Victoria Nguyen and assistant coach Adrian Burde following Nguyen's vault landing in the NCAA Gymnastics semifinals. (Photo: Emma Bissell/UAA Communications)
Gators Aim to Leave It All on Floor in NCAA Finals
Saturday, April 15, 2023 | Gymnastics, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas — Since the first time they gathered as a team, from the moment they held their initial practice and through the inevitable ups and downs of the season, the UF gymnastics team had one place it wanted to be on April 15.
It's located here on the west side of town and is called Dickies Arena, the site of the 2023 NCAA Gymnastics Championships. The Gators are scheduled to arrive around noon local time on Saturday.
Two hours later (3 p.m. ET on ABC), they will compete against Oklahoma, LSU and Utah for the coveted title of national champion.
Second-ranked Florida advanced with a gutsy performance in the NCAA semifinals on Thursday afternoon, boosted by the return of fifth-year senior Trinity Thomas. The 2022 NCAA all-around champion, Thomas returned from a lower right leg injury she suffered in the regional semifinals two weeks ago.
The Gators finished second to LSU in semifinal No. 1, partly thanks to Thomas scoring a 9.950 on uneven bars and a 9.900 on vault. Florida's win was a roller-coaster affair.
The Gators overcame a fall by Sloane Blakely on its first routine of the meet on uneven bars. Still, Victoria Nguyen (9.825), Kayla DiCello (9.875), Thomas (9.950), Leanne Wong (9.938) and Riley McCusker (9.900) remained composed and put Florida on top after the first rotation.
Gators sophomore Sloane Blakely and head coach Jenny Rowland at Thursday's national semifinals. (Photo: Hannah White/UAA Communications)
The Gators then dropped to fourth following a shaky beam performance highlighted by solid outings from Blakely (9.938) and DiCello (9.925). The Gators' season-low score on beam (49.088) was quickly put to bed as they responded during their floor rotation (49.525, third-best in program history at NCAA semis), regaining the top spot on the leaderboard.
Finally, the Gators stuck their vault landings to finish second behind LSU in the team standings: 197.475 to 197.400.
Afterward, they could breathe and look ahead to Saturday's opportunity to win the program's fourth national championship.
"It's going to be amazing,'' said Gators coach Jenny Rowland. "No regrets. That's what we really came in here and talked about. Everybody put everything they had into this season, and we're going to lay it all out there. We're not moving on. We've got nothing else to lose. Would love to see everyone be free to do something they love doing, to compete without any doubt. And they can do that."
Two of the three teams Florida has lost two this season are in the Four on the Floor: LSU and reigning national champion Oklahoma. Cal won Pittsburgh Regional two weeks ago, with Florida second, but the Gators avenged that defeat on Thursday. Cal, the other team to defeat the Gators, did not advance from the semifinals.
A junior transfer from Georgia, Nguyen represented the team's "All for the Gators" theme in Fort Worth by posting a 9.900 on floor and earning vault All-America honors by turning in her first successful performance of a Yurchenko 1.5.
The approach on Saturday is the same.
"Leave it all on the floor," Nguyen said. "That's the most important thing."
Besides the obvious – a chance to win the program's first national championship since the Gators won three in a row from 2013-15 — Saturday has another significant storyline.
The meet serves as the final collegiate competition for Thomas.
Thomas has etched her name deep into the NCAA and school record books, and with 27 perfect scores in her career, she is just one shy of matching the NCAA record.
Thomas' return Thursday provided the Gators with a fresh shot of confidence. She plans to give the Gators whatever she has left.
"Fighting until the very end," she said. "It's never going to be perfect, and that's OK. It's how you react to those situations. And we know how to fight. That's what we're going to do."
Trinity Thomas soars through the air during her vault routine in the national semifinals. (Photo: Hannah White/UAA Communications)
NEED TO KNOW
WHAT: NCAA Gymnastics Championships WHEN: Saturday, 4 p.m. ET WHERE: Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas FIELD: Florida, Oklahoma, LSU, Utah BROADCAST: Live on ABC
NOTABLES
Utah's Maile O'Keefe posted a perfect 10 on the beam during Thursday's second to secure the all-around national title, Utah's first all-around national champion since 1999. O'Keefe's performance secured Utah (198.2250) a semifinal win against Oklahoma (198.1625) … This is Florida's third consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships … Oklahoma's Olivia Trautman won the vault national title, and UCLA's Jordan Chiles won the uneven bars crown with a perfect 10 and floor title with a 9.875 … Utah's Grace McCallum, and Olympic silver medalist, scored a 9.950 on uneven bars in her first performance since Feb. 11 due to a knee injury … LSU, which has never won a national title, got a strong performance in the semifinals from Haleigh Bryant, who has been hampered by a shoulder injury. She closed the floor routine in Thursday's first semifinal with a 9.950. "I guess practice is overrated," Tigers coach Jay Clark said.
