievers, VT: Y1.5, little step forward.
1:38pm: Stevens, BB: Brusch before her got a 9.7875, so not doing quite as well on this event. Little bobble on her acro series. I didn’t catch the rest of the routine, but looked like a stuck dismount!
Skaggs, UB: Tkachev to pak, strong. Great final handstand. DLO, holds onto the stick – that’s another hit! Need two more to be in the clear.
Trautman, VT: Y1.5, looked like a small adjustment but VERY small.
Rucker, FX: Front lay front full, clean form there to finish. Another strong one for the Utes.
Fletcher, VT: Another Y1.5, little hop forward on the landing. OU is absolutely still in this.
1:41pm: Thomas, UB: Maloney to pak, solid. van Leeuwen, clean there too. Great last handstand! DLO dismount, stuck like a DART into the mat. Chomps a LET’S GO into the camera, she’s so pumped!
Groth, BB: Triple acro series, little bobble, wow that’s the first time I’ve seen her have an issue. Switch to switch half, strong. Stuck dismount!
McCallum, FX: Full in to open, strong. Dance series is clean. Front lay to Rudi is too – Utah is not letting up on the gas pedal here.
Wong, UB: Great opening handstand! Maloney to pak, little ankle sep. Great low bar handstand there. van Leeuwen is strong. DLO dismount, little slide back.
1:44pm: McLaughlin, BB: Acro series is clean. Beat to side aerial, steady. Hate that stand-still-and-turn technique, but she keeps it error free. Switch to straddle 1/4, clean. Gainer pike off the end, just a little hop.
O’Keefe, FX: Double pike, a little bouncy on the landing but stays in bounds. Gorgeous leap series. Double wolf turn, has to put a hand down – will that count as a fall? Sits her final element of her combo pass! Oh no! That’s so unusual for her.
Lee, BB: Wolf turn, clean. Front aerial to bhs loso, solid. Leap series is lovely, maybe a little check there. Bhs gainer full stuck!
1:49pm: Soloski, FX: Will Florida lead after two? Or will Soloski lift Utah past the Gators once more?
After a wait to let the judges conference about O’Keefe’s start value, Soloski is finally up. DLO is fabulous, a little slide on the landing but stays in bounds. Leaps are lovely. Front lay to front full, well controlled and clean form. 1.5 to front lay, nice and floaty. That should be enough to keep Utah in the lead.
AFTER TWO: UTAH 98.975, UF 98.875, OU 98.85, AUB 98.625
It’s just like I said, y’all. This one’s gonna be a nail biter.
Skaggs, BB: Switch to split, lovely as always. Bhs loso, so steady. Front aerial, excellent. Cat leap to switch side, flawless. Side aerial back full stuck! If there was ever a leadoff 10, that was it y’all. Hot damn.
O’Keefe, VT: Strong opening vault for Utah.
Brusch leading off Auburn on FX with a strong routine so far. Double pike to finish, little slide on the front foot, but a good start.
2:07pm: LeVasseur, UB: Great release skills. Stuck dismount!
Blakely, BB: Front aerial to bhs, clean. Switch to switch half, strong. Side aerial back full, small hop. Good for her!
Rucker, VT: Y1.5 STUCK COLD! A duplicate from Thursday, wow.
Trautman, UB: I’m working off of two screens right now but she stuck her dismount!
2:09pm: Baumann, BB: Bhs loso, just lays it back. Switch to split, gorgeous. Front aerial to beat, nice and patient with it. Side aerial, god. 1.5 dismount stuck! What a routine!
McCallum hit her vault.
Smith, UB: Ray to pak, floated that down. Great handstand work, ooh, too aggressive on the last one, almost goes over the wrong way. Saves it, DLO dismount and little adjustment.
Hall, VT: Y1.5, oh no! Sat it! That’ll open the door.
Wong, BB: Switch leap to split leap, lovely. Acro series was strong. Switch ring, fine. Front aerial, good. Roundoff double full, can’t hang onto the stick, just a little hop forward.
Bowers, UB: Tkachev was gorgeous, and pak. Full in stuck!
2:13pm: Groth, FX: Front double full to open, strong. Well controlled and clean leap series there. 1.5 to front lay, nice and floaty in that second element. Rudi, chest a little low.
Davis, UB: Huge Piked jaeger, wow. Pak salto, strong. Double front half out stuck! That’ll be a great score for OU… in my opinion, the judges are being a little easier on them than anyone else, but maybe that’s me….
Thomas, BB: Switch leap mount, gorgeous. Bhs loso, locks those arms down, she is not going anywhere. Front aerial, doesn’t connect but makes it look intentional. Beat to korbut swingdown, lovely. Side aerial back full, little hop it looked like.
Lee, FX: DLO, solid landing, some pike toward the end. Gorgeous leap passage. 1.5 to front full, single step forward, very controlled. Another strong one for Auburn!
2:18pm: Clapper, BB: Bhs loso loso, sooo secure. Full turn is clean. Switch leap to split jump, lovely positions in the air there. Side aerial back full, swims a little but sticks the landing! That should be another great one!
Gobourne, FX: huge open double tuck, just gorgeous. Dance series is better today. Combination pass is clean, well controlled single step out of it. Double pike to close it out, and she’s thrilled. What a great career she has had – I hope she takes the fifth year.
AFTER THREE: OU 148.575, UF 148.375, UTAH 148.2, AUB 148.0125
I’m so glad Derrian anchors this floor lineup. What an icon, a true Auburn legend.
