2015 NCAA Gymnastics Championships Begin

The University of Florida gymnastics is gearing up to compete in the NCAA Championship in Fort Worth, Texas this weekend. This is the first time the championships are being held in the Lone Star State. The teams competing in this year’s championships are Florida, UCLA, Georgia, Michigan, Stanford, Utah, Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Oregon State. Number two Florida has qualified for the championship for the 33rd time, only missing the 2000 event. The team is coming off a first place finish at NCAA Regionals in Morgantown, West Virginia.  At last year’s championship, the Gators tied with Oklahoma for the national title.

Bridget Sloan put up the nation’s top all around score (39.80) of the 2015 season at the regional competition. Sloan also took home the all-around and beam titles in the 2013 championships and the uneven bars in the 2014 championships. She said the team is working on fixing the small details before nationals.

“Regionals was a great competition for us. And I think that’s what kind of helped us with the workouts this last week… In gymnastics you want to hit your routines. But we’re at the point where we don’t just need to hit our routines, we need to make them as perfect as possible.”

Florida has appeared in the NCAA Super Six nine times, six of which came under head coach Rhonda Faehn since she came to UF’s program in 2003. Faehn is in her 13th season with the Gators. She said she believes her team is prepared to handle the intensity of nationals.

“We’re not doing anything different than we normally do. This is just the excitement of heading into what we consider is the most fun part of the season. This team, they’re used to pressure. They’re used to heavy and hard situations all season long and throughout the year. So this is something that they are familiar with.”

The first round of the championship starts Friday, April 17th, and the top six teams move on the Super Six Saturday.  Individual event finals take place on Sunday the 19th.

To listen to Sloan and Faehn’s audio clips, click below.

Bridget Sloan talking about perfecting their routines.

Rhonda Faehn talking about how the team is handling the pressure.