Freshman Alicia Boren performs her beam routine in the Gators' victory over Arkansas. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA)
Boren's Impact Felt All Around for Gators Gymnastics Team
Thursday, February 18, 2016 | Gymnastics
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Florida competes at Missouri on Friday night
By: Taryn Bray, Writing Intern
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Every time freshman gymnast Alicia Boren steps foot on the first event at a meet, there's always familiar faces in the crowd.
Hailing from the Garden State, it's not easy to make the trip to Florida, but Boren's parents have done so for each meet in Gainesville.
And even some not at the O'Dome.
"They came to a meet, drove down to Orlando for a veterinarian conference, drove to Auburn to watch me compete and then drove home," said Boren, from Franklin Lakes, N.J. "They're committed."
Having her family in the crowd gives Boren comfort during meets. Being so far from home is difficult for her, so having those faces in the crowd makes competing even that much more special.
Watching Boren compete is also special.
She's a freshman who has made an immediate impact on this Gators squad that lost four seniors from last year's back-to-back-to-back national championship team.
Boren has filled those holes with ease. Especially the one caused by the departure of powerhouse All-American Kytra Hunter.
"[Kytra] graduated and she was a huge all-around star and then Alicia's come in and filled all those spots which is extremely impressive," sophomore teammate Alex McMurtry said. "We're definitely going to need her for the rest of the season to keep competing how she has been."
McMurtry and Boren go way back. They grew up competing against and with one other. McMurtry likes to talk about how Boren was actually a motivator for her to come to UF. Florida freshman Alicia Boren.Having McMurtry on the team has given Boren a sense of comfort, but someone else who has made being away from home just a little bit easier is senior Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto.
"Since I've gotten here she really helped me get rid of my homesickness," Boren said of Dancose-Giambattisto. "She's a great person and she gives me a lot of confidence, which sometimes I need."
And others times, that confidence is inherent, which you can see in her performances. Just this last week she picked up her third SEC Freshman of the Week honor after winning her first all-around title against No. 9 Arkansas.
An honor that for her, validates all the hard work she's put in.
But she doesn't think she's competing to the best of her ability – yet.
"I make mistakes in every meet and I've been struggling to calm my nerves on the beam," she said. "I'm focusing on working in the moment and not getting ahead of myself. I've had better years on the beam."
Even so, her season-best score of 9.90 on the beam is still an impressive mark for a freshman. Boren is one of three gymnasts on the team that consistently competes in all four events.
She had two of her best scores on the floor and vault in last week's meet against the Razorbacks with a 9.95 and 9.925, respectively.
"The impact Alicia has had on this team is second to none," first-year Florida head coach Jenny Rowland said. "Coming in as a freshman with her attitude and work ethic of an upperclassmen, you don't find that often."
Boren is also the nation's top-ranked freshman all-arounder.
Clearly, she has already begun to make her mark on this program.