Skaggs, FX: Rudi to stag, strong. So precise in her dance series. 1.5 to front lay, gorgeous throughout. INcredible. Can’t believe that’s her final routine. Thank you Megan Skaggs, Gator Nation will always remember your incredible work!
Dunn, OU BB: Acro series was solid. Dance series clean. Little scoot back on the dismount.
McCallum, Utah UB: Good low bar handstand. Maloney to pak, clean on both. van Leeuwen, nicely done. Little short on final handstand. Little hop in place on the dismount.
Trautman, BB: Bhs loso, solid. Leap series is clean. Front toss, nicely done. 1.5 dismount is stuck!
Baumann, FX: 1.5 to front full, gorgeous. Turns and leap sequence are fantastic. Double pike to close out, one of her best! The super seniors hugging on the sideline after they’re finished – two incredible careers to be proud of.
Gobourne, Aub VT: Y1.5, little hop on the landing.
2:35pm: LeVasseur, BB: Bhs loso, little lean but she finesses it. Switch leap to straddle 1/4, another lean. Front aerial to beat, patient with that one. Needle scale, lovely. OU is hard to beat on beam. Bhs gainer full is stuck.
Wong, FX: Triple full, gorgeous! Leap series there is solid. Whip half to front full, nice and clean. Double pike, almost stuck it with both feet. That’ll be another great score.
Davis, BB: Bhs loso, soo solid. Beat to ring jump, would’ve liked a little more head back but I think she’ll get credit no problem. Double full dismount is stuck – they are dialing it in.
Lee, VT: Yhalf on, layout half off, just a little slide back.
2:39pm: Reed, FX: DLO, very well controlled! Front lay to Rudi, good height on the second element on control was good. Dance series clean. Double pike, a little underdone but covers well. Hoooooo it’s a close one, y’all.
Isa, UB: Bail was dead on, we didn’t see her intial release. DLO dismount, fought to stay stuck.
Woodard, BB: Side aerial bhs, thought she was going to have too much momentum but she controlled it. Front toss to beat. Needle scale, nice. Switch to split, gorgeous 180. Side aerial back full is stuck.
2:42pm: Thomas, FX: DLO just flooooats, gorgeous. Great amplitude and positions on dance series, all three elements. 1.5 to front lay, sticks it. That’s PERFECTION, come on judges.
Smith, BB: Bhs loso, solid. Front aerial, clean. Straddle 1/2 to korbut, that’s fun! Sticks her dismount – I believe that will do it for Oklahoma.
Richards, FX: DLO, one of her best all season! Love to see her in this anchor slot. Dance series is well done, wolf started to go wonky but she controlled it. 1.5 to front lay, well controlled and kinda floaty for her – easily her best floor routine this season!
As nice as it would be, I don’t think it’s mathematically possible for Florida to catch Oklahoma.
FINAL: OU 198.2, UF 198.0875, UTAH 197.75, AUB 197.35
Could not be prouder, what a fight until the very last landing.
Well, I can’t say I’m not upset. This team performed like champions today, the Gators fought and fought hard today. I truly hope this motivates some of our stellar seniors to return for fifth years, but even if it doesn’t, I know this team will come back and fight just as hard next year.
After claiming Thursday’s series opener against Ole Miss, the Gators cruised to a 7-3 win Friday before they prevailed 10-9 to sweep the doubleheader and clinch their third straight road series.
Florida improves to 34-9 overall, 12-2 on the road, and 11-7 in conference play — fourth in the SEC.
After dropping three of its past four contests, No. 9 Florida found the win column Thursday in Oxford, Mississippi, as it captured a 7-4 victory over Ole Miss.
After a pair of scoreless innings, the Gators scored two runs in the third before driving in five more in the fourth. With two outs in the top of the third, Florida third baseman Charla Echols hit a two-run double into the left-center gap to kick off the scoring.
An inning later, center fielder Kendra Falby extended the lead on a two-RBI double into the right-center gap. The next batter — shortstop Skylar Wallace — roped a two-run double down the left-field line before the junior Alabama transfer scored Florida’s seventh and final run on a wild pitch.
Florida right-hander Elizabeth Hightower made her 17th start this season and tossed five shutout frames until the senior gave up a two-out RBI single followed by a three-run homer. Hightower earned the win but exited the circle in favor of senior right-hander Natalie Lugo to begin the bottom of the seventh.
Lugo yielded a leadoff walk, but the West Covina, California, native settled in and retired the next three batters to clinch her second save this year and Florida’s 10th road win.
Final (R/H/E)
#9 Florida: 7 / 10 / 0
Ole Miss: 4 / 7 / 1
Pitching Decision
Win: Hightower (11-4)
Loss: Riley (7-3)
Save: Lugo (2)
Individual Stats
RHP Hightower: 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
RHP Lugo: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
SS Wallace: 3-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB
2B Adams: 0-4, K
3B Echols: 2-3, 2 RBI, BB
DP Walsh: 0-4, K
RF Lindsey: 1-3, R, BB, 2 K
C Roe: 0-4, R
LF Kistler: 2-4, R, K
1B Longley: 0-2
CF Falby: 2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI
Next Up
The Gators will look to clinch the series Friday at 2 p.m.
Spring fever was in the air Thursday as Gators football returned to campus for the 2022 Orange & Blue spring game. Although at its roots the game is just a practice scrimmage, there are always plenty of eyes on the annual event and plenty of things to be learned after 14 weeks of spring practice conclude.
