Florida Gators Gymnastics: One Win Away from Championship Title

FORT WORTH — Florida’s gymnastics team advanced to the Final Four Thursday with a Top 2 two finish in session two of the NCAA Semifinals- 197.8750, with the defending champions already knocked out. First place went to Utah- 197.9375, eliminating Alabama- 195.4125 and season long #1 back-to-back national champion Oklahoma- 196.665. Oklahoma turned in a shocking season low at the worst time for the Sooners.

While Alabama, Utah and OU had scores of 49.20 or lower on events, Florida remained consistent all night with a low of 49.45 and a high of 49.50. Leanne Wong shared 2nd place in the all around title with Oregon State’s Jade Carey (she was competing with the Gators Thursday as an individual competitor).

Florida’s rotation was Floor, Vault, Uneven Bars and Beam. At nationals, six judges score each routine with the high and low dropped and the middle four averaged. There are also two line judges on the floor exercise who watch for gymnasts to stepping out of bounds. Six gymnasts compete with the top 5 scores counting.

On to the recap:

Floor Exercise: (Last meet: 49.650, Average: 49.565, 5th Nationally)

Victora Nguyen- 1st pass: flip to backflip. Lunge forward. 2nd pass: triple series. Stuck- 9.875

Ellie Lazzari: 1st pass: backflip. Extra step. 2nd pass: double flip. Stuck- 9.825 (The dropped score)

Anya Pilgrim: 1st pass: twist to backflip. Perfect. 2nd pass: triple series. Stuck. Should be a very high score- 9.875.

Sloane Blakely: 1st pass: twist bounce to flip. Stuck. 2nd pass: flip. Backflip. Stuck- 9.8875

Danie Ferris: 1st pass: triple series. Stuck. 2nd pass: backflip twist. Slight hop- 9.900

Leanne Wong: 1st pass: twist flip. Stuck. 2nd pass: tumble to flip. Hop- 9.9125

Score: 49.450 Florida is in 3rd place after one rotation.

Vault: (Last meet: 49.575, Average: 49.530, 3rd Nationally)

Skylar Draser: Yurchenko 1 ½. Stuck landing- 9.875

Victoria Nguyen: Yurchenko 1 ½. Big vault- 9.850

Anya Pilgrim: Yurchenko 1 ½. Stuck.,(10?)- 9.9125

Danie Ferris: Yurchenko 1 ½. Slight hop forward- 9.850 (The dropped score)

Leanne Wong: Twist to face the table. 9.9375

Ellie Lazzari: Yurchenko 1 ½. Slight hop- 9.9250

Score: 49.500 Florida is 2nd after two rotations.

Uneven Bars: (Last meet: 49.300, Average: 49.425, 5th Nationally)

Sloane Blakely: Strong handstands. Hop on landing- 9.850

Victoria Nguyen: legs together. Stuck landing. Solid routine.- 9.9125

Ellie Lazzari: Springboard mount to top bar. Fell down on landing- 9.165 (The dropped score)

Anya Pilgrim: Legs together. Very smooth. Stuck landing- 9.900

Skylar Draser: Great form. Slight hop on landing- 9.8250

Leanne Wong: Long handstands. Stuck landing. (Can we get one 10 tonight?)- 9.9625

Score: 49.450 Florida has a big lead at 2nd. Only .025 behind 1st place after three rotations.

Beam: (Last meet: 49.575, Average: 49.530, 3rd Nationally)

Skylar Draser: Double back flip. Twist landing. Stuck- 9.900

Sloane Blakely: Front to backflip. Side dismount. Stuck- 9.9250

Anya Pilgrim: Springboard mount. Triple flop. Backflip side dismount. Hop- 9.850

Victoria Nguyen: Backflip series. Nice leaps. Slight hop on landing- 9.9125

Leanne Wong: Double backflip. Backflip twist dismount. Hop-9.8875

Ellie Lazzari: Backflip. Falls hard. Gets up and finishes routine. Nice effort- 8.9750 (The dropped score)

Score: 49.475 Florida finishes 2nd after four rotations.

It's been a season of improvement. Scoring higher every meet during the regular season. Florida  won 197.8750 is UF’s fifth highest score in program history at the NCAA championship. A mixture of fabulous freshmen and the right mix of upper class women are poised to do something special.

The door is wide open now that Oklahoma is eliminated after a 49.10 on Beam and a 48.325 on Vault. Could this team without Trinity Thomas and Kayla DiCello actually pull off what was only a far away dream in January?

Competing against Utah, LSU and Cal Saturday. They already beat two of these squads this year. Coach Rowland and team have to feel confident for what would call the Gators first title since 2015.