Editor's note: This is the first installment of a series featuring the first-season journey of Gators gymnast Morgan Hurd, a highly decorated elite gymnast and 2017 all-around champion at the World Championships. Hurd made her UF debut Jan. 6 after having to sit out her freshman season due to a knee injury.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators gymnastics team sprinted onto the arena floor for its season opener, greeted by a sellout crowd.
The lights dimmed at the O'Dome, fans cheered, and it felt like each beat intensified as the music played and the Gators emerged from the darkness.
"Morgan Hurd," the announcer shouted. The crowd erupted. Hurd ran to her teammates, locked in, ready to compete.
The moment had arrived.
Hurd had waited for her collegiate debut much longer than she imagined. Finally, show time was here. Hurd competed in a Gators leotard to start her UF career in front of 8,502 fans and 579 days since her last competition.
Perhaps you have heard of Hurd. She's a familiar face from last season as she cheered on her teammates from the sidelines due to knee surgery that caused her to miss the 2022 season.
Hurd is one of the most decorated gymnasts ever to join the program. She was the 2017 all-around World Champion, an American Cup all-around champion in 2018 and 2020, and a 2019 Tokyo World Cup All-around champion. Not to mention a five-time member of the U.S Senior National Team.
She is now a redshirt freshman for the Gators, embarking on the latest leg of a gymnastics journey that has taken her around the world.
Following her year of recovery, Hurd was back where she belonged a week ago in the season-opening quad meet against Ball State, Lindenwood and West Virginia.
Morgan Hurd was one of the Gators' biggest cheerleaders a season ago, having to sit the season out following knee surgery in her first year on the UF campus. (Photo: Hannah White/UAA Communications)
Despite having a rocky start to her night on bars following a few hard falls, she was able to regroup and refocus to perform on beam. Being the last in the rotation on bars, she only had minutes to warm up for her beam routine.
"Morgan is tough," Gators head coach Jenny Rowland said.
Her toughness not only showed through her performance but also in her mentality. Hurd's drive to compete and her resiliency landed her a 9.775 in her beam routine.
What was Hurd's mindset heading into her beam routine?
"It was really just a matter of just completely pushing bars out of the way and just acting like it never even happened and just completely moving forward, and I would think about it later," Hurd said this week.
And that's precisely what she did – locked in an opportunity that took so long to arrive following her injury.
She not only was anticipating competition day for the reason of competing against other schools. The season-opening meet also symbolized a journey that was just starting.
A journey that would showcase her offseason preparation while also highlighting her recovery process. A journey that would allow her to experience competing on the college level rather than the elite level. A journey that would enable her to turn the page on her injury and write her name in Gators history.
"She did a fantastic job and that's just—that says a lot about Morgan," Rowland said. "That says a lot about this team."
She is already etching her name into UF history. She is the second World Championships all-around champion to compete on the college level.
In any good story, conflict arises. It's the inevitable. There are several paths a person can take in response to conflict. And the path that Gators take is to shift their mindset.
What does this mean?
It means shifting perspective to understanding that challenges often lead to opportunity. As someone who has endured trials and tribulations over the past year, Hurd knows this to be true.
She recognized the struggle that she faced while being unable to compete.
"That was a really big challenge for me because it's the longest I've ever been out of gymnastics."
Morgan Hurd performs the first beam routine of her college career in last week's home meet at the O'Dome. (Photo: Matt Pendleton/UAA Communications)
While there was struggle, Hurd used this time to create opportunities outside of the sport of gymnastics.
She is a writer for Florida's Sparks Magazine, where she has written about UF's Chinese American Student Association (CASA) Mid-Autumn Festival and Adoptees at UF. She was also a member and served on the executive board of the adopted-student organization. In addition, she participates in the CASA dances and performances.
Beyond her extracurricular activities, Hurd has been able to reflect on what her injury taught her.
"It taught me, you know, a lot of patience, and it kind of helped me really get out of the elite mindset that gymnastics is everything and that everything I do is for gymnastics. And It kind of helped me, you know, let loose a little bit outside my life and not take life so seriously," she said.
The patience that Hurd talked about showed through her first beam routine as a Gator. The poise, calmness and collected mentality are what helped her be successful.
The Gators are back in action tonight at the O'Dome. Hurd will continue to tap into the fight and drive inside her to continue on this journey.
