Florida Gators gymnast Leanne Wong performs on vault during the 2024 NCAA Women's National Gymnastics Semifinals on Thursday night at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. [Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports]

Gators Gymnastics Holds On for Season-Opener Win

Scarlett Cooney January 10, 2025 Gators Gymnastics, Gymnastics, NCAA, SEC 32 Views

The No. 3 preseason-ranked Florida Gators gymnastics team opened its season Friday night in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center with a quad meet win over No. 3 Michigan State, No. 23 Nebraska and Northern Illinois.

Florida had built up a substantial lead through three rotations, but two costly falls on the floor from Ellie Lazzari and Lori Brubach resulted in a narrow 0.025 win over the Spartans. Nebraska followed in third, and NIU in fourth.

While a team score of 196.675 may have made the win a little too close for comfort, there were plenty of bright spots for the Gators.

Gator Greatness

Perhaps the brightest was freshman Skye Blakely making her collegiate debut on bars. Her older sister Sloane kicked the rotation off with a huge 9.900 after a stuck landing. Shortly after, Skye posted 9.725.

It was unclear if Skye would be able to compete this season after an Achilles injury she suffered during the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June. But, exactly 199 days after the injury and 192 days after surgery, Skye competed for the Gators for the first time. Skye and Sloane are now the first pair of sisters in the same Florida lineup since the 2014 NCAA Super Six team final.

Skye commented on what it meant to be able to come back from an injury sooner than some expected.

Senior standout Leanne Wong posted three 9.950s on bars, beam and floor, contributing to her winning all-around score of 39.725. That matches LSU’s Aleah Finnegan for the highest all-around score in the nation this season.

Wong said she was grateful to start the season strong, especially since it was her last first meet as a Gator.

Sophomore Danie Ferris matched her collegiate best on vault with a 9.950, also tying the national high score.

https://twitter.com/GatorsGym/status/1877873937088188797

Sixteen-year-old Ly Bui made her debut for the Gators with a 9.775 on vault. Bui was originally set to graduate high school this spring but finished early and enrolled at UF for this semester.

UCLA transfer and 2024 Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year Selena Harris-Miranda also debuted for the Orange and Blue, highlighted by a 9.900 on beam.

With four gymnasts making their Florida or collegiate debut, head coach Jenny Rowland spoke about the bright future in store for her team.

Senior Riley McCusker made her long-awaited return to the competition floor after 637 days. This was her first competition since the 2023 season after being sidelined last season, recovering from ankle surgery for an injury suffered in the fall of 2023. McCusker unfortunately fell on the landing (9.100), but the crowd was excited to see her back in the lineup.

In addition to the team win, the Gators also swept the individual awards. Leanne Wong won the all-around, bars, beam and floor, while Danie Ferris won the vault.

Spartan Success

Michigan State came second to Florida with a team score of 196.650. The Spartans opened their season last weekend with a win over Western Michigan.

After a somewhat shaky first rotation on floor with a high score of 9.825 from Olivia Zsarmani, the Spartans continued to build momentum. They were immensely successful on bars and beam, eating away at Florida’s lead.

Like the Gators, they counted three scores at 9.900 or above on bars, the high coming from Sage Kellerman (9.925). Zsarmani added a 9.925 on beam, setting a new career high on the event. She also set a new all-around career high with a 39.425.

Nebraska finished the night in third with a team score of 195.600. This was the team’s second quad meet of the season, placing fourth last weekend behind No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 17 Auburn and BYU.

The Huskers had a strong first rotation on beam, holding second place behind Florida. They were led by Sophia McClelland with a 9.875.

However, Nebraska seemed to lose momentum from there. Whitney Jencks had the Huskers’ high score on floor with a 9.825. They were never able to retake second from Michigan State and only broke into the 9.900s on a bars routine from Emma Spence.

Northern Illinois came in fourth with a team score of 191.950. The Huskies, unfortunately, never moved up from fourth place, but they improved through each rotation. The high scores of the night for NIU were two 9.825s from Drake White and Mikayla Brown.

Up Next for Florida

The Gators will travel to Baton Rouge next Friday to take on the defending national champion No. 2 LSU Tigers. When these SEC rivals met last season, Florida pulled off the upset at home 198.150-197.950. Coach Rowland acknowledged that her team didn’t leave everything on the floor in the season opener, but she knows they’ll continue to improve every day.

Tags

About Scarlett Cooney

Scarlett Cooney is a senior journalism student specializing in sports and media.

Check Also

Pat Dooley’s Back Nine: Tough Lexington Loss, But Here Comes No. 1

The Back Nine comes at you after a weekend so chilly it felt like our …

© 2025 WRUF / Division of Multimedia Properties