Florida Gymnastics Advances To NCAA Championships With Region Title

The Florida gymnastics team won the NCAA Regional finals Sunday in Tuscaloosa, Ala., to advance to the national championship semifinals in Fort Worth, Texas. No. 11 Alabama placed second by 0.1 to continue its season and eliminated No. 6 California and No. 14 Oregon State.

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Florida Steady

The Gators got the night started on bars, an apparatus this squad has the best score in NCAA history on. Skye Blakely, Alyssa Arana and Riley McCusker each scored a 9.925 to lead Florida.

No. 2 in the nation on the event, the Gators headed to beam and saw lower scores than normal. Junior Selena Harris-Miranda scored a 9.9, the highest for Florida in the rotation. The other teams closed the gap slightly, as the Gators held on to first by 0.175.

Florida moved to the floor, where it scored a 49.5. Fifth-year Victoria Nguyen started the Gators with a 9.9. Danie Ferris and Harris-Miranda each scored a 9.875, while senior Leanne Wong led Florida with a 9.95 after a less-than-normal day for her. Freshman Taylor Clark finished the rotation with a 9.9 after tying her career-best of 9.95 just two days ago.

With the end in sight, the Gators finished on vault, which was scoring lower than any other event on the day. Anya Pilgrim led off with a 9.9, and Wong later matched it. Four scores of 9.85 for the rest of the rotation gave Florida a 197.7 to keep dancing.

“We get to keep grinding. We get to compete two more times,” UF coach Jenny Rowland said.

Tight Race for Second

Alabama, the host team, began on vault and saw only one score over a 9.9, which came from senior Corinne Bunagan after some judging discrepancies. Meanwhile, California got started with a 49.375 on floor, leading the Tide by 0.2.

On the bars, the Crimson Tide narrowed Cal’s lead to 0.025 by scoring a 49.475 in the rotation. The Golden Bears were consistent in execution on vault, sticking or coming close to sticking each one.

Bama continued to build, as it scored a season-high 49.5 on the balance beam. Four scores over 9.9 including a season-high 9.95 from Gabby Gladieux would give it a 0.025 lead over California going into the last rotation. After a 9.65 to start, Cal stepped up and still recorded a 49.45 on bars. Madelyn Williams and Casey Brown closed out with a pair of 9.95s.

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Both Alabama and California led off rotation four with falls. The Crimson Tide got to finish out the meet with a floor party in front of their home crowd. They counted four scores over 9.9 and finished with a 197.675. Despite a 49.45 on beam, the Bears were unable to hold off Bama, so the 2024 NCAA Runners-up saw their year come to a close.

“I always believed and was confident that this team was going to figure out the puzzle pieces, and it was going to take a tough group to get it done,” Tide coach Ashley Johnston said. “And they are.”

The Tide and the Gators showed the SEC love by celebrating together on the floor after the meet.

Two Eliminated

With Florida and Alabama moving on, two teams had to return home without a ticket to the NCAA Championship semifinals. Other than Cal, Oregon State also saw its season come to an end.

It trailed from the get-go, only putting up a 49.0 on beam. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Jade Carey scored a 9.95 in the anchor spot after having to count two scores of 9.7 toward the team score.

Once again, floor was the best event for the Beavers. Two scores of 9.9 and another 9.95 from Carey contributed to Oregon State’s 49.475. However, its trip to vault would erase the work it had just made up, as it only scored a 49.1. Oregon State concluded its 2025 campaign with a 49.3 on bars and a 196.875, which was its lowest team score since Feb. 28.

It is not quite the end for Beaver fans, as the senior Carey will compete in the all-around as an individual qualifier at the NCAA Championships.

Up Next

The NCAA Championship semifinals kick off April 17. The Gators and the Crimson Tide compete against the top two from Sunday night’s regional finals in Seattle, which features No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 7 Missouri, No. 15 Auburn and Arizona.

Headed to Fort Worth with Utah, UCLA, LSU and Michigan State are Florida and Alabama!!! pic.twitter.com/NgOtsqPlBt

— Inside Gymnastics (@InsideGym) April 6, 2025

Event Winners

Vault – Anya Pilgrim, Leanne Wong, Corinne Bunagan, Madelyn Williams (9.9)

Bars – Chloe LaCoursiere, Madelyn Williams, Casey Brown (9.95)

Beam – Jade Carey, Gabby Gladieux, Mya Lauzon (9.95)

Floor – Leanne Wong, Jade Carey, Lilly Hudson, Mya Lauzon (9.95)

All-Around – Jade Carey (39.7)