Team Blue defeated Team Orange 31-0 in a lightly-contested game. There were plenty of positives and a few points of improvement in Billy Napier’s first spring game as head coach. The first-year man said in press conference there will be “a very specific plan to improve.” That being said, here a few takeaways from Thursday’s game:
Anthony Richardson steps into the QB1 role
Anthony Richardson looked healthy and ready to take the helm of Florida’s offense after his first season and flashes of talent was cut short by injuries. AR-15 finished with 15-for-20 passing for 191 yards and two touchdowns and took a majority of the first-team snaps. The sophomore also showed off his electric playmaking ability on his feet, scoring from 12 yards out on a rushing attempt.
From the eye test, Richardson looked comfortable in the pocket and appears ready to be Florida’s primary playmaker come Fall. If he can stay healthy, the young QB may be in for quite the season.
Inconsistencies remain throughout
It wasn’t all good looks on Thursday. The Gators struggled in a few phases of the game, but especially within the special teams group. Demarkcus Bowman fielded returns for Team Orange to the delight of many who have been subjected to a non-explosive return group in recent years. Unfortunately, Thursday did not instill much confidence in the specialists.
Bowman fumbled twice, the second of which lead to Richardson’s rushing touchdown and put Team Blue up 28-0. The mishaps continued on special teams as kicker Chris Howard whiffed from 32 yards away, which would’ve earned Team Orange the opening score had it gone through.
The second-team offense, led by Ohio State transfer Jack Miller, had a rough outing as well. Miller finished with a decent statline passing 13-23 for 121 yards.
This performance didn’t translate to points though, as Team Orange struggled to put together lengthy drives and never found the endzone. Jalen Kitna came in relief of Miller late in the third quarter before throwing an interception to safety Donovan McMillion.
No turnover chain
Speaking of McMillion, the sophomore donned what looked to be a turnover chain after his pick, to the anguish of many Florida fans who have mocked rivals Florida State and Miami for similar gimmicks. When asked about the chain after the game, Napier said, “Nobody ran that by me. That ain’t gonna happen.”
Needless to say, Gators Twitter can let out a sigh of relief.
Recruiting never sleeps
Probably the most important takeaway from the spring game is its impact on recruiting. Napier brought in a large group of prospects, including No. 4 ranked 2023 DB Cormani McClain. Multiple recruits made return visits for the weekend, indicating Napier and his group are making a good impression on their recruiting base.
The whole purpose of moving the Orange & Blue game to Thursday night was to pack the Swamp before students left for the Easter/Passover holiday and show recruits a night game environment. Time will tell how the experience affected the thought process of prospects in attendance.
Although Florida football will be on the backburner until the Sep. 3 opener against Utah, there may be plenty of more news on the recruiting end throughout the summer, and the Orange & Blue game may have a big impact in that regard.
It’s time for the Gators to defeat the next obstacle on their path to the title – they face Michigan, Auburn, and Missouri in tonight‘s second semifinal, where only the top two teams will advance to the national championship final on Saturday. If you didn’t catch it yesterday, take a second to read our preview of Florida’s chances of qualifying to the final, as well as a quick breakdown of all its potential opponents there.
Earlier today, Utah and Oklahoma advanced from the first semifinal, leaving Minnesota and Alabama on the outside looking in. Though Utah looked dominant to begin with, it was Oklahoma that took the lead in the third rotation and won the session with a dominant 198.1125. Utah’s 197.7125 was still well clear of Minnesota in third place at 197.1125. Alabama fell to last after a disappointing vault rotation, coming in just below Minnesota at 197.1.
Scoring was much tighter in the first semifinal than Florida has seen at any meet all season, so expect some scores to be lower than we are used to. That being said, the possibility for a 198+ is still there, as Oklahoma proved – Florida will just need to go lights out. We’ll see if the judges continue to be a little conservative, or if they get a little excited as the evening ramps up. There is a general trend in two-session meets for the evening session to score higher on average, so individual title contenders in tonight‘s meet, including our Gators, could benefit from that.
Though several Gators are top individual contenders, this team is focused on the end goal: qualifying to Saturday and, ultimately, winning the national championship. Individual titles would be great, but the attitude in interviews and videos with the athletes has generally been that they are most focused on the team. Watch for this to be reflected tonight whenever ESPN checks in with head coach Jenny Rowland mid-meet and in the team’s behavior – look for them to be paying attention to each other, dancing, having fun, and lifting each other up rather than paying any mind to the cameras, scores, or other teams. Florida’s plan is to stay in its bubble, and that’s where this team does its best work.
It all starts very soon – 6pm ET on ESPN2 for the main broadcast with a quad box and event-specific feeds available on ESPN+ with some of of the best commentators in the business. However, if you don’t have access or can’t make it to a television, we’ll have every routine for you here, moment by moment. Stay with us! You won’t want to miss a thing.
Here are the scores to beat from the first session in terms of individual titles! In terms of team scores, the first session’s scores don’t really matter – the top two from this session qualify regardless. However, Oklahoma’s 198+ does demonstrate the kind of level it’s operating on versus Utah. It’ll be interesting to see how the scores this evening stack up.
Rotating with Florida tonight will be Kentucky’s Raena Worley, the top all-arounder whose team did not qualify from the Auburn regional. She’ll be an individual title threat on several events, including in the all-around, where her NQS is higher than Carey’s currently-leading mark of 39.65. Trinity Thomas is not currently ranked nationally in the all-around, but anyone who’s watched college gymnastics at all this year should know that she’ll be a threat as well.
Kathy Johnson Clarke and Bart Conner on the call tonight on the main broadcast, with Sam Peszek as their floor reporter. Kathy outlining how teams with “everything to gain, nothing to lose” are prime for an upset… Auburn and Missouri definitely have that potential. Let’s just hope it’s Michigan they upset, if anyone, not Florida. Fingers crossed.
