Bridget Sloan celebrates her uneven bars routine with the Gators. Three-time defending NCAA champion Florida won NCAA Semifinal I to advance to Saturday's NCAA Super Six team final.
Moving on! Gators Win NCAA Semifinal I to Advance to Super Six.
FORT WORTH, Texas – The University of Florida gymnastics team is on to the NCAA Super Six team final after winning NCAA Semifinal I Friday. The three-time defending NCAA champion Gators looks to add a fourth title in Saturday's Super Six, which begins at 9 p.m. ET in the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena. The event airs live on ESPNU. Bridget Sloan Wins NCAA All-Around Title; Shares Uneven Bars & Balance Beam Crown
Senior Bridget Sloan won the 2016 NCAA all-around title. She also shared the wins for NCAA uneven bars and balance beam.
Sloan topped NCAA Semifinal I competition with a total of 39.70 and that total held up through the second semifinal competition.
Her marks of 9.95 for bars and beam took a share of the NCAA title. The NCAA Individual Event Finals were eliminated after 2015 and the apparatus winners are now determined by combining two semifinal results. She shared the bars win with Georgia's Brittany Rogers and the beam title with UCLA's Danusia Francis.
Friday's wins gives Sloan a pair of NCAA titles for each event. She also won all-around and beam as a freshman in 2013 and took the 2014 bars crown. Her six wins makes Sloan Florida's career leader for NCAA Event titles.
The six NCAA event titles is third all-time in the 35-year history of the NCAA Gymnastics Championships. The top two also come from the Southeastern Conference - Courtney Kupets/Georgia (9) and Jenny Hansen/Kentucky (8).
Florida won its NCAA Semifinal session for the fourth consecutive year. Florida topped the afternoon semifinal at 197.475.
As the first-place team in Semifinal I, Florida starts on balance beam for Saturday's NCAA Super Six team final.
Florida wins its semifinal session for the sixth time in the program's history (also won session in 2015, 2014, 2013, 2008 and 2004). That total equals Florida's fourth-highest total ever in NCAA Championships' Semifinal competition. Joining Florida from semifinal I in Saturday's Super Six is LSU (197.3375) and Georgia (196.725). Stanford (195.575), Auburn (195.10) and Minnesota (194.9875) rounded out the first semifinal's results.
Advancing to the Super Six from Friday's second semifinal are Oklahoma (197.7875), Alabama (197.3875) and UCLA (196.70). Other team results from Semifinal II were California (195.95), Nebraska (195.775) and Utah (195.7625).
Notes:
· Bridget Sloan led the all-around competitors in Semifinal I with a total of 39.70. The NCAA all-around champion is determined by combining all-around results from both of Friday's semifinals (Semifinal II begins at 7 p.m. ET). Sloan won the NCAA all-around in 2013 as a freshman.
· Three Gator all-arounders (Sloan, Kennedy Baker, Alex McMurtry) earned All-America honors Friday. This is the fifth time three or more Gator all-arounders earned All-America honors in a single NCAA Championship.
· Sloan is now the Gators' career leader for total event titles after Friday's three NCAA titles (all-around, bars, beam). She entered the NCAA Championships' tied at 90 wins with Elfi Schlegel (1983-96).
· Florida's total of 197.475 is the second consecutive year the Gators have earned that total in NCAA Semifinal competition.
· Although this is the fourth straight year Florida has won its NCAA Semifinal session, it is the first time since 2013 the Gators didn't tie. Florida tied Alabama for first in NCAA Semifinal II in 2014 and shared first with Utah in 2015 Semifinal I action.
ALL-AMERICA HONORS CAREER RECORD:
Sloan's five All-America honors earned this afternoon pushes her career total to 16 – setting the school record for All-America honors earned in NCAA competition. The previous record of 15 was set by Kytra Hunter during her career (2012-15).
Sloan's five All-America honors were all first team. She is the only Gator to claim five All-America first team honors in a single NCAA Championships'. Hunter and Johnson each earned five All-America honors in 2012, but there were some second-team honors mixed in.
GATORS EARNING ALL-AMERICA HONORS:
Five Gators earned a total of 14 All-America honors Friday.
All-America honors based on finish in NCAA Semifinal.
Places 1-4 (plus ties) = first team
Places 5-8 (plus ties) = second team
QUOTES Opening Statement…
"Every team that makes it to the Super Six is a good team, they would not have gotten there if they were not. I think tomorrow is going to be absolutely incredible. You are going to see the best of the best in college gymnastics. I think it is going to be a great day" – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland
On being the head coach…
"It is a dream, I pinch myself every day. It is an opportunity that I am grateful for every day. It has been an amazing season being able to take on a team filled with energy, filled with passion and get to know them a little better one-on-one. We have only had a couple of months to build bonds and relationships. It has been an amazing process." – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland
On confidence before the session…
"Absolutely, yesterday was probably one of the best trainings that we had on podium. After yesterday's practice I knew this team was ready to go today." – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland
On how things went today…
"I could not have asked for more today, it was a team oriented competition and we hit 24-for-24, we had some mistakes. We didn't have a perfect meet I do not think anyone can say they had a perfect meet." - – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland
On excelling on bars…
"Bars has been one of our better events but it was nice getting floor and vault out of the way. We were super hype going into vault and floor. Before we walked out for bars I said, 'all right guys let's do this'. You could tell in every one of my teammate's eyes that they wanted it. It was awesome seeing that as an upper classman, looking at the freshmen. Alicia (Boren) did not have the best vault day of her life but she had an incredible bar, incredible beam. It is really awesome knowing when I leave I can think back and realize that this team is so full of talent." - Florida Senior All-American Bridget Sloan
"We can always do better, gymnastics is a sport unless you are getting 10s on everything, even if you get a 10 you think, I can do a little bit better. I really couldn't have asked for a better performance but at the same time there are things that I can work on and I think it is just how prelims goes. In prelims you want to hit 4-for-4 you want to hit all six routines and having my team behind me really has helped this entire season." - Florida Senior All-American Bridget Sloan
WORTH NOTING:
Florida advances to its 14th NCAA Super Six team final (1994, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016).
UP NEXT:
NCAA Super Six team final is set to begin at 9 p.m. ET in the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena. ESPNU will broadcast the meet live.
On ESPN3, fans can find video streams of the event, along with a stream of each apparatus. Find all the links here.
Florida at NCAA Championships - Semifinal I Final Team Totals
April 15, 2016 - Fort Worth Convention Center Arena
Team
Vault
Bars
Beam
Floor
Total
Florida
49.3500
49.4750
49.3500
49.3000
197.4750
LSU
49.3375
49.3250
49.3000
49.3750
197.3375
Georgia
49.2750
49.3750
49.1125
48.9625
196.7250
Stanford
49.1500
49.0250
48.4750
48.9250
195.5750
Auburn
48.9625
49.0875
48.1500
48.900
195.1000
Minnesota
49.0375
47.6625
49.2500
49.0375
194.9875
Florida at NCAA Championships - Semifinal II
Final Team Totals
Oklahoma
49.4000
49.4625
49.4750
49.4500
197.7875
Alabama
49.4875
49.3125
49.3000
49.2875
197.3875
UCLA
48.9875
49.2375
49.3625
49.1125
196.7000
California
49.0000
49.0000
49.0750
48.8750
195.8500
Nebraska
49.0500
48.7875
48.9750
48.9625
195.7750
Utah
49.1000
49.2875
48.1375
49.2375
195.7625
2016 NCAA Championships Competition Rotations Super Six – Saturday, April 16 @ 9 p.m. (ET)
