Florida Gymnastics to Face Defending National Champion LSU

The No. 7 Florida gymnastics team begins conference action on the road Friday night. In a highly anticipated rivalry match, the Gators face the defending national champion LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge.

almost that time… #GoGators pic.twitter.com/QCHBVOg19j

— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) January 10, 2025

Last Time

Florida secured the regular-season SEC title last year with its 198.15-197.95 upset win over the Tigers. Leanne Wong closed out the night with her first career 10.0 on the floor exercise, leading UF to victory and secured her first gym slam, a score of 10.0 on each apparatus.

LSU took victories each of the next two times it would face Florida: the SEC championship and the national championship meets.

Florida Quad Victory

In their home opener last week, the Gators scraped by with a 0.025 victory over No. 6 Michigan State, Nebraska and Northern Illinois. Florida had built a substantial lead through the first three rotations, but the Gators had to count a fall on floor, making the margin to tight with a team score of 196.675.

Wong produced the highest all-around score in the country (39.725) on Friday with three scores of 9.95, earning SEC Gymnast of the Week for the fifth time in her career. With a 9.95 on the vault, sophomore Danie Ferris received recognition as the SEC Co-Specialist of the Week, her first SEC honor.

Another award for The CEO!

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗻𝗴 – SEC Gymnast of the Week
🔸Won 15th career all-around title with 2025 national high of 𝟯𝟵.𝟳𝟮𝟱
🔹 9.95s won bars, beam & floor

🔗 https://t.co/KUbSi8Tm6Z#GoGators | 🐊🤸‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/7BJEaGl80l

— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) January 14, 2025

Freshman Skye Blakely was able to compete just 199 days after tearing her Achilles at the 2024 U.S. Olympic trials. She put up a 9.725 on the bars in her first collegiate performance. What made it even more special? She competed shortly after her older sister and teammate, Sloane. The two became the first pair of sisters in the same Florida lineup since the 2014 NCAA Super Six team final.

Coach Jenny Rowland said the future looks bright for this young team with such talent and depth. She’s also looking forward to a competitive meet with the Tigers:

LSU Success

After securing their first national title in program history, the No. 2 Tigers came into the 2025 season in full force.

LSU secured a 197.3-194.1 win over Iowa State on Jan. 3 to start off its season. The Tigers fell just short of victory in the second session of the Sprout Farmer’s Market Collegiate quad last week. LSU put up a score of 197.65, just 0.3 behind the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners.

Regardless, the Tigers were able to score higher on each event compared to the week prior. In just her second meet as a Tiger, Kailin Chio scored a 39.625 in the all-around, improving by 0.05 from the week before and earning her SEC Co-Freshman of the Week for the second week in a row. Junior Ashley Cowan also received recognition for her score of a 9.95 on bars, earning SEC Co-Specialist of the Week alongside Ferris.

Back-to-back @SEC Awards in her first two collegiate meets 😮‍💨

Kailin Chio is the SEC Co-Freshman of the Week!#GeauxTigers | @kailin_chio pic.twitter.com/oYzQCXxguN

— LSU Gymnastics (@LSUgym) January 14, 2025

Live coverage of the meet airs on ESPN2 starting at 7:30 p.m. EST.