6:06pm: Time for rotation one! The Gators begin on vault tonight.
Skaggs, VT: FTY, stuck! A little off to the side, but same clean form as usual.
Brenner, Michigan FX: Solid opening two passes. Dance series looked clean. A fun classic rock mix in here. Double pike to close, well controlled. A good start for them as well.
Hollingsworth, Aub BB: Clean dance elements that I saw. Had to swim for it but stayed stuck on her dismount!
6:08pm: Schoenherr, VT: Y1.5, big bounce forward.
Celestine, Miz UB: Good opening handstand work. Maloney to pak, ooh, some leg separation and very whippy there. Unique stalder pike front half dismount! Looked like a small foot adjustment to me.
Heiskell, FX: Double arabian to open, controlled step forward. 1.5 to front lay, good control there as well. Think I missed her middle pass but sounds like a hit from the team reaction.
Wong, VT: Podkopayeva, strong shape in the air, toes pointed, just a small hop back. That vault has made leaps and bounds this year!
6:12pm: Reed, VT: Y1.5, another big hop forward. Great dynamics, but won’t be the big score they need.
Wojcik, FX: Front double full to front pike, takes it right to the line but stays in bounds. Double pike, big step back, may have moved her front foot… did she go out? Camera angle didn’t show far back enough, I couldn’t tell. She looks nervous, not as into her choreo as usual. Rudi to straddle jump, lots of travel on that jump.
Thomas, VT: Y1.5, the smallest of adjustments on one foot but that was GORGEOUS.
Peszek giving us a story about a pep talk UCLA’s Jordan Chiles gave Thomas during podium training yesterday – they’ve been friends since they were 15! Love to see those friendships staying strong despite being competitors.
6:15pm: Groth, BB: Triple series riiiight to the end of the beam, so steady. Switch to switch half, she’s thrilled, and should be – it was gorgeous. Front aerial, super secure. Side aerial back full stuck!
Sheremeta, UB: Nice high Jaeger to immediate shootover. Good final handstands. Front twisting 1.5 dismount, small adjustment on the landing.
Worley, UK indiv VT: Y1.5, somehow stayed stuck through to her salute, although I wouldn’t give her full control of that landing. Incredible how she muscled that though!
6:18pm: Brooks, FX: Apparently has retooled this routine due to some sore ankles, now only two passes. Let’s see how the content is. Opens with a full in, riiight on the line but doesn’t go over, that’s acceptable. Great amplitude on her leaps! Front tuck through to double tuck, looked maybe a little underdone but pushes to step back instead of forward. Drops the mic at the end – yeah, I’ll buy that! Solid showing from Michigan.
Hu, UB: Piked Tkachev to pak, WOW! Great giant full to double tuck stuck!
6:21pm: Wilson, FX: Full in, big bounce into the lunge. Combo pass, strong control there. Great amplitude on her leaps. Double tuck to finish, very nice.
Chiles, UCLA indiv UB: Piked Tkachev, goes big and misses the bar! Oh no! Maloney to Gienger is gorgeous. Stuck her dismount – so upset for her, but she’ll have floor as well later.
Lee, BB: Wolf turn, solid. Front aerial to bhs loso, fantastic. Switch leap to switch half, strong positions and landed steadily. Bhs gainer full stuck! That’ll be a great score for her.
Flatley, UCLA indiv FX: Triple full to open, WOW! She looks so focused here. Front double full – that’s a second E pass, very few gymnasts are capable of that. Gorgeous dance series, beautiful extension throughout. Really selling this choreo too. 1.5 to front layout, she finessed the HECK out of that but pulled it out like a veteran. Should put her in a great position to compete for the AA title as the night goes on.
AFTER ONE: MICH 49.4875, AUB 49.475, UF 49.2375, MIZ49.1125
Florida needs to settle down and reset on bars. Michigan will go to vault, where it’s ranked No. 1, but Auburn now has to contend with floor, which is its lowest-ranked event of the four. The Gators are No. 2 on bars, so with a normal rotation, they should close this gap, but they can’t take that for granted.
NORAH!!!!! FLATLEY!!!!!! THAT WAS INCREDIBLE IM SHAKING
Blakely, UB: Maloney to pak, nice. Good low bar handstand! Great final handstand too… misses the full pirouette and she comes off! Oh god. Remounts, double front, small hop. Oof.
Wojcik, Mich VT: Y1.5, little hop on the landing.
Brusch, Aub FX: Strong opening pass. Dance series was nice! Final pass is a double pike, into the lunge, fine. A good start for them.
Think that was Heiskell on vault with another strong 1.5.
6:37pm: Morrison, VT: Y1.5, short, has to slide her feet back under herself.
McCusker, UB: Maloney to pak, super clean. van Leeuwen, also legs pasted together. Short on final handstand, but stalder to double tuck is the best she’s ever done!
Brooks, VT: another Y1.5, small hop forward this time.
6:39pm: Wilson, VT: Y1.5, single step forward. Nothing stuck, but all strong 1.5s. Michigan not leaving any room for error for others.
Schoenherr, UB: Good opening handstand work. Great Jaeger, saved the toe handstand somehow. Bail was fine. Double front half out stuck! That could have been a disaster, what a veteran.
Stevens, FX: Front lay to Rudi, some pike in the hips but good landing. Leap series was solid. Double tuck to finish, fine on the landing there.
Skaggs, UB: GREAT opening handstand! Tkachev to pak, some ankle sep. DLO stuck COLD! That’s exactly what they need right now. Holy cow.
