Florida Gators gymnastics wins NCAA Regional title

Special report on the Florida Gators gymnastics team:
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The Florida gymnastics team is off to the NCAA Championships after winning the University Park Regional title, held Saturday afternoon in front of 2,755 at Penn State’s Rec Hall. The win advances Florida to St. Louis, Mo., where the NCAA Championships appears for the second consecutive year.

Florida Event Winners Saturday

Vault:

Rachel Slocum

9.95

Uneven Bars:

Alex McMurtry

9.975

Balance Beam:

Alex McMurtry

9.95

Floor Exercise:

Alicia Boren

9.90

Rachel Slocum

9.90

All-Around:

Alex McMurtry

39.725

The Gators turned in a 197.725 Saturday for the team’s seventh consecutive NCAA Regional title. The top two teams in regional competition advance to the NCAA Championships. Washington claimed the other berth at 196.275. Arizona State was third at 195.75, followed by New Hampshire (194.95), Penn State (194.900) and West Virginia (194.40).

Senior Alex McMurtry won three event titles, including her second all-around title of 2018. Her winning all-around total of 39.725 is just a tenth away from the school record (39.825) she shares with Bridget Sloan and Alaina Johnson.

The Gators’ Meet Performance:
The Gators put together a complete meet, with the top Gator score on each event taking the regional title.

Florida opened the meet on the two power events – floor exercise and vault. A solid floor set led by All-Americans Alicia Boren and Rachel Slocum’s 9.90 gave the Gators a 49.325 for their opening event.

Gators looked sharp on vault, with the final three posting marks of 9.90 or better – Boren (9.90), Alex McMurtry (9.925) and Rachel Slocum (9.95).

Florida’s 49.50 equals the team’s third-highest uneven bars total this season. Three turned in marks of 9.90 or better – Megan Skaggs (9.90), Rachel Gowey (9.90) and McMurtry (9.975).

The Gators closed the meet on balance beam, again turning in a 49.50. A trio of Gators earned scores of 9.90 or better – Boren (9.90), Gowey (9.925) and McMurtry (9.95).

GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES:

· The three titles for McMurtry tonight gives her 26 event wins for the season. That sets her career high for event wins, as she collected 24 wins as a junior.

· This is the third consecutive NCAA Regional event win for Slocum. As a sophomore with Eastern Michigan in 2016, she shared the NCAA Ann Arbor Region floor exercise title. That win advanced her to the NCAA Championships as an individual competitor. She won the Gainesville Regional with a 9.95 and used that mark again to take the University Park vault win.

· The regional all-around title has gone to a Gator each of the past nine seasons – Ashanée Dickerson (2010, 2012), Alaina Johnson (2011 & 2014), Kytra Hunter (2013), Bridget Sloan (2015, 2016) and McMurtry (2017, 2018).

· Boren’s share of the floor win is her sixth title on the event this season. She also used a 9.90 to share the 2018 Southeastern Conference floor crown. Slocum wins her first floor title of 2018.

· The win ups Florida’s regional team titles total to 18 (1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)

· In the NCAA Championships’ 37-year history, Florida has now advanced to the national championships 36 times, missing only the 2000 event.

NOW WHAT?
2018 NCAA Gymnastics Championships – April 20-21

Chaifetz Arena – St. Louis, Mo.

Date

Competition

Time (ET)

Friday, April 20

Semifinal I

1 p.m.

Semifinal II

7 p.m.

Saturday, April 21

Super Six Team Final

7 p.m.

The 12-team field for the NCAA Championships is determined tonight, as the top two teams in each of the nation’s six regional sites advance to St. Louis, Mo., for the April 20-21 national championships.

The 12-team NCAA Championships’ field competes on April 20 in two semifinal sessions of six teams each. The top three teams in each session advance to the April 21 NCAA Super Six to determine the team champion.

The Gators have advanced from the NCAA Championships semifinal competition to the NCAA Super Six team final 12 of the last 14 years (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017). Florida took third in 2017 NCAA Super Six action.

Selection information for the 12-team field and individual event competitors will be available on NCAA.com after noon ET on Monday, April 9. The NCAA Individual Event Finals discontinued after the 2015 season. NCAA event champions are based on April 20 semifinal scores.

McMURTRY IS SOUTHEAST REGION GYMNAST OF YEAR – AGAIN:

2018 NACGC Southeast Region Gymnastics Awards

Gymnast of the Year: Alex McMurtry, Florida

Coach of the Year: Kim Landrus, NC State

Assistant Coaches of the Year: Jason Vonk, Stephanie Worrell, George Washington

Tri-Administrator of Year: April Messerly, West Virginia

Jon Dahlquist, Towson

Adina Stock, NC State

The National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC) announced NCAA All-Southeast Region honors Saturday.

Florida’s McMurtry, who was named SEC Specialist and Scholar-Athlete of the Year last month, claims her second NACGC Southeast Region Gymnast of the Year honor. She is the fourth Gator to claim the honor since 2010. Other Gators to be named Regional Gymnast of the Year include Ashanée Dickerson (2010, 2011), Kytra Hunter (2015) and Bridget Sloan (2014, 2016).

QUOTES
Opening Statement:
“It was a great night. We came in and did our job and that’s what we set out to do. The team performed tonight like they have been doing in the [practice] gym. This team has a lot to be proud of.

“We had a little bit of adversity tonight but picked each other up and carried on just as nothing ever happened. That was great and they handled it very well.” – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland

What was the adversity the team faced tonight?
“We had Megan Skaggs out of the beam lineup and put Jazmyn Foberg in for her. The team’s first five [on beam] were rock solid just as they do in practice and it took the pressure off everybody.

“Alicia Boren had a little mistake on bars and covered it to the best of her ability. I was very proud of her for finishing as strong as she did, but the next five [on bars] just killed it. Didn’t miss a beat and their confidence didn’t sway whatsoever, so it was really good to see them just go up and perform like they do in practice.” – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland

How about Rachel Slocum’s 9.95 on vault?
“Rachel Slocum oh my gosh! She had an amazing vault! The best vault I have ever seen her do in her entire life. I am super excited for her.

“This was really the best meet we have had on the road this year. It was really good to see the team perform at this level with the nerves and knowing that they have to qualify to nationals. They handled everything under pressure very well.”

“Alex {McMurtry] didn’t have the best warm up today which isn’t unusual. I went up to her before we started and asked if she was feeling okay and she said “I got it Jenny don’t worry.” Of course, one-hundred percent if she’s ready to go then it’s a go. I am very proud of her for coming in and performing.” – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland

On the team’s performance:
“As a team, I think we had one of the best meet of this season. We still have a few things we can fix, but we are going to be hungry of NCAA’s.” – senior All-American Rachel Slocum

Did you like this rotation? You got your events done and then could focus on the team.
“I did like this rotation because I was able to get my stuff done, and finish out the meet and give every fiber of my being to my teammates. This is something I really love to do and I think it’s definitely my favorite part of the whole competition.” – senior All-American Rachel Slocum

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.