Florida Gymnastics Cruises to Another Win in ‘Battle of the Baumanns’

After a dramatic final routine win over Alabama on Sunday, the  Florida gymnastics team traveled to Georgia for their first away meet of the season.  It was the fourth edition of “The Battle of the Baumanns.” This is a match up between sisters Alyssa and Rachel who represent Florida and Georgia, respectively.

The Gators avoided making any major mistakes and cruised to their second dual-meet win of the season.

Brilliance on Bars

Florida started their first away meet on the bars, while Georgia took to vault.  Florida put up a season-high 49.475 on the event after solid performances from all six gymnasts.

Senior Trinity Thomas and freshman Leanne Wong anchored the apparatus with back-to-back 9.975 scores. The Gators were forced to drop a 9.800 score from their lineup.

Georgia put up a solid performance on vault. The Gym Dawgs got a 9.925 from senior Megan Roberts that kept Georgia within 0.250 points of the Gators.

Florida Extends Lead

Rotation two saw Florida head to vault and Georgia take on bars.  Georgia put together some solid routines, but they couldn’t crack 9.90 on the event.  Sophomore Katie Finnegan led the way for the Gym Dawgs with a 9.875.

After joining the “10.0 Club” on Sunday, senior Nya Reed nearly added another to her tally, getting a 9.95.

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Reed took the vault title while the Gators extended their lead going into rotation three.  Florida went up 98.725-98.325.

Nightmare for Gym Dawgs

Beam proved to be a killer for Georgia.  They struggled to stay on the beam and watched as their final five gymnasts on the event fell.  Senior Mikayla Magee was the only one to hit her routine and got a 9.825.  Georgia put up a rough 46.625 on the event and quickly saw their chances of winning the meet slip away.

Florida took to floor and continued their push away from the Gym Dawgs.  Although there were no 10.0 scores or late-meet dramatics, the Gators put up a solid rotation.

Reed continued her excellent day with a 9.950.

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The Gators pushed to their biggest lead of the day at three points at the end of the rotation.

Florida did suffer a few setbacks on the floor. Sophomore Ellie Lazzari suffered an injury in warmups that took her out of the lineup and senior Halley Taylor went down after her first pass on the floor and was unable to finish the routine.

 Gators Grab the Win

With a substantial lead going into the final rotation, the Gators cruised through their beam rotation to secure the 196.975-194.475 win.  Graduate student Alyssa Bauman fell off the beam on a leap which meant both Baumann sisters fell in the event.

Her sister Rachel, on the other hand, finished her night on a high note and got her first career 10.0 on the floor exercise for Georgia.

Awards

Florida’s Megan Skaggs takes the all-around with a 39.525. She came into the meet as the ninth-ranked all-around performer in the country.  Georgia’s Rachel Baumann wins floor with her first career 10.0.

Trinity Thomas gets the beam title for the Gators with a 9.950 and Thomas and Wong tied with a 9.975 on bars.  Vault goes to Reed who scored a 9.950.

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What’s Next

Florida will host Arkansas on Friday in the 16th Annual Link to Pink meet while Georgia will welcome LSU to town on Friday.