6:44pm: Sheremeta, Miz BB: Clean dance series, lovely 180 split. Gainer tuck full off the end is stuck! Mizzou fighting for this.
Groth, FX: Front double full, lovely. Combo pass, more clean twisting. Rudi to finish, great landing there. Not an exceptionally exciting routine, but very very clean.
Little bit of a wait on bars, something up with the equipment! Thomas and assistant coach Owen Field hanging out by the chalk bucket, trying to stay loose.
6:47pm: Lee, FX: DLO, solid landing there. Great ring position today, lovely oversplit positions. 1.5 to front full, solid landing even if not the greatest rise into the second element. That’ll be another great one for Auburn.
Schreiber, BB: Triple series, soooo solid. Switch half to split, great positions. Gainer full stuck!
Gobourne, FX: A crime to have these two going at the same time. Double tuck to open, soooo open and great landing. 1.5 to front lay, gorgeous control on that. Double pike to close, she’s STOKED, shimmys into her finish – that will be MASSIVE for Auburn.
Equipment malfunction still going on bars, Thomas has apparently put her sweats back on…
Davis, UK indiv, FX: Double pike to open, very nice. Gorgeous switch side to Popa dance series, great straddle positions. 1.5 to front lay, very floaty! Double tuck to finish, a little short but she’s just stoked to be competing here, she had so much fun.
WILD things happening over here and it’s only rotation two.
7:00pm: Thomas finally getting ready to go.
Thomas, UB: Great opening handstand. Maloney to pak, both fly high. Great low bar handstands. van Leeuwen is great. DLO is STUCK COLD! Iced out? Never would have known anything was wrong. What a QUEEN.
She gets a 9.975!
Wong, UB: Great first handstand! Maloney to pak, lovely. van Leeuwen, super clean. Good final handstand. DLO, the stick was a little questionable but that will erase Blakely’s fall – this team came THROUGH!
The GUTS on this team! The FIGHT! So proud.
7:04pm: Worley, UK indiv UB: Another pro I bet can handle the pressure. Great opening handstand work. Tkachev is big, nice and dynamic. Pak has some leg sep. Great last handstand! Full out dismount is STUCK! What’d I tell you? A true professional.
AFTER TWO: AUB 99.05, MICH 98.9125, UF 98.7125, MIZ 98.5375
The Gators trail by two tenths at the halfway mark, but they head to beam, where they notched a season-high at regionals two weeks ago. They need to take the momentum from Thomas and Wong’s massive hits at the end of the bars debacle and bring it into beam – fight for every tenth, every toe point, every landing. This is when they can make their move.
7:14pm: Groth, Aub VT: FTY, little pike in the hips, hop back.
Skaggs, BB: Wolf turn, solid. Switch half to split, gorgeous. Bhs loso, soooo effortless. Front aerial, secure. KJC just said it, “could go 10 in the leadoff.” Cat leap to switch side, textbook! Side aerial back full! CLUTCH.
Hubbard, VT: Y1.5, little stutter step forward.
Stevens, VT: Yfull, just a hop back.
7:17pm: Brenner, Mich UB: Goes for her Tkachev and misses! Ate mat. Finished the routine well, but the door could be open.
Blakely, BB: Let’s hope she can bounce back. Front aerial to bhs is solid. Switch to switch half, gorgeous. Side aerial back full stuck! She’s STOKED, as she should be! Kept fighting through her difficulties today, so proud of her.
Gobourne, VT: Y1.5, little stutter step forward and to the side. Great amplitude though.
7:20pm: Baumann, BB: Time for the ice queen. Bhs loso, little bobble but corrects like a pro. Switch to split jump, gorgeous. Side aerial, solid. Roundoff 1.5, little adjustment with the left foot. Fighting for every tenth – just like I said.
Watson, VT: Y1.5 STUCK COLD! Holy cow, best I’ve ever seen her do!
Lee, VT: Yhalf on, front layout half off, a little piked in the body but just a small hop on the landing.
7:22pm: Morrison, UB: Jaeger was nice! Bail is solid. DLO stuck! A good reset for Michigan
Wong, BB: Bhs loso, solid. Switch ring, a little adjustment but finesses to look like choreo. Roundoff double full, tried to hold onto the stick but has to take a step back.
Johnson, LSU indiv VT: Ydouble full, STUCK! Love seeing her rep her team here, I know they were devastated not to qualify as a team but there’s no one better to represent the Tigers here than her.
Brooks, UB: Hit releases. Full twisting double, stuck! Another hit for Michigan.
Thomas, BB: One arm bhs to loso, dead on. Mixed series into bhs swingdown, well done. Side aerial back full is stuck! Team chanting 10s for her again.
Moore, Miz FX; The first routine we’ve seen from them this rotation. Great opening pass, so high! Dance series is excellent too, she gets great height. Double tuck to finish is pretty short, unfortunately, that would’ve been a good score.
Wojcik, UB: Deltchev, sooooo high! To immediate shootover, fine. DLO, little hop forward.
7:28pm: Clapper, BB: Bhs loso loso, just lays it back, gorgeous. Dance series is good. Stuck dismount! Should be a fabulous beam rotation score for them.
Celestine, FX: Full in, definitely fully in bounds today! Great leap series. Double tuck to finish, SKY high! She is killing it out here. Should be a great score.
7:30pm: Vore, UB: Maloney to bail, solid. Almost overarches the handstand, DLO, she hits her feet on the bar!! Stumbles back and sits it! Michigan will count a fall!
