Florida Gators

FORT WORTH, Texas — They were disappointed but not destroyed. They were defeated but not flattened.

That was the Orange & Blue aura at Dickies Arena on Saturday afternoon following the NCAA Gymnastics Finals. The Gators conveyed a vibe of acceptance as they signed autographs for young fans, posed for photographs together, and mingled with their family and friends.

Florida arrived here with visions of its first national championship since 2015. That didn't happen. Still, the Gators departed upbeat about their runner-up finish behind national champion Oklahoma, trailing 198.2000-198.0875 on the final scoreboard.

"We did our thing,'' said senior Trinity Thomas, who kept the Gators within striking distance with another overall dynamic performance. "We gave it everything we had."

No one watching could argue against that.

There were extra steps and imperfect landings that cost them, but the Gators made Oklahoma win it. The Sooners answered the bell, leaving Florida as national runner-up for the first time since it finished second in 2012. The Gators placed fourth at the NCAA Championships a year ago, so they are headed in the right direction on the ladder. If it helps soothe any of the disappointment, after that 2012 runner-up finish, Florida won the next three national championships. This is a program on the rise, much like then.

"Overall, the Gators had a great competition,'' UF head coach Jenny Rowland said. "Finishing over 198, day two of NCAA Nationals, pretty phenomenal. This team has just had a record-setting year. As bittersweet as second-place is, you gotta take a step back and go, 'wow, alright, we finished second.' So proud of this team."

A better start on the vault Saturday, a few higher scores on the beam, or perhaps a stumble or two by Oklahoma, and the final standings might have been flipped. The Gators defeated the Sooners less than two months ago at Exactech Arena and entered the last meet of the season on Saturday with a 29-0-1 record.

They were better than Utah and Auburn, but the Sooners were too good on this day – specifically on the uneven bars and vault – for the Gators to catch. When the fourth rotation started with the Gators on the floor routine and Oklahoma on beam, the deficit was large enough that you knew the Gators had to be flawless on the floor. The Sooners probably would need something devastating to happen on the beam.

The Gators responded well on the floor. Thomas brought the crowd to its feet with a 10, her 12th perfect score of the season. Thomas moved into second place behind former UCLA star Kyla Ross (14 perfect scores in 2019) for the most single-season 10s in NCAA Gymnastics history.

"Trinity was our rock,'' Super Senior Alyssa Baumann said. "I've never seen anything like that, just routine after routine near perfect, or perfect. It was unbelievable. We would not even be close to this without her."

The Gators posted a 49.7125 on their floor routine, highlighted by Thomas' 10 and a memorable 9.950 for Texas native Baumann in the final act of her career. Baumann, who turns 24 next month, returned for her COVID-19 extra season, hoping to finish her career with a national title about an hour from where she grew up.

Instead, Baumann turned in a spine-tingling performance on her floor routine, her emotions bubbling to the surface in the final moments as she closed with her customary Gator chomp.

"It was emotional because that's probably the best floor routine that I've ever done,'' Baumann said. "To do it at the national championship was my last routine ever, knowing that I've given it everything I had. I was excited to do that routine for my team. It was a good ending. Maybe not exactly where we want it to be, but it was a really good season."

The Gators lose Baumann and fellow Super Senior Megan Skaggs. Still, those seniors with an extra year of eligibility remaining due to the onset of the pandemic in 2020 that canceled the postseason are in the mix to return.

When a reporter tried to get Thomas to offer a clue, she responded: "We'll see." Thomas was outstanding during the meet, winning the all-around national championship and national titles on the floor routine and uneven bars.

"My ankles were working for me a little bit better than last year,'' Thomas quipped, referencing two sprained ankles that cost UF dearly near the end of the 2021 season. "I really just had to tell myself, 'you know this; you know exactly how to do this.' I was doing it for my team."

Florida's team score Saturday bested the 197.975 in Thursday's semifinal, which was the second-best score in program history at the NCAA Championships.

While the impressive score wasn't enough to top the Sooners, that didn't deter the Gators from celebrating what they accomplished instead of dwelling on what they didn't.

"This team really had something special,'' Thomas said. "We're going to go back, and we're going to be excited about second place, that's OK. But I know that Florida has more to give."

How will Rowland remember this team, her seventh at Florida and the one to produce the best finish at the NCAA Finals during her tenure?

"No regrets,'' Rowland said. "Really, this team made the most of every day and made the most of this entire season with one loss and one tie — and I don't know how many wins, outweighing the one loss and one tie.

"There's no regrets."

It seems fitting to give Baumann the final words.

The Gators wanted so badly to win and send Baumann and Skaggs out as national champions. They have meant so much to the program over the past five years.

Sometimes, the fairytale endings belong to the other team.

And sometimes, that's not as bad as you might think for those involved.

"Absolutely no regrets,'' Baumann said. "To go the whole regular season undefeated, win the SEC Championship, and finish second [at NCAAs], that's pretty good. We had more fun this year than I've ever had. We were really ourselves. We just did it our way, and we had fun with it.

"I'm a Gator forever."