Florida Gymnastics Eyes a National Championship

Florida Gymnastics made its annual trip to Fort Worth and the NCAA Championship’s first Semifinal Thursday, the 17th of the last 19 years. Competition begins at 4:30pm EST on ESPN2. Florida is part of five SEC teams that qualified for the final eight spots, joining #2 Oklahoma, #7 Missouri, #11 Alabama in the early session. #1 LSU competes against #4 Utah, #5 UCLA and #8 Michigan State in the 9pm EST session later that evening. The top two scores in each semifinal will advance to Saturday’s Final Four at 4pm EST on ABC.

Coach Jenny Rowland said:

“We always talk about when you get to the final four when you get to four on  the floor when you advance to that it really is anybody’s competition. You could compete four different nights and you would probably get four different winners and really it’s who can control your emotions the best while you’re competing and who’s gonna make the least amount of mistakes. Because mistakes will happen it’s guaranteed, it’s always gonna happen. It comes down to a stick fest. You know we’ve lost by a fraction you know of a 10th and so really it’s just enjoying the moment and making the most of your moment.”

Skye Blakely and Anya Pilgrim having fun in Fort Worth. Photo UAA

Florida has put up the scores. With the top score of the year (198.625). The top Bars score of ALL TIME (49.85). The highest Vault score in the nation (49.70). The second highest Beam routine (49.70) and the third highest Floor Routine (49.725). Florida has a legitimate shot to capture their fourth National Championship. Look for Florida and Oklahoma to come out of the early session. The evening session would be a shocker if LSU does not make it to Saturday and whoever comes in second in that group is a coin toss. Coach Rowland has kept this team focused despite key injuries not only preseason, Kayla DiCello and Skye Blakely, but losing Sloane Blakely during the Oklahoma meet and having Anya Pilgrim hurt that week too. Tinkering with the line up week to week to get them peaking at just the right time. The early start on Thursday is a plus and a welcome change from the late, late night of the final session and competing twice, at such a high level, in three days. Will Florida get two titles in Texas in April?