Chiles, UCLA indiv FX: FTDLO to open! Wow! Front full through to double tuck, great landing. SLAYING this choreography, she wants this national title, especially after her fall earlier. Dance series gets a little wild but she still pulled it around, I think. Double pike, landing a little deep but she goes back into the lunge. What a showstopper. Love her, love her gymnastics. She is one to watch, if any of you aren’t watching anyone but the Gators most of the year.
AFTER THREE: AUB 148.4, UF 148.225, MIZ 147.95, MICH 147.5875
“Florida pulls themselves out of a hole on beam of all things!”
Skaggs, FX: Double wolf turn to open, it’s great. Rudi to stag is solid, no traveling on that today. Dance series is lovely. Combo pass to finish is great! Skaggs is such a clutch leadoff for this team.
Michigan saves a fall just on a beam mount on her opening routine. Ouch. Just having bobble after bobble in this routine. And sits her dismount! Oh my god. That’s a meltdown of a routine.
McCrary, Miz VT: Yfull, just a step on the landing.
Groth, Aub UB: Strong Tkachev to start. Pak is solid. Good final handstand. A little slow on her full pirouette leading into her dismount but pulled it out somehow. Double tuck dismount, little adjustment it looked like.
Baumann, FX: 1.5 to front full to open, great control coming out of it, just a single step. Dance series and turns are lovely, just effortless. Double pike to close, good control there as well. That’ll be another great one!
Stevens, UB: Tkachev is solid, just some feet. Bail is fine. DLO, little hop forward.
7:47pm: Celestine, VT: Y1.5 STUCK! Held it just to show it off, what a night for her!
Wong, FX: Triple twist, two foot stick! Combo pass is lovely. Double pike to close, great control out of that – WHAT A NIGHT! She’s going to end up with a massive AA score.
Brusch, UB: Maloney, has to cast up to the high bar before she goes for her bail for some reason? Didn’t see her dismount.
Moore, VT: Y1.5, had to hop to the side but what height!
7:50pm: Reed, FX: She’s apparently the team’s candy supplier – HERE for that. DLO to open, one of her good ones. Front lay to Rudi, another solid landing. Double pike to finish, kept that front foot down. WINKS AT THE CAMERA in her ending pose! What a performer. What a star.
Another fall for Michigan on beam, Kathy gasped mid-gush about Reed.
Gobourne, UB: Sticks her dismount COLD, even holds it for a minute to show it off.
Lee, UB: Maloney to pak to van Leeuwen, gorgeous. Final handstand is perfect and she just HANGS OUT up there at a perfect 180 degree angle. stuck dismount!
7:54pm: Thomas, FX: DLO, gorgeous! “Boom.” as my husband just said. Gorgeous three-element leap sequence, all in oversplit. Front full to front lay to finish, just FLOATS into the second element. Incredible. Bring out the 10s. A 9.9625 would earn her the AA title apparently??
Wojcik, BB: Front aerial, gorgeous. Switch to split. Bhs loso loso, looked off but pulled it off somehow. Roundoff 1.5, little step back. Michigan is still absolutely out of it, but what a classy competitor she is.
7:57pm: Richards, FX: DLO, her best all season! Three element dance series, wolf was a little wild at the end but I think it got around. 1.5 to front lay to finish, what a great victory lap moment for her! She’s so happy!
Flatley, UCLA indiv BB: Seeing her on the Jumbotron right now, looked like a great leap series… and now they’re not showing her anymore, boo.
Worley, UK indiv FX: Committing to this opening choreo more than I’ve ever seen her do. Giving it everything she has left. Full in to open, excellent landing! Dance passage is well done, very deliberate in every movement she makes. Front full front lay, travels a lot just in those two elements but she twists so cleanly. Little grin at the camera, love that. Double tuck to finish, two foot stick! What a night for her – and she still has one year left!
FINAL: UF 197.975, AUB 197.8375, MIZ 197.2, MICH 196.2875
The Gators will advance to Saturday’s national final!
Trinity Thomas is your all-around champion with a MASSIVE 39.8125, and Megan Skaggs will take the bronze at 39.6625 just past Jade Carey’s winning mark from session one.
Jaedyn Rucker from Utah will be vault champion, and Missouri’s Amari Celestine will take a share of the silver as she wins the second session with a 9.95. Thomas wins bars with a 9.975, with a five-way tie for second including Auburn’s Derrian Gobourne and Minnesota’s Lexy Ramler. Sunisa Lee of Auburn will take the beam total with a massive 9.9625, with Missouri’s Sienna Schreiber and Adeline Kenlin, the individual qualifier from Iowa, taking second at 9.95! And of course, Thomas won floor with yet another perfect 10.0, with Gobourne and Oklahoma’s Jordan Bowers taking second at 9.9625.
Due to the random draw, Florida will once again get to go in Olympic order in the finals on Saturday! The championship meet starts at 1pm ET Saturday 4/16, and we will be back here with another liveblog. See you then!
This Thursday, eight teams and 20 individuals will descend on Fort Worth, Texas to compete in the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics National Championship! Coming in still ranked No. 2, the Gators are heavily favored to advance to the national finals on Saturday and maybe win the whole kit and caboodle, but they’ll have some massive obstacles to tackle before they get that far. Let’s take a look at the road to the championship as Florida makes a run at its fourth national title in program history.
The first semifinal on Thursday will see three former title-winners and one underdog vying for just two spots in the national final on Saturday. Alabama, Oklahoma, and Utah have all won four or more team championships in the past, with their most recent wins being 2012, 2019, and 1995, respectively. Minnesota rounds out the field as the only non-title-winner in this semifinal, but that doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous – never underestimate the underdog.
