Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Home Southeastern Conference action concludes Friday when the University of Florida gymnastics team plays host to Missouri. Meet time is set for 6:45 p.m. ET in Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

Boyce Moves to New Role VIDEO: Claire Boyce & Coach Jenny Rowland on Boyce's decision  Senior All-American Claire Boyce announced Feb. 21 that she will no longer compete due to continued pain in her hip. She will remain with the Gators as a student coach.   Boyce sat out the 2016 season after undergoing hip dysplasia surgery in the summer of 2015.   "I love being a gymnast and being a Gator, but it is time to step away. I made every effort to make this comeback work, but in the end, there was just too much pain to continue," Boyce said. "I'm still part of this team and will do whatever I can to help the Gators reach our goals."   Boyce competed primarily on balance beam and floor exercise in her first two seasons. She earned All-America honors at the 2014 NCAA Championships as Florida's floor exercise lineup leadoff. Boyce also was a National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches (NACGC) All-American on balance beam as a sophomore. She earned 2015 All-Southeastern Conference honors on balance beam.   She owns collegiate-best marks of 9.95 (beam), 9.90 (floor) and 9.875 (bars). In 2017, Boyce was part of four floor lineups, posting a season-best 9.875 versus Georgia.

Friday's Promotions:

• Giveaway: 1,000 "The Story Continues" notebooks (similar to a moleskin type notebook, blue)
• Student Giveaway: the first 500 UF students at Gate 3 will receive a Gators Gymnastics t-shirt
• Special Guests: Luke Pell (@LukePell) and James McCoy Taylor (@james_mccoy_t)  of The Bachelorette stop by O'Connell Center before their performance Saturday in Trenton
• Social Ambassador: Scott Stricklin - @ScottStricklin
• Student Tailgate @ Gate 3: Blue body paint station, cornhole, football toss, free food, and more
• Kid's Club Tunnel: Gator Kid's Club members in attendance can form a tunnel near the gatorhead during intros with the spirit squads
• GIF Booth Contest: students who use the GIF booth and post with #GoGators are automatically entered to win a pair of wireless Beats headphones
• Rowdy Reptile Check In: UF students can check in at the meet via the RR app to earn 3 points

 
To get tickets for Friday's meet, visit the FloridaGators.com ticket site or stop by the Gator Ticket Office (open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.).
 
Complete list of Florida's 2017 home promotions
 
Parking Update & Parking shuttle:
Here's information to help you park and get to Friday's meet:
 
Fans with the season parking pass can access the O'Connell Center lot from either:

• Gale Lemerand Drive
• SW 2^nd Avenue

 
No parking pass? No problem. Those fans can access the O'Connell Center lot at:

•         SW 2^nd Avenue

UFPD and O'Connell Center staff will redirect fans without parking passes to SW 2^nd Avenue. These attendants will be at University Avenue and Stadium Road. Fans with parking passes should be prepared to show the pass to gain access to Gale Lemerand Drive.
 
Another efficient option is the complimentary parking shuttle. It transport fans from the UF Commuter Lot on Gale Lemerand Drive to the O'Connell Center. For more information, visit FloridaGators.com.
 
Reminder that the No. 2 Gator baseball team opens a three-game series with No. 17 Miami Friday at 6:30 p.m. Traffic is expected to be heavy in the O'Connell Center area. Park in legal spots to avoid UFPD tickets.
 
How to Follow the Gators:
Friday is the fifth of a six-meet stretch of live SEC Network appearances for the Gators. Calling the action are Olympians Courtney Kupets and John Roethlisberger with Lauren Sisler reporting from the sideline.
 
The meet can also be found on SEC Network +. New to the SEC Network + coverage this season is all the pre-meet pageantry and festivities will be part of the on-line production. Tune in beginning at 6:45 p.m. to see the pre-meet show.
 
A tape-delay replay of the Missouri at Florida meet airs Feb. 26 on SEC Network at 7 p.m. ET.
 
Last Friday at Arkansas:
The Gators took a win last Friday at No. 23 Arkansas. There were a few bumps in the Gators' performance, but no major breaks were computed in Florida's 197.125-195.20 win. Each event title went to a Gator. Sophomore All-American Alicia Boren took her second consecutive all-around win (39.50) and equaled her floor exercise best of 9.95 to take the win. She also shared the vault title at 9.925 with junior Rachel Slocum.
 
Junior All-American Alex McMurtry was just a tick away from her perfect mark set in the Feb. 10 dual, as she won the uneven bars title with a 9.975 – the evening's high mark of any event. Freshman Rachel Gowey claimed her second balance beam win at 9.90.
 
Gator Quick Hits:

• Florida's top five team totals are among the nation's top 30 of 2017 – No. T5 197.975 (Feb. 10). No. T12 197.70 (Jan. 27), No. 17 197.60 (Jan. 13), No. T23 197.425 (Feb. 3) and No. T27 197.325 (Jan. 20).
• The season highs for three Gators – Alicia Boren (39.725/T6), Kennedy Baker (39.575/T22) and Amelia Hundley (39.55/T33) all rank among the nation's top 35 all-around totals of 2017. Florida is the only school with three different gymnasts represented among the nation's top 35 all-around totals.
• Ten gymnasts have turned in 15 perfect marks across the nation this season. Baker who is one of four in the nation to claim a 10.0 on floor this season. Of the four who have uneven bar 10.0 marks is Alex McMurtry. She also posted another perfect mark this season as she received a 9.95 for a Yurchenko full vault on Jan. 20. The start value for that vault is a 9.95.

 
About the Missouri Tigers:
Missouri (8-6, 1-3 SEC) is coming off a quad meet loss against three top-10 teams. No. 1 Oklahoma won last Friday's Gymquarters Invitational with season's high team total of 198.35. No. 2 LSU was second (197.70) and No. 10 Georgia edged Missouri for third, 196.975-196.35. The Tigers' total last Friday, 196.35, is MU's season best.
 
Freshman Aspen Tucker turned in Missouri's top all-around total of 39.325 on Jan. 20 to win the dual versus Alabama.
 
National Rank:
Florida – Florida is No. 3 in the seventh Road to Nationals poll. The rankings now listed by regional qualifying average (top two road, home and then next two highest totals. The high is discarded, with the total of the remaining scores divided by five to compute RQS).
MU – The Tigers are No. 13 in the Road to Nationals poll.