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It was always going to be difficult to follow up the highest-scoring start in school history.
But, the Gators (2-0) gymnastics squad still secured the victory Friday night, defeating No. 19 Missouri (1-3) by a scoreline of 196.850 to 195.600 in Columbia to stay perfect on the young season.
Standout Performers
After notching the highest vault score of both teams in the season opener, Gators sophomore Nya Reed did it again. She put up a 9.875, the same as last week’s, which, once again, led both teams on the night. This also ties her career-best score in the event.
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Reigning SEC Freshman of the Year Trinity Thomas did not replicate her near perfection of last week, but she was again a strong performer for Florida. After a mistake on the uneven bars that would cause her effort to get dropped, Thomas finished with the highest beam and floor scores of the night. Her beam routine included a pretty one-handed back handspring that helped her notch a 9.925.
The most impressive gymnast of the night, though, may have belonged to the losing team. Missouri freshman Helen Hu took home the bars title with a 9.950 and led the Tigers in beam scoring, an event which she anchored, with a score of 9.900
https://twitter.com/MizzouGym/status/1218335389414391808?s=20
Hu set a new career-best with her bars effort and is building on an already impressive campaign. She already has two beam titles on the season, scoring a 9.950 on the apparatus in the team’s last meet.
Fantastic Floor
The only area in which the Gators scored higher than in the season opener was floor, where the team put up 49.475 against the Tigers. This is an increase of .075 from last week.
For Florida, five out of the six floor performers put up a 9.800 or higher in an strong collective showing. Thomas (9.950), junior All-American Alyssa Baumann (9.925), and senior All-American Rachel Gowey (9.900) led the way.
What’s Next
The Gators compete against Tigers from a different state next week. Florida hosts No. 7 LSU (3-0) Friday night in the O’Connell Center.