Oklahoma is perhaps the favorite of these four to advance, with the most recent run of title wins and spending the last four weeks of regular season at No. 1 in the standings. Unlike many of the other teams in contention, the Sooners don’t have an all-arounder in the Top 10; Audrey Davis is their one and only ranked all-around performer at No. 15. However, in individual events, they have two on vault, one on bars, and two on beam in the Top 10. Floor is perhaps Oklahoma’s weak spot, if they have one, with its highest ranked individual coming in at No. 12 and the next best at No. 19. Still, as a team, the Sooners are No. 5 on the event with an NQS of 49.585, so it’s not of major concern, but they’ll want to start rotation 4 – when they go to floor – in qualifying position already. Fighting an uphill battle on a weak event is not a position any team wants to be in.
Utah is perhaps the next likeliest contender to make finals, although just by the skin of its teeth. The Utes are ranked No. 4 in the country, but the distance between them and Alabama is marginal – less than 0.15 separates the two. Utah has a bit of a leg-up when it comes to all-arounders – it has one in the Top 10, Grace McCallum, while Alabama has no ranked all-arounders at all. The Utes’ biggest advantage, though, is on beam, where they are ranked No. 1 in the country and have four of their six beamers in the Top 20. Utah will finish its night on beam, so even if it isn’t in qualifying position, that last rotation could be where it makes a big move.
IT'S BACK TO BACK 10s!!
Maile O'Keefe scores her THIRD 10.0 on beam this season to send us to nationals‼️ pic.twitter.com/dA6vzApvr1
Alabama will be nipping at Utah’s heels, though, ranked No. 5 nationally at less than a tenth and a half behind. Though no ranked all-arounders, the Crimson Tide has two on bars, one on beam, and one on floor in the Top 15. The trouble with these rankings, though, is that Luisa Blanco accounts for two of those four Top 15 placements, and she’s now injured. After a nasty fall on her beam dismount at SEC Championships, it was unclear whether team scoring leader Blanco would be finished for the season or not. At regionals, she only competed bars, where she scored a 9.9 in Round Two and a 9.825 in the Regional Final. However, even without her typically strong vault and beam scores, the Tide still figured it out and qualified to nationals with a significant margin over Michigan State. However, Utah is not Michigan State, and neither is Oklahoma. They are far more formidable and (post)seasoned opponents, and just having a normal performance will not put Alabama past either of them – the Tide will need a little extra oomph, or someone else will need to open a door. They’ll start on their best event, bars, so if they can at least be in second after the first rotation, you’ll know they’re off to a good start.
Minnesota stands out among the crowd in this semifinal as the team with something to prove. This is only the fifth time in the data available on RoadtoNationals that Minnesota has ever qualified as a team to nationals, but it’s been ranked in the Top 10 all season, one of its strongest seasons to date. Largely, that’s thanks to its fifth-year stars, Lexy Ramler and Ona Loper, who make Minnesota one of only three teams to have two all-arounders ranked in the Top 10. Despite their success, the Gophers will still need an extraordinary meet to push past Alabama and Utah to qualify to finals. Their best performance this year was 198.025, which is only a tenth better than Utah’s NQS. Minnesota will need to have the meet of the year, or it’ll need to take advantage of tenths given away by other teams. The key rotation will be the first, when the Gophers are on beam – they’ll need to hit there, where they’ve been inconsistent, if they’re going to have any prayer of moving on.
Semifinal I begins at 1pm ET on Thursday on ESPN2, but we will not have a liveblog available. If you’d like to follow the action, we recommend College Gym News‘s liveblog or Dr. Sam of Alligator Army‘s livetweets for this first session.
Semifinal II
Before they can challenge any of the above teams, however, the Gators have to make it out of the second semifinal. They’ll face Michigan, Auburn, and Missouri, which is a mixed bag as far as good and bad news. The good news is that Florida has beaten Auburn and Missouri before now on multiple occasions – Missouri at the regular season dual and at SEC Championships, and Auburn at SEC Championships and Regional Finals.
Michigan, however, is the top contender to advance, alongside Florida. The Wolverines were ranked No. 1 for the first part of the season, including in the preseason poll, and are the reigning champions. With two all-arounders in the Top 10, Sierra Brooks and Abby Heiskell, and a third, Natalie Wojcik, winning the AAI Award earlier this week, they have a high number of athletes who can compete on all four and barely have a weak event. However, if this team has a weakness, it’s beam. The beam squad has only cracked 49.5 twice this season, which equals a 9.9 average for the counting routines, whereas on all the other events, they’ve gone 49.5 seven times or more. Michigan has to finish the meet on beam, so if the Wolverines are in any kind of precarious position going into the final rotation, we could be in for a shocker.
Auburn is the likely spoiler, if there is one, and for good reason – the Tigers have had one of their best seasons on record, qualifying to nationals again for the first time since 2015. With the addition of Sunisa Lee and Sophia Groth as powerhouse freshmen and the retention of super-senior Drew Watson, this Auburn squad has maybe the highest concentration of talent in program history, so it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise if they snuck into the national final. Lee is ranked No. 2 in the nation in the all-around and the team is ranked No. 6 or better on every event. Auburn’s least consistent event, however, is beam, where it had to count a fall at SEC Championship just a month ago. That’s where the Tigers will have to start the meet, though, so we’ll know after the first rotation whether they have a shot at the upset or not.
