Assistant coach Adrian Burde high-fives sophomore Danie Ferris during last week's meet at Oklahoma.
Carter's Corner: Gators Return Home in Reboot Mode
Friday, February 28, 2025 | Gymnastics, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A couple of quick thoughts before Friday night's gymnastics meet at the O'Dome between the sixth-ranked Gators and eighth-ranked Missouri.
First, the Gators return home following last week's disappointing loss at No. 1 Oklahoma. The loss stung the Gators, certainly, but losing senior standout Sloane Blakely left the largest welt.
"Rough nights are rough nights, and rough nights with injuries on top of it just make it harder,'' Coach Jenny Rowland said. "Extremely grateful that these athletes on this team have been ready to raise their hand and go when their name is called. That's something that we are just reinforcing because you never know what is going to happen."
Blakely, coming off performance that included a 10 on the floor in a home win over Auburn on Feb. 14, was injured during her floor routine against the Sooners. Her injury came after Anya Pilgrim, in the first routine of the night for the Gators, fell off the uneven bars and hit her head.
Pilgrim finished her dismount but took the rest of the meet off. She was back at practice this week and is set to compete against the Tigers.
Meanwhile, the outlook is not as promising for Blakely, who suffered what Rowland called a "lower leg injury." Blakely immediately clutched her left leg following an under-rotation on her opening pass and hopped off the mat in discomfort.
As of this posting, Blakely has not announced her status on social media, but she is doubtful to compete again this season, an unfortunate turn of events for the talented senior from Frisco, Texas.
"It's really emotional to your teammate go down,'' Rowland said. "They know, they understand. It's all hands on-deck."
Blakely, the 2023 Southeastern Conference vault champion and All-American, is a fan favorite and one of UF's most dynamic performers on the floor exercise. Without her in the lineup, Rowland said the most likely to fill in on the floor include Pilgrim, sophomore Danie Ferris or freshman Ly Bui.
I have been detached a couple of days this week battling a bug that hit hard, similar to the one that sidelined several Gators earlier this season. They rebounded in strong fashion with a statement home win over Georgia to cap the week.
In rejoining the living, I did a social media search on Blakely to see if she had dropped an update. I didn't see anything, but on X, I learned that there are gymnastics fantasy teams.
X user @splitdlo mentioned that one of her fantasy teams included Blakely and several other injured gymnasts, including Payton Harris (Ohio State), Reyna Guggino (Michigan), Avery Neff (Utah), Ava Piedrahita (Penn State) and Haleigh Bryant (LSU).
If you try, you can learn something new every day. The same website also features a leotard database. Gymnastics coverage has come a long way in my time around.
First, the Gators return home following last week's disappointing loss at No. 1 Oklahoma. The loss stung the Gators, certainly, but losing senior standout Sloane Blakely left the largest welt.
"Rough nights are rough nights, and rough nights with injuries on top of it just make it harder,'' Coach Jenny Rowland said. "Extremely grateful that these athletes on this team have been ready to raise their hand and go when their name is called. That's something that we are just reinforcing because you never know what is going to happen."
Blakely, coming off performance that included a 10 on the floor in a home win over Auburn on Feb. 14, was injured during her floor routine against the Sooners. Her injury came after Anya Pilgrim, in the first routine of the night for the Gators, fell off the uneven bars and hit her head.
Pilgrim finished her dismount but took the rest of the meet off. She was back at practice this week and is set to compete against the Tigers.
Meanwhile, the outlook is not as promising for Blakely, who suffered what Rowland called a "lower leg injury." Blakely immediately clutched her left leg following an under-rotation on her opening pass and hopped off the mat in discomfort.
Coming to tonight's 5:45 pm meet featuring:
— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) February 28, 2025
No. 6⃣ 🐊🤸🏽♀️ 🆚 No. 8⃣ Missouri🐯
Take the shuttle bus 🚌 from Garage 109 (corner of Archer Road & Lemerand Dr) for an easy trip to @OConnellCenter !
Shuttle 🚌 starts at 4pm.#GoGators | 🐊🤸🏽♀️
As of this posting, Blakely has not announced her status on social media, but she is doubtful to compete again this season, an unfortunate turn of events for the talented senior from Frisco, Texas.
"It's really emotional to your teammate go down,'' Rowland said. "They know, they understand. It's all hands on-deck."
Blakely, the 2023 Southeastern Conference vault champion and All-American, is a fan favorite and one of UF's most dynamic performers on the floor exercise. Without her in the lineup, Rowland said the most likely to fill in on the floor include Pilgrim, sophomore Danie Ferris or freshman Ly Bui.
I have been detached a couple of days this week battling a bug that hit hard, similar to the one that sidelined several Gators earlier this season. They rebounded in strong fashion with a statement home win over Georgia to cap the week.
In rejoining the living, I did a social media search on Blakely to see if she had dropped an update. I didn't see anything, but on X, I learned that there are gymnastics fantasy teams.
X user @splitdlo mentioned that one of her fantasy teams included Blakely and several other injured gymnasts, including Payton Harris (Ohio State), Reyna Guggino (Michigan), Avery Neff (Utah), Ava Piedrahita (Penn State) and Haleigh Bryant (LSU).
If you try, you can learn something new every day. The same website also features a leotard database. Gymnastics coverage has come a long way in my time around.
Players Mentioned
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/ GymnasticsSkylar Draser: Gator Life
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