Alicia Boren starts on floor for her final all-around appearance as a Gator Friday in NCAA Championships competition. It will be her 54th consecutive all-around competition - the Gators' all-time record.
A Final Bow for Alicia Boren
Thursday, April 18, 2019 | Gymnastics
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Florida's all-time leader for all-around appearances, Alicia Boren, competes in her final meet Friday at the NCAA Championships.
By: Lauren Staff - UF Athletics Communications
Senior Alicia Boren has competed in 54 meets as a Gator.
In 53 of those meets, the 16-time All-American has competed as an all-arounder.
The Franklin Lakes, N.J., native set the Florida record for consecutive all-around appearances six meets ago.
"People come into college with different goals in mind. My goal was to compete in the all-around," Boren said. "That's all I want to do is all-around and represent my team."
Friday, at the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas, will mark her last all-around appearance and last time competing as a Gator.
"It's an honor to be able to represent the Gator Nation," Boren said. "To be able to have that opportunity, it's really special."
That's Gator senior Alicia Boren featured on the 2019 NCAA Gymnastics Championships lightpost flags decorating downtown Fort Worth.
Of the top 12 all-arounders in the final regular-season Road To Nationals rankings, Boren and junior Maddie Karr (Denver) are the only two to compete as all-arounders in every meet of 2019, 2018 and 2017 seasons.
The only meet where Boren didn't appear in each of the four competitive lineups was her first collegiate meet in 2016. She did compete on all four events, but performed an exhibition bars routine.
She initially didn't think she would be strong enough to make the bar lineup, but she credits her coach Owen Field for giving her the opportunity to improve and earn her spot on the apparatus.
"I came in and was training everything but bars. It just wasn't a good situation. I just wasn't great at bars," Boren said. "To be able to be here now about to compete my last meet, I don't have words for that."
Florida coach Jenny Rowland has only ever asked Boren once in four years if she wanted to sit out an event in a meet and just compete three.
Although competing four events has taken a physical toll, Boren has never wanted a break.
"I would do anything to compete all-around," Boren said. "I don't want to do one event or two events. I don't know how I would handle doing that."
Rowland is excited to see Boren make the most out of her last opportunity competing in an orange and blue leotard.
"She has a great opportunity knowing this is her last competition," Rowland said. "There are many athletes throughout their career who never know that this could be their last event, due to injury or other circumstances."
Alicia Boren tunes up her vault during Thurday's podium training at the NCAA Championships.
Boren will be rotating with Oregon State, while her teammates Alyssa Baumann (beam), Trinity Thomas (bars, floor) and Savannah Schoenherr (vault) will be competing with Georgia.
This is the first time Boren has ever competed in college without the support of her team behind her, but she is ready for the challenge.
"I'm definitely going to miss my teammates there," she said. "But I still have a job to do, for myself, for my team and for the Gators. So I'm going to go and get it done."
And she is going to enjoy competing all four events one last time for the Gators.
"Some people (home) is four walls and a bed and a kitchen," Boren said. "For me it's these four apparatuses and a gym. Gymnastics is my home. It's my release."
