The No. 2 Florida Gator Gymnastics team will compete on Thursday at 8 p.m. at Auburn University for NCAA Regionals. The Gators will take on Denver, Ohio State and Iowa State with the top two teams moving on to the next round.
So Far, So Good
Florida goes into Thursday’s quad-meet with an impressive list of accomplishments for the 2022 season.
The Gators earned the regular season and postseason SEC titles and senior Trinity Thomas not only dominated at the SEC Championship with All-Around, Vault and Floor titles but was also named SEC gymnast of the year.
Despite all the accolades, Florida head coach Jenny Rowland said this meet is just like any other.
“Not anything that really worries me too much,” she said. “Really taking the approach with this team as we always do that this meet is another opportunity to do something that we love.”
The Gators now look to get their 20th all-time NCAA Regional meet win.
Florida on Floor
When Thursday’s meet gets going, the Florida Gators will start on floor.
The Gators have flourished on the apparatus, often achieving massive scores and at times mounting major comebacks.
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The combination of seniors Nya Reed and Thomas is always a threat to score high on the floor exercise. It’s a place Rowland said she feels confident can get the Gators going.
“Starting on floor, I think that it’s a great event to have this team set the tone for the evening and just continue to build,” she said. “They’re going to gain a lot of confidence starting on floor and just be able to enjoy and relax and do what they do.”
Reed and Thomas each earned First Team All-American honors for their work on the floor exercise. Freshman Leanne Wong was named to the Second Team.
On Traveling…
Thursday’s meet is the third trip for the Gators in the month of March. Each trip has been to the state of Alabama. The Gators competed at Auburn to close off the regular season, and then returned for the SEC Championship.
Now, they’re back on the road.
With that said, the Gators have performed well on the road. Their undefeated record on the seasons means the road meets haven’t been a problem.
“It could bring a little confidence on the back end and in the back of our minds,” Rowland said. “But at the same time, for our sport, we know there’s no offense, there’s no defense. We just got to go in and do what we got to do, and I think that alone will carry a lot more weight.”
A top-two finish on Thursday will earn the Gators a spot in the regional finals on Saturday at 6 p.m.
March 31 – Second Round at 2 p.m. ET |
|
Vault |
No. 10 Kentucky |
Bars |
No. 23 Georgia |
Beam |
No. 27 Southern Utah |
Floor |
No. 7 Auburn |
March 31 – Second Round at 8 p.m. ET |
|
Vault |
No. 15 Denver |
Bars |
No. 17 Ohio State |
Beam |
Iowa State/Western Michigan |
Floor |
No. 2 Florida |
April 2 – Final at 6 p.m. ET |
|
Vault |
Session 1, Team 1 |
Bars |
Session 1, Team 2 |
Beam |
Session 2, Team 2 |
Floor |
Session 2, Team 1 |