Gators Gym To Host SEC Rival Georgia

The No. 3 Florida Gators gymnastics team is set to host the No. 13 Georgia Bulldogs on Friday night in the O’Connell Center for its 9th Alumni Night.

Florida dropped a close one to defending national champion LSU last week. A margin of .100 separated the Gators from the No. 2 Tigers in Baton Rouge. The Gators fell to 3-1 on the season, but a team score of 197.450 saw them jump four spots from No. 7 in the Road to Nationals Rankings.

Rebounding From Loss

Florida got off to a slow start in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Senior Sloane Blakely had an uncharacteristic fall on bars, resulting in a 9.250. In collegiate gymnastics, six gymnasts perform, but only five scores count. Not wanting to count Blakely’s score, the next five Gators were under more pressure to hit their routines.

Gators coach Jenny Rowland said that pressure might have caused the rest of the bars lineup to play it a little safe. Florida’s highest score of the rotation was a 9.850 from Leanne Wong. Despite the lower scores, Rowland was proud of how her team was able to bounce back after a fall on the first routine of the night.

After bars, the Gators kicked it into high gear. They didn’t count a score under 9.825 for the rest of the meet.

SLOANE WITH A 9.950 🥶

📺https://t.co/DuaHNe6KER pic.twitter.com/Cf6iU7sHOx

— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) January 18, 2025

It came down to the last routine, as it often does between these teams, but LSU just edged out Florida. Despite adding a loss to their record, Rowland said she saw many bright spots from her Gators.

What About GymDogs?

On the other side, the 2-2 Georgia Bulldogs are coming off a 196.825-193.600 home win over Boise State last week. After placing third at the Denver Quad Meet in their season debut, the Bulldogs had their home opener with a special guest.

Georgia’s new coach, Cecile Canqueteau-Landi, is one of the former coaches of 11-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles. The world-renowned gymnast paid a visit to Stegeman Coliseum to support her old coach.

The Bulldogs’ strongest rotations were bars and floor, where they counted a 9.925 on each.

Ja' Free ending the bars rotation with an individual season high of 9.925 and making the event total season high of 49.375! Let's Go Dawgs!🐶

🔢9.925
📱 SEC Network+
📊 https://t.co/t1M1hG6T94#GoDawgs | #GloryGlory pic.twitter.com/fOi4On3i74

— Georgia Gymnastics (@UGAGymnastics) January 18, 2025

However, Georgia has yet to have a gymnast compete for the individual all-around title this season. The Gators, on the other hand, have had at least two in each meet. Florida’s depth and well-roundedness may prove to be its advantage.

Conference Matchup

Friday’s matchup has a different meaning for Gators graduate student Victoria Nguyen, who transferred from Georgia after her sophomore year in 2022. But, three years later, Nguyen has completely bought in to the Florida program.

As they celebrate Alumni Night, the Gators will also welcome back past team members. This top-25 matchup will kick off Friday at 6:15 p.m. on the SEC Network.