Heartbroken Gators react to Faehn's sudden departure
Friday, April 24, 2015 | Gymnastics, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The beaming smile so often associated with Bridget Sloan had been replaced by what could only be described as blankness. And, sure enough, Sloan's first words put Friday's bombshell at the Florida gymnastics studio into perspective.
"For the first time in my life, I'm speechless," she said.
Coach Rhonda Faehn, just six days removed from leading the Gators to a third straight NCAA title, called her team into a meeting after posing for its national championship photo and, fighting back tears, told them she was leaving to become senior vice president of USA Gymnastics.
The news hit the Gators like a balance beam to the teeth.
"When she got up there to talk to us, then started crying a little bit, I knew it wasn't going to be good news," junior Bridgette Caquatto said. "It hurts to see someone so strong like that be in such a sad moment."
After 13 seasons at UF, the 43-year-old Faehn will now be a powerful voice in Elite gymnastics, with a heavy hand in everything from club level to the national team to the World Championships and Olympics. Faehn, a former Elite gymnast and 1988 Olympian, will be USA Gymnastics' second in command to National Team coordinator Marta Karolyi.
"It'll be all-encompassing," Faehn said.
Lynda Tealer, UF's executive associate athletics director for administration, spoke briefly to the team and assured the athletes a search to replace Faehn would yield an outstanding candidate.
In their broken hearts, each Gator athlete had to know this was an opportunity of a lifetime for their coach -- and with success comes great opportunity.
And each of those Gators was at the core of Faehn's success.
"From our standpoint, it's a little confusing, but you have to take a step back and look at all the awesome things she's done for the program," said Caquatto (pictured right), who has known nothing but national championships since arriving as a freshman from Naperville, Ill. "She's built this program to be successful and taught her athletes, each and every one of us, life's lessons; not just in gymnastics, but how to grow and be a better person. This is a tremendous opportunity for her."
Sloan, the 21-time All-American, 2013 Honda Award winner and arguably the No. 1 college gymnast in the country, admittedly was having trouble processing the events of the morning. Like Caquatto, Sloan has been at Florida three years and won three national championships, meeting every bit of the immence expectations that accompanied her from Indiana and an Elite, international career. Not bad.
But her all-world coach had just dropped the mic and walked off the stage.
"We were still on a high from winning our third straight national championship, so, right now, we all have to let this all sink in ... this is not what we were expecting," said Sloan (pictured top right with her coach). "I have no doubt Rhonda will be great in her new position and have no doubt whoever they bring in will be the best fit for us."
She paused.
"But we're a bunch of 19-, 20-, 22-year-old girls and we're a difficult task to handle," Sloan added. "She'll be greatly missed. Best coach I've ever had. It'll be different."
Players Mentioned
