Gator Gymnasts Are Poised To Kick Down The NCAA Door

Trinity Thomas

BY MADELINE LAWSON

GatorBaitMedia.com

Truthfully, there’s no reason why there shouldn’t be a 2023 NCAA National Championship trophy in Gainesville at the end of the next gymnastics season. The most lucrative award in collegiate gymnastics hasn’t been brought back to the Swamp since the Gators pulled a three-peat in ’13,’14 and ’15 under head coach Rhonda Faehn. Florida was a favorite to win it all in 2022 after going undefeated in the regular season and winning the SEC tournament. Jenny Rowland took over the program in 2016 and has yet to produce a Natty, even with Trinity Thomas, arguably the greatest college gymnast in 2022 and on the short list for greatest of all time, on her roster.

Florida came up just short in Fort Worth, Texas, on a night that required perfection. The Oklahoma Sooners defeated the Gators by a little more than a tenth of a point to reign victorious and win the 2022 National Championship. For Gator Nation the unthinkable came to fruition, but how did this happen? It was the perfect season, and it all slowly went wrong at the last meet of the season in the Lone Star State.

First, let’s make one thing clear: these are student-athletes, and more importantly, human beings. They’re not perfect, and they won’t be flawless in each and every performance. With that said, these girls were prepared for this. They’ve trained to compete at the highest level since before they were potty trained. Most of the team had made an appearance at nationals prior, as Florida has made it to every NCAA tournament since its introduction in 1982. This makes it hard for me to believe that the stage became too big for them or that they weren’t prepared. So, was it just a fluke? A bad day to have a bad day?

To be fair, a bad day in the orange in blue is a second-place finish, but you don’t come to Florida to be second. One crucial routine that hurt the team's overall score was Nya Reed’s vault. The senior shared second place in the Southeastern Conference and NCAA Auburn Regional Final vault standings at 9.95 and earned eight vault scores of 9.9 or better on the season. But, when competing for it all, Reed stumbled and posted a lowly 9.700 that was eventually dropped. I’m sure if Reed could turn back time and sprint down that runway again, she’d love a do-over. You can’t put a loss solely on one individual. But, with a deficit to OU of .113, it’s difficult to think if Reed would’ve executed her vault the way she’s capable, a very different story could’ve been written.

The highlight of Nationals for Florida was the unbelievably consistent and dominant Trinity Thomas. She won the all-around title with a 39.862, which equaled the second-highest ever in NCAA finals history and the titles for vault, bars and floor with her 12th perfect 10 of the season. Reading her stats is a dizzying feat, but the most exciting part is that the Gator legend is eligible for one more year, which might be the only good thing to come out of the COVID pandemic. If Rowland can retain this powerhouse athlete, it’ll send shockwaves through the gymternet, and anyone’s hope of being the next all-around title winner will have to take a backseat. Thomas has been named the 2022 Honda Award winner for being the top athlete in her designated sport. I can only assume that completing a season slam, where she recorded a 10 on each apparatus at least once, had something to do with it. But if you were wondering, she has three gym slams in total with collegiate bests of 10s on vault (three times), bars (four times), beam (three times) and floor (10 times).

Along with Thomas, there are five other seniors able to take advantage of their remaining year of eligibility. Leah Clapper announced on May 1 that she’ll be back for Florida as a super senior. Gator Nation now awaits with bated breath for Thomas, Reed and Savannah Schoenherr to all report their return to UF as well. Knowing how competitive the Gator lineup is, it’s not too far of a stretch for Thomas and Reed to consider coming back for redemption and earning the National Championship they deserve.

For a team composed of half upperclassmen, if the seniors come back, Florida would be the big kid on the playground that steals all your toys, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Can you imagine how much more Thomas can hone her craft? Depending on how well Clapper’s off-season goes, she might come back magnetized to the beam. The 2022 season wasn’t just carried by the seniors. Leanne Wong and Sloane Blakely both had noteworthy freshmen outings that are encouraging for the future.

Wong is already halfway toward a gym slam, having recorded perfect scores on vault and bars. She’s also the SEC beam champion with a collegiate-best 9.975, 2022 All-SEC and an eight-time All-American. Her floor routine was breathtakingly delicate yet dynamic and demanded attention. Wong’s opening pass was a triple twist that got so high off the ground you could walk under it. Blakely joined her fellow freshman in the 10s club with one of her own against Auburn on the floor. In her debut on the beam, she earned 9.95 and has a collegiate-best of 9.95 on vault.

So, if the seniors say farewell to the orange and blue, the next generation of gymnasts seem to have it handled. The talent keeps rolling into Gainesville and next season is no different. Morgan Hurd, who missed all of 2022 after suffering an ACL tear, was the 2017 gold medalist for all-around at the 2017 world championships. Ellie Lazari, the 2021 SEC balance beam champ who missed most of 2022 after tearing her Achilles, will be back as will Riley McCusker, who had a nice freshman season and is a former gold medalist with the US National Team at the world championships. Incoming freshman Lori Brubach should find a place in the vault rotation next season after winning the vault title in all three Level 10 meets in 2022 she competed. Rowland also signed Kayla DiCello, the 2021 World Championships’ all-around bronze medalist and member of the U.S. Senior National Team. Along with the new youth, the Gators will welcome former U.S. National Team member and Georgia transfer Victoria Nguyen. Nguyen will add depth to the roster and should boost team totals on bars and beam.

Some of the most recent news out of the UF gymnastics program is the promotion of Adrian Burde. After 16 seasons, the assistant coach was promoted to associate head coach in early June. With an elite coaching staff and talent, Rowland should have no issues duplicating the impressive 2022 season. Now, can Rowland follow through and bring it home? Florida fans who remember the three-peat national championships might be restless but given Rowland’s track record and recruiting prowess plus her incredible graduation rate, it’s difficult to imagine any dissatisfaction from athletic director Scott Stricklin. We shouldn’t forget that Rhonda Faehn had the Gators knocking on the NCAA championship door for 10 years before they kicked it down in 2013. Rowland has the Gators knocking on the door. Will this be the year they kick it down?