The Gators huddle one final time as a team after Saturday's NCAA Championship. (Photo: Molly Kaiser/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: Surprising Run, Bright Future for Gators Gymnastics
Monday, April 22, 2024 | Gymnastics, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas — The chalk dust has settled on another college gymnastics season.
The NCAA Championships concluded Saturday with confetti falling from the rafters here at Dickies Arena and LSU celebrating its first national title in program history. The Gators, seeking their first national championship since 2015, placed fourth behind LSU, Cal and Utah.
You sensed it might end that way for the Gators when they started uncharacteristically slow on vault, which was arguably their strongest event.
Former UF All-American Bridget Sloan, part of the broadcast team on ESPN, suggested a quick start was imperative for the Gators to have an opportunity to win the title.
"I think it's going to come down to vault because that's where we're starting to see the nerves show up the most,'' Sloan said. "We saw it in the semifinals with Oklahoma."
The Gators avoided the disastrous start that cost the No. 1-ranked Sooners a shot at defending their title, but their 49.2500 score after the opening rotation put them in fourth place. Freshman Danie Ferris led the way with a 9.9125, UF's only score of 9.9 or higher.
With three rotations remaining, the meet was far from finished, but on a cold and rainy day outside, the sun never broke through for Florida.
Afterward, UF head coach Jenny Rowland relaxed on the vault runway as the four teams celebrated and snapped photos following the awards ceremony. Rowland arrived Saturday afternoon knowing that the Gators could put an exclamation point on their surprising run to the NCAA Finals with a strong performance.
It didn't happen, but Rowland didn't need much time to unwind and put the season's final day in perspective.
"I know this meet means a lot. Gymnastics at this level, at this competition, isn't easy,'' she said. "No one is going to have a perfect meet. You've got to keep fighting and working through it. How you handle and react to a situation is what's important. That is what I continued to see from this team."
Junior Sloane Blakely, center, turned in Florida's top beam score at the NCAA Championships. (Photo: Molly Kaiser/UAA Communications)
The Gators rebounded with solid scores on uneven bars and the floor routine, but a 49.275 on beam turned off the lights. The Gators needed to be better on a day it would take their best to win the championship.
LSU, a team Florida beat at home in late February, closed with a school-record beam score to overtake Utah in the final rotation. What followed was a familiar scene when a championship is on the line.
While the Tigers and their seldom-used social media star, Olivia Dunne, basked in the spotlight, the other teams shed tears over the realization that the ultimate prize had slipped through their grasp.
Rowland watched from afar, knowing the Gators had nothing but her respect.
"It was an extremely memorable season,'' Rowland said. "A season that most people didn't even believe the Gators would be able to get as far as we did. This team has nothing to hang their heads about. I'm extremely grateful the Gators put themselves in this position. It's all about the journey and enjoying the moments in the journey."
It's true. Not many had the Gators in the four-team field when the season started. Yeah, Florida had finished runner-up to the Sooners the past two seasons, but that was with star Trinity Thomas leading the way and dynamic freshman Kayla DiCello on last year's team. Thomas' eligibility expired, and DiCello took a gap year to prepare for the Paris Olympics, their departures leaving a big void to fill.
Rowland and her staff assembled a talented incoming class that included six freshmen.
"I think Florida was a little underrated all season long because of the freshmen they had competing," Sloan said. "But let me tell you, every freshman that is competing in this Florida lineup, they're gamers."
Ferris and fellow freshman Anya Pilgrim were in the lineup at the NCAA Championships, and other newcomers contributed during the regular season. Meanwhile, the Gators were without injured Riley McCusker all season and signee Skye Blakely, who put off enrolling to compete for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team this summer. Skye Blakley is the younger sister of Gators junior Sloane Blakely, whose beam routine Saturday (9.9500) matched Leanne Wong's uneven bars score for Florida's top performance.
The Gators have been oh-so-close to their first national title with Rowland as head of the program. She has guided the Gators to seven trips to the NCAA Championships in nine seasons, with two runner-up, two third-place and three fourth-place finishes.
Unlike in 2024, the Gators will enter 2025 considered a strong contender for the championship.
But first, Rowland was reminded of how special this group was.
"Happy tears only,'' she said.
A Gators booster friend of Rowland's recently told her how this year's team "had grown up before their very eyes."
"Which is so true. It's great the people on the outside were able to see that," Rowland said. "The confidence and togetherness of this team throughout the season is what I will remember most. They came so far along in this journey, and all those doubters, they proved them wrong, and they proved to themselves that they can do big things, that they can do hard things.
"I will definitely cherish this moment, take a breath, and we know the future is bright."