Missouri won’t go down without a fight either. Though they’ll be the only team in Fort Worth without a 198 to their name this season, the Tigers have pulled out some wild wins already this year, and it wouldn’t be beyond reason to say they could do it again here. However, it’ll be an uphill battle. Team leader and SEC Specialist of the Year Sienna Schreiber is ranked No. 13 in the all-around and No. 11 on beam, and freshman Jocelyn Moore is ranked No. 7 on vault, but they’re the only two in the top 20 on any event. Though they’re ranked No. 8 currently, due to making it into the Elite Eight that go to nationals, their individual event rankings at the end of regular season tell a different story. Missouri’s best event is floor, where it’s ranked No. 10, and bars are its worst at No. 22. Bars is where the Tigers will kick their competition off on Thursday, so it’ll be immediately evident whether they’re putting together the meet of their lives or if they’re going to pale in comparison to the other teams in their session.
Florida
🐊🤸♀️ playing on the competition floor adds up to nation's No. 3 highest total ever – 1⃣9⃣8⃣.7⃣7⃣5⃣
The Gators are heavily favored to advance from the second semifinal, but it’s not a foregone conclusion. We’ve seen firsthand what can happen when teams take things for granted – both in the past and this year – but so has this team. They’re not about to let what they’ve fought for all season slip through their fingers at the finish line.
As the top seed in the second session, Florida will compete in Olympic order, so the competition format will be most familiar. Vault is a great place to start, as the team is ranked No. 2 on the event, and most athletes have been dialing in their landings better and better as postseason has continued. After rotation one, the Gators should at least be in qualifying position if they’re having a good night.
Rotation two will bring a hotly contested battle for the top spot, as Florida goes to bars and Michigan goes to vault, where the latter is ranked No. 1. While normally, the Gators might want to lead after competing two events where they’re ranked No. 2 in the nation, being second here would still be perfectly fine. Michigan will have finished its two best events, and the Gators will still have beam and floor left, where they’ve scored 49.55 or higher in every postseason meet so far.
Beam will be a test for Florida. If they can capitalize on their strengths here, the Gators should be able to move into first after the third rotation, as they’re capable of some truly stellar numbers. The beam squad hit a season high in Regionals Finals – a 49.75 – and broke the program record for highest beam team score at an SEC Championship meet. However, beam is the number one event where unpredictable things can play a major role. It’s a mental game, and the Gators will have to stay on top of it in order to succeed.
The final rotation should be an opportunity for the floor squad to let loose and have a little fun. The Gators will stay in their bubble for most of the meet, but they’re at their best on floor when they feed off of the energy of the crowd chomping and celebrating with them. Nya Reed had some heel pain before Round Two of regionals, so she was held out of the lineup, but she came back strong for finals. With the rest she’s had in the last two weeks, we would hope that she (and the rest of the squad) will be up to competing twice this weekend with such high stakes at risk.
Florida’s performance at Regional Finals can be summed up in a single word – dominant. If the Gators can bring that attitude and confidence to Fort Worth, they should be well-equipped to qualify to finals and maybe finally recapture that elusive national title.
Semifinal II begins at 6pm ET on ESPN2 on Thursday, but if you don’t have access or can’t make the broadcast, we’ll have a liveblog right here for you with every moment of the action. To see the full rotation order for both semifinals, click here. To see the full NCAA Gymnastics Championship Tournament bracket, click here.
After dropping the first two games of the series, No. 7 Florida bounced back with a 12-7 win over No. 5 Alabama Monday.
Following the win, Florida head coach Tim Walton praised the energy of the Gator fans. “That was one of the best crowds we’ve had in my 17 years here,” he said.
The Gators improve to 31-9 overall and 8-7 in conference play — seventh in the SEC.
Florida right-hander Elizabeth Hightower made her 16th start this year and recorded the first 11 outs before freshman right-hander Lexie Delbrey entered the circle in relief. Hightower allowed four runs on six hits and a pair of walks. Delbrey gave up three runs on eight hits across the next three innings but exited the game in the top of the seventh as senior right-hander Natalie Lugo got the final out to secure the victory.
At the plate, Florida freshman Reagan Walsh kicked off the scoring with a solo shot — her team-leading sixth home run this season — to lead off the bottom of the second inning.
In the third, Walsh drove in two more runs on a single up the middle to tie the game.
The Gators produced a six-run fourth inning courtesy of three wild pitches, a two-run single and a Walsh sacrifice fly — her fourth RBI in three at-bats.
Florida added three insurance runs in the sixth after it strung together four hits. Shortstop Skylar Wallace led off with a double down the left-field line before second baseman Hannah Adams laid down a bunt single to put runners on the corners. The next batter, third baseman Charla Echols, singled home Wallace before freshman catcher Sam Roe knocked a two-out, two-run single to give Florida a commanding 12-5 lead.
Final (R/H/E)
#5 Alabama: 7 / 14 / 1
#7 Florida: 12 / 10 / 0
Pitching Decision
Win: Delbrey (10-2)
Loss: Kilfoyl (8-3)
Individual Stats
RHP Hightower: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
RHP Delbrey: 3 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Lugo: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
SS Wallace: 1-2, 3 R, 2 BB, K
2B Adams: 3-4, 3 R, RBI, K
3B Echols: 1-2, R, RBI, BB, HBP
DP Walsh: 2-3, R, 4 RBI, HR (6)
RF Lindsey: 0-3, K
C Roe: 2-3, R, 2 RBI, BB
LF Kistler: 0-3
1B Longley: 0-2, R, HBP
CF Falby: 1-3, R, K
Next Up
The Gators will travel to Oxford, Mississippi, this weekend to face Ole Miss. The series opener is scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m.
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