Special report on the Florida Gators gymnastics team:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida begins 2020 as the No. 3 team in the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) preseason poll.
The top five in the 2020 preseason poll are No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 UCLA and No. 5 Utah.
Florida’s been among the nation’s preseason top five every season since 2007 (2007: 3rd; 2008: 2nd; 2009: 3rd; 2010: 4th; 2011: 3rd; 2012: 3rd, 2013: 3rd; 2014: 1st, 2015: 1st, 2016: 2nd, 2017: 5th; 2018: 2nd; 2019: 3rd, 2020: 3rd).
Florida faces opponents ranked among the preseason top 25 in its opening nine meets, including home dates versus No. 2 LSU (Jan. 24), No. 7 Denver (Feb. 7), No. 10 Alabama (Feb. 21), No. 19 Arkansas (Jan. 10) and No. 20 Iowa State (Feb. 7). The Gators face three top 15 preseason teams on the road – No. 8 Georgia (Feb. 28), No. 12 Kentucky (Jan. 31) and No. 13 Auburn (Feb. 14). Other preseason ranked Gator road opponents include No. 16 Missouri (Jan. 17) and No. 25 Penn State (March 7).
The Gators in 2020:
Florida returns six with 17 All-America honors – Alyssa Baumann, Rachel Gowey, Amelia Hundley. Savannah Schoenherr, Megan Skaggs and Trinity Thomas. Four of those All-Americans are also defending Southeastern Conference event champions – Baumann (balance beam), Gowey (beam), Skaggs (beam) and Thomas (vault).
Half of Florida’s roster have been a part of either (or both) U.S. Senior or Junior National Teams, as Thomas is the only current member of the U.S. Senior National Team to be on a 2020 NCAA roster. Others Gators who were a U.S. National Team member include Baumann, Jazmyn Foberg, Gowey, Hundley, Sydney Johnson-Scharpf and Skaggs. Senior Maegan Chant also was a four-time member of Canada’s National Team.
Other returners include senior Sierra Alexander and sophomores Leah Clapper, Nya Reed and Halley Taylor – all who competed or performed exhibition routines in 2019.
One freshman joins the Gators in 2020 – Payton Richards of Mokena, Ill. A three-time Junior Olympic National Championships champion (2017 Senior beam; 2016 Junior all-around, beam), Richards is a 2019, 2018 and 2017 Region 5 All-Star Team selection.
Who is Ready for the 2020 Season?
Cheering the Gators is the place for Florida fans on Friday evenings. The team drew a school record average of 8,333 a meet last season.
Here’s information on how to secure your 2020 tickets.
2020 Gator Gymnastics Season Ticket Pricing
Season
Single Meet
Reserved Adult Tickets
$35
$8
Reserved Youth (12 & under)
$20
$8
General Admission Adult
$20
$5
General Admission Youth (12 & under)
$5
$1
UF Students w/ Gator1 ID
Free
Season Parking (available to all reserved & general admission season ticket holders)
$25
Gator Ticket Office Contact Info:
Location:
Gate 1 – Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (Open Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET)
Phone:
1-800-34-GATOR
Web:
Transfer Tickets:
FloridaGators.com/myaccount
WCGA – 2020 Women’s Pre-Season Coaches Poll
Rank
Team
Points
First Place Votes
Date with Florida
1
Oklahoma
1813
36
2
LSU
1755
11
Jan.24 – home
3
Florida
1680
2
4
UCLA
1671
1
5
Utah
1559
6
Michigan
1515
7
Denver
1493
1
Feb. 7 – home
8
Georgia
1438
Feb. 28 – away
9
California
1315
10
Alabama
1306
Feb. 21 – home
11
Oregon State
1271
12
Kentucky
1240
Jan. 31 – away
13
Auburn
1213
Feb. 14- away
14
Minnesota
1196
15
Nebraska
1137
16
Missouri
1000
Jan. 17 – away
17
Washington
925
18
Boise State
900
19
Arkansas
798
Jan. 10 – home
20
Iowa State
765
Feb. 7 – home
21
Arizona State
749
22
Stanford
746
23
BYU
742
24
Ohio State
654
25
Penn State
638
March 7 – away