GatorsScore 198 Again And They Advance In Gymnastics Regional

Coach Rowland decides to let the depth of this team shine and have only Selena Harris-Miranda compete in the  All-Around.

Florida scores its nation leading-fourth straight 198+ to easily advance to the second round of the Regional Gymnastics in Tempe, AZ.

#3 Florida joined #14 California, #20 Penn State and #32 Arizona State. With the top two team scores qualifying to meet #6 Georgia (197.125) and #11 Michigan State (197.350) that competed earlier in the day for a showdown on Saturday.

Florida comes into the post season with four All-Americans. Skye Blakely (Uneven Bars, Balance Beam), Kayla DiCello (Uneven Bars, Balance Beam), Selena Harris-Miranda (All-Around, Vault, Uneven Bars and Balance Beam), and Riley McCusker (UB) earned a combined total of nine Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) regular-season All-America honors – including anational high eight first-team accolades. This is the 14th year the WCGA has recognized regular season All-Americans.

Florida is peaking at the best time of the year. LSU earlier scored a 198.375 in their Regional and Oklahoma competes late on Friday. Regardless the four 198’s is a big deal. There are still areas where you can see points given away but with the Gators hitting on Vault. Look out LSU and Oklahoma. Florida outscored them at the SEC’s and can do the same in Fort Worth on April 16th. They just have one more night to advance. Finish in the top two Saturday at 8pm EST and it’s off to Nationals.

Pace was the plan Friday. With four All-Arounds in the SEC Championship. Coach Rowland decided to let the depth of this team shine and have only Selena Harris-Miranda compete in the  All-Around.

Six gymnasts competed, with Florida having the choice of rotation of Vault, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam and Floor Routine. The Five highest scores count. On to the recap:

Vault: SEC Championship: 49.425. Average: 49.256, 9th in the Nation. California: Average: 49.055, 21st in the nation. Penn State: 49.028, 23rd in the nation. Arizona State: 48.938, 27th in the nation.

-Anya Pilgrim: Yurchenko 1 1/2. Small hop forward.- 9.90

-Skylar Drasser: Yurchenko 1 1/2. Tiny foot slide.- 9.90

-eMjae Frazier: Yurchenko Double. Twisting to face the Vault. Small hop.- 9.875 (The dropped score)

-Kayla DiCello: Yurchenko 1 1/2. Stuck landing- 9.950

Kayla has scored 9.9+ on 15 of 17 of her last routines.

-Danie Ferris: Yurchenko 1 1/2. Legs wide on landing. Arm swing- 9.875

-Selena Harris-Miranda: Yurchenko 1 1/2. Stuck.- 9.975

49.600- Wow! Florida’s highest score all season. A weakness early in the season seems to have turned around the last few weeks. Cal-49.200, Penn St-49.150 and ASU-49.100. With Florida’s toughest event out of the way. The other teams are just playing for second place now after just one rotation.

Skye Blakely picks up a perfect 10 on Bars. (Photo UAA)

Uneven Bars: SEC Championship: 49.800. Average, 49.586, 1st in the Nation. California: 49.332, 8th nationally. Penn State: 49.243, 11th nationally. Arizona State: 48.773, 41st nationally.

-eMjae Frazier: Low bar mount. Legs slightly separated. Double layout dismout. Stuck- 9.850

-Anya Pilgrim: Low bar mount. Legs together. Full twisting double tuck dismount. Hop- 9.800 (The dropped score)

-Skye Blakely: Springboard mount. Extra long handstands. A little crooked on her motions. Inverted grip to a double half twist dismount. Stuck.- 10.0! A bit of a surprise here, to be honest.

-Kayla DiCello: Springboard high bar mount. Legs together. Twisting layout dismount. Hop backward- 9.875.

-Selena Harris-Miranda: Top bar mount.High bar to low bar into a handstand. Extra, extra long handstands! Double layout dismount. Small foot slide- 9.975

Riley McCusker: Low Bar mount. Toes pointed. Great low to high bar transition. Double tuck dismount. Small hop- 9.925

49.625- A slow start on the bars ends strong! Florida takes a huge lead. 99.225, Cal-98.250, PSU-98.175 and ASU-98.075 after two rotations.

Beam: SEC Championship: 49.525. Average: 49.536, 1st in the Nation. California: 49.070, 19th nationally. Penn State: 49.078, 18th nationally. Arizona State: 48.823, 33rd nationally.

-Skylar Drasser:  Double series. 360 turn. Twisting front dismount 1 1/2 twist. Steps backwards- 9.825

-Alyssa Arana: Double back handspring. Front leap. Gainer Full side dismount. Stuck - 9.90. UF needs Alyssa in the postseason on this routine to hit. Great to see a 9.9 here.

-Skye Blakely: Triple wolf turn. Front to back handspring. Gainer full twisting side dismount. Swinging arms on the landing - 9.875

-eMjae Frazier: Springboard mount. Front flip to back flip. Big balance check. Split jumps. Cartwheel to twisting dismount. Stuck.-9.800 (The dropped score) Back to back weeks with a miss here.

-Kayla DiCello: Springboard candle mount. Wolf turn. Double back a handspring. Front arial. Side dismount. Stuck.- 9.90

-Selena Harris-Miranda: Side split mount. Triple series back handspring. 360 turn. Front twisting dismount. Stuck.- 9.950.

49.450- A bit under their average but a good score. Florida leads 148.675, Cal-147.625, ASU-147.050 and PSU-146.975 after the third rotation.

Floor: SEC Championship: 49.425. Average: 49.436, 6th in the Nation. California: 49.230, 20th nationally. Penn State: 49.158, 26th nationally. Arizona State: 49.115, 30th nationally.

-Gabby Disidore: 1st pass (The long runs from corner to corner)- Double layout into a leap. Stuck. 180 degree jumps. 2nd pass- Front twisting flip. Stuck.- 9.875

-Danie Ferris: 1st- Double tuck flip. 2nd- Combination twisting layout into a jump. Hop-9.850

-Jayla Booker: 1st- Tuck flip. Small hop. 2nd- Double front flip. Hop. Good to see Jayla get a shot in Regionals.- 9.80 (The dropped score)

-Amelia Disidore: 1st- Front double layout. Stuck. 2nd- Front twisting jump into a leap. Stuck- 9.90

Skye Blakely: 1st- Front handspring. Double flip to stag leap. 2nd-Huge leaps. Front twisting combination pass. Stuck- 9.90

-Selena Harris-Miranda: 1st- Front double tuck. Stuck. 2nd- Combination pass to stag leap- 9.925. Still a 10 away on Floor from the Gym Slam.

49.450- Florida again gets stronger at the end of the event securing the elusive 198! A bit of a rest for Skye, Kayla and eMjae. Florida is first at 198.125. California advances at 196.675. Penn State is eliminated at 196.200 and Arizona State has a short drive home with a 196.050.

Selena Harris-Miranda after the meet:

“We have so much fun together and I think it just strengthen our bonds and strengthen everybody and our relationship with each other so that is definitely helped us. I’m just super proud that we came out of here and just felt free and relaxed and we did everything that we talked about during the weekend and we’re just we’re ready to bring that into the day two. It’s gonna be a challenging weekend. We already warned everybody about that but we’ve done a really good job of keeping our head down and doing our job stuff all the time so it was great.”