Freshman Anya Pilgrim (upper left) celebrates her winning uneven bars performance in Friday's season opener. Pilgrim won at least a share of four event titles - including the all-around - Friday in Florida's season opening quad win in front of sellout Exactech Arena.
Preseason No. 2 Florida Gymnastics Opens with Quad Meet Win
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Preseason No. 2 Gators gymnastics opened 2024 in front of a sellout crowd with a home quad win versus Fisk, George Washington and Talladega College for Equality Night sponsored by Publix.
Florida posted a 197.10 Friday in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, followed by George Washington (194.55), Fisk (189.95) and Talladega (187.75).
Tonight's crowd of 8,775 is the third-highest season opener in the program's 52-season history. It is Florida's 10th consecutive sellout.
Florida gymnasts swept the meet event titles, including freshman Anya Pilgrim winning at least a share of four events – including taking the all-around title. A near-perfect 9.975 on balance beam by senior Ellie Lazzari was the evening's high mark across all teams Friday.
TONIGHT'S MEET
Pilgrim's all-around winning total of 39.525 is the highest ever for a Gator freshman in the first meet of her career. This is the third consecutive season a Gator began with an all-around win with a then-freshman high in a season opener. Sloane Blakely won the 2022 opener with UF's then collegiate opening leading total of 39.45. Last year, Kayla DiCello took the season-opening quad win at 39.475.
The two Gators who competed at the 2023 World Championships – Pilgrim (Barbados) and Leanne Wong (U.S.) – opened the season by sharing the vault win at 9.875. Freshman Skylar Draser and junior Bri Edwards were among a four-way tie for third at 9.85. That mark equaled Edwards collegiate best, marking the second consecutive season she opened with a 9.85 vault.
Pilgrim used another 9.875 to take the uneven bars win. Senior Victoria Nguyen shared second with Fisk's Morgan Price at 9.85. Ellie Lazzari roars after her near-perfect balance beam routine. Her 9.975 matches her collegiate best set in 2021. Photo by Molly Kaiser
The night's leading score across all events – a near-perfect 9.975 – matched senior Ellie Lazzari's collegiate best. Wong anchored the lineup to take second at 9.925.
Nguyen and Pilgrim turned in consecutive 9.925s to share the floor exercise win. The mark equals Nguyen's collegiate best. Sophomore Lori Brubach and junior Morgan Hurd both set their collegiate best of 9.875 to share third with George Washington's Kendall Whitman.
GATOR DEBUTS:
Five made their UF competitive debut Friday. It was the most UF freshmen part of the competitive lineup since the 2004 NCAA Super Six team final.
Ellie Lazzari's 9.975 matches the nation's second-high balance beam mark of this young season. Utah's Maile O'Keefe (defending NCAA all-around champion) opened with a beam 10.0 and Minnesota's Brooklyn Rowray also posted a 9.975. The mark equaled Lazzari's collegiate best set as a freshman in 2021. It is her ninth beam title and first since 2022.
Lazzari has opened two seasons with big beam scores – 9.975 (2024) and 9.95 (2021). Two of her nine collegiate wins came in season openers.
Pilgrim is the eighth since 1986 to win all-around in her first collegiate meet, joining DiCello (2023), Blakely (2022), Kytra Hunter (2012), Ashanée Dickerson (2010), Melanie Sinclair (2007), Corey Hartung (2006) and Melissa Miller (1986).
Florida has sold out 16 of its last 19 meets.
The Gators equaled the program's all-time high of 13 in Friday's competitive lineup. Florida last used 13 different gymnasts in its competitive lineup on Feb. 17, 2012 in win at Auburn.
Five UF returners equaled or set collegiate bests Friday:
HEAR FROM GATORS:
"It was it really was a great night celebrating equality. This was our Equality Night and extremely grateful that the University of Florida and the Gators gymnastics team are able to use our platform to honor and support equality. Extremely proud of this team as this is something that they have wanted to start a couple years ago. Also a great evening celebrating Talladega as this was their very first gymnastics competition as a program.
"Really excited to have them here and for Gator Nation to support all the teams that were here tonight. The Gators had a really solid night tonight.
"It was an evening filled with a lot of freshmen routines, which was really exciting. Extremely proud of every team member and especially the freshmen. They all handled it with a lot of grace, a lot of poise, a lot of confidence and that's something that this team from top to bottom has been working on." - Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland
RECORDS: Florida (3-0, 0-0 SEC), Fisk (1-2), George Washington (2-1), Talladega (0-3)
THE SERIES: Florida leads GWU 15-0. Fisk and Talladega are first time UF opponents.
UP NEXT:
Florida starts Southeastern Conference action at Auburn next Friday. The Tigers lost 197.475 – 197.025 versus Kentucky Friday in its home opener.
