Florida Gators gymnastics come from behind to beat Alabama

Special report on the Florida Gators gymnastics team:

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It took a 10.0 – well actually TWO 10.0s – for No. 2 Gator gymnastics to move past No. 11 Alabama in the final rotation Sunday in front of a sellout Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center crowd. Florida tallied a 197.00 with the Tide just behind at 196.925.

Florida’s final two floor exercise performers closed the lineup with back-to-back 10.0s. Nya Reed turned in her first 10.0 on her signature event. Then fellow senior Trinity Thomas ended just as she started the day – with a 10.0. Thomas opened the meet by anchoring the vault lineup with her first 10.0 on the event. She closed the meet with her fourth floor 10.0 to give UF the winning margin.

THIS AFTERNOON’S MEET
Florida and Alabama were tied after the opening rotation and then UF was working from a deficit after the next two rotations. UF trailed by 0.35 heading into the final event. The Tide closed on balance beam with a 49.15, which included the day’s winning beam performance of 9.95 by Luisa Blanco.

Florida used four floor marks of 9.90 or better, including the 10.0s by Reed and Thomas, to outpoint the Tide with a floor total of 49.575. That final rotation put UF ahead by 0.075 for the narrowest margin of victory since the two teams began meeting in dual meet action in 1979.

Reed and Thomas also posted collegiate bests on vault. Reed upped her vault best to a near-perfect 9.975. Thomas followed her with the 10.0 she needed to complete a “Gym Slam” (a 10.0 on every event during collegiate career).

Senior Megan Skaggs led Florida on uneven bars at 9.875, as UF had problems with handstands and a few steps on dismounts. Alabama’s Makarri Doggette and Blanco shred the day’s bars win at 9.925.

A fall midway through the beam lineup put pressure on the remaining Gators. No other misses were recorded although some balance checks dinged the scoring potential. The scores of freshmen Sloane Blakely (9.925) and Leanne Wong (9.90) led UF on the beam to take second and third, respectively.

Skaggs won her second all-around title of her collegiate career (39.525) while Wong was second (39.30).

Back-to-Back 10.0s
Among the 52 10.0s scored since 1991, Florida has found multiple perfection in a single meet now six times.

This is the third time Florida scored consecutive 10.0s in a lineup:
Uneven Bars: Kristen Guise followed by Amy Myerson (March 22, 1996)
Floor Exercise: Bridget Sloan followed by Kytra Hunter (Jan. 24, 2014)
Floor Exercise: Nya Reed followed by Trinity Thomas (Jan. 16, 2022)

The last time UF closed with consecutive floor 10.0s came in 2014. That also was the last time UF trailed a home meet heading into the final rotation.

The last time Florida had three 10.0s in a meet? That was also against the Tide in 2016 (Bars: Alex McMurtry; Beam: Bridget Sloan; Floor: Kennedy Baker).

This is the second time Thomas found perfection twice in a single meet (Bars and floor on Feb. 26, 2021).

Trinity Thomas Completes Gym Slam
With her 10.0 on vault, Trinity Thomas joins the “Gym Slam” club.

She is the 12th overall in the nation to finish a Gym Slam and first since UCLA’s Kyla Ross in 2019.

The Gators now have three with a Gym Slam (Bridget Sloan, Alex McMurtry). Three shares the nation’s lead with Georgia.

With her second 10.0 on floor today, Thomas now has 10 10.s (four floor, three bars, two beam, one vault).

Gym Slam Gymnasts
(10.0 in each apparatus during collegiate career)

Name

School

Career

Event/Date Final
10.0 Accomplished

Trinity Thomas

Florida

2019-present

V, 1-16-22

Kyla Ross

UCLA

2017-20

FX, 3-16-19

Alex McMurtry

Florida

2015-18

BB, 1-26-18

Maggie Nichols

Oklahoma

2017-20

UB, 3-4-17

Bridget Sloan

Florida

2013-16

UB, 3-13-15

Courtney Kupets

Georgia

2006-09

V, 4-4-09

Ashley Kelly

Arizona State

2003-06

BB, 3-5-04

Kristen Maloney

UCLA

2001-05

UB, 3-6-05

Karin Lichey

Georgia

1996-99

FX, 2-23-96

Kristen Kenoyer

Utah

1990-93

UB, 3-20-93

Heather Stepp

Georgia

1990-93

UB, 2-12-93

Missy Marlowe

Utah

1989-92

FX, 3-9-92

 

Coach Rowland Said:
“Wow! What a night. Lots of fight from this team, lots of emotion. It was a bit of a roller coaster ride but something we talked about as a team before we started the competition was fight. That is fight to stay normal and fight to stay in the blue zone, which is calm and our normal zone.

“So there were some ups and downs throughout the competition but overall for the second meet out, this team showed great resilience and some spectacular performances. This team continue to show great leadership and we look forward to what is going to be an exciting year.” – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland

RECORDS: No. 2 Florida (4-0, 1-0 SEC)
No. T-11 Alabama (0-2, 0-1 SEC)

THE SERIES: Alabama leads the series 75-48-2.
Florida has won every home dual meet versus Alabama since 2003. Today is Florida’s 10th consecutive home dual win versus The Tide (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022).

National Rank:
Florida – Florida is No. 2 in the Road to Nationals Rankings<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__roadtonationals.com_results_standings_season_2022_1_0_5&d=DwIFJg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=4w9pkB-tUpHq_v0jZ2N9xlB3ZYyuEcx1xGY1jBfFOS5QT7WZgYrVjzvPFztA9uzR&s=mB4t6E-E5pQJBijAUN-SiOxpS8ONGX4bv9cfEWhGqOQ&e= >
Alabama – The Tide is No. T-11

UP NEXT:
The Gators kick off a SEC Network tripleheader of Friday Night Heights action at Georgia.

 

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.