Florida Gators gymnastics sweeps Region 5 awards

Special report on the Florida Gators gymnastics team:

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Gator gymnastics swept the 2020 Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) Region 5 awards. Florida is the nation’s only program to claim each of four possible 2020 region honors.

WCGA Region 5 Awards

Gymnast of the Year:

Trinity Thomas

Florida

Head Coach of the Year:

Jenny Rowland

Florida

Assistant Coaches of the Year:

Adrian Burde and Owen Field

Florida

Administrator of the Year:

Kim Green

Florida

Gymnast of the Year:
Trinity Thomas claims her second consecutive WCGA Region 5 Gymnast of the Year honor. This is the seventh consecutive season a Gator picked up the region gymnast of the year honor.

AS A SOPHOMORE (2020):

* All-America first-team for all-around, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise and second-team for vault in the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) regular-season awards – one of three in nation to claim five honors

* Set collegiate all-around best (39.825) to win title at Georgia. Nation’s third-highest total of 2020 and equals Florida record

* Only 2020 gymnast with a 10.0 in three different events:

*   14th Gator to earn a 10.0 with winning mark in LSU dual uneven bars competition
*   10.0 on balance beam versus Denver & Iowa State. Beam 10.0 again in next meet at Auburn
*   10.0 won floor exercise at Penn State. All-arounder in every meet. Owns four of 2020’s top seven all-around totals (No. T3: 39.825; No.T7: 39.775 3x)

* Final Road to Nationals event rankings: No. 1 floor exercise (9.965 NQS), No. 2 all-around (39.75), No. T2 balance beam (9.965), No. T4 uneven bars (9.945), No. 14 vault (9.90)

* Among the four finalists for the 2020 Honda Award (season’s top collegiate gymnast)

* Led Gators with 28 event wins in 2020 – eight all-around, floor, six bars, five beam, one vault. Won final seven all-around competitions of 2020.

* Eight SEC Gymnast of the Week accolades is most in a single season in the honor’s 21-year history

* Earned fourth consecutive U.S. Senior National Team spot at 2019 U.S. Championships. One of eight gymnasts since 1987 to earn a U.S. Senior National Team spot after competing earlier at that season’s NCAA Championships.

* SEC Academic Honor Roll

Coach of the Year:
Assistant Coaches of the Year:
Jenny Rowland picks up her first Region 5 Coach of the Year award in 2020.
Adrian Burde and Owen Field claim their fourth Region 5 Assistant Coaches of Year honor since 2016 and third consecutive. This is Burde’s eighth region coach of year honor since joining the Gator program for the 2007 season.

*   Florida was 10-0 in 2020 and No. 2 on final Road to Nationals standings<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__roadtonationals.com_results_standings_season_2020_10_0_5&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=JtnfDe3SxRDD7pMTso_NCcJ4Vou47u61iYoTdMvy45E&s=_GShwdORQLxk99uAOtkw8gQvMmzBNMDV0pNMEokI3uo&e= >.
*   The Gators won their second consecutive Southeastern Conference title with a 7-0 league record. It was UF’s first undefeated league season since 1992 when all league teams began meeting during regular season action.
*   Florida held the No. 2 position throughout the Road to Nationals rankings after being picked No. 3 in the preseason vote.
*   Gators rank in top three in each of the final event rankings – No. 1 (beam), No. 2 (floor), No. 3 (vault & floor)
*   Florida’s team total of 198.375 (Jan. 24 vs LSU) is nation’s No. 3 total for 2020 and also is No. 3 total all-time for Gator program.
*   Four Gators – Alyssa Baumann, Rachel Gowey, Savannah Schoenherr, Trinity Thomas – earned nine WCGA All-America honors<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_news_2020_3_24_gymnastics-2Dfour-2Dgators-2Dearn-2Dwcga-2Dregular-2Dseason-2Dall-2Damerica-2Dhonors.aspx&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=JtnfDe3SxRDD7pMTso_NCcJ4Vou47u61iYoTdMvy45E&s=HRpxI9ARD7ZVMQA21qFqC3DuOhEtwbqjhzSWY8LVPwc&e= >
*   School Records Equaled in 2020:
Uneven Bars:        Trinity Thomas     10.0 (Jan. 24)
Balance Beam:    Rachel Gowey      10.0 (March 7)
Trinity Thomas     10.0 (Feb.7 & Feb. 14)
Team                     49.675 (Jan. 24 & Feb. 21)
Floor Exercise:     Trinity Thomas     10.0 (March 7)
All-Around:            Trinity Thomas     39.825 (Feb. 28)

Administrator of the Year:
Associate Athletics Director Kim Green receives her second consecutive Region 5 Administrator of the Year honor.

2020 WCGA Region Awards

Region

Gymnast

Coach

Assistant Coaches

Administrator

1

Kiya Johnson, LSU

Dana Duckworth, Alabama

Bill Lorenz & Ryan Roberts, Alabama

Robin Kelley, Alabama

2

Lexy Ramler, Minnesota

Tom Farden, Utah

Carly Dockendorf & Garrett Griffeth, Utah

Stuart Halsall, Denver

3

Sierra Brooks, Michigan

Beverly Plocki, Michigan

Scott Sherman, Maile’ana Hermelyn & Quest Hayden, Michigan

Carrie Kimball, UNH

4

Taylor Houchin, Nebraska

Ashley Lawson, SE Missouri State

Taylor Spears & David McCreary, Arizona

Suzanne Affeldt, Arizona

5

Trinity Thomas, Florida

Jenny Rowland, Florida

Adriane Burde & Owen Field, Florida

Kim Green, Florida

6

Kyla Ross, UCLA

Justin Howell & Liz Crandall-Howell, California

Janelle McDonald, California

Marianne Vydra, Oregon State

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.