Gators senior Leanne Wong hugs assistant coach Owen following her final college routine on Thursday at Dickies Arena.
In The End, Small Missteps Prevent Big Finish For Gators
Friday, April 18, 2025 | Gymnastics, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas — The stunning end had happened only a few minutes earlier, and Gators head coach Jenny Rowland had a lot running through her mind.
As Rowland spoke in the bowels of Dickies Arena early Thursday evening, emotions surged throughout the building. The crushed Gators were in their locker room, forced to accept the end of their season. Meanwhile, the four teams competing in the second semifinal raced around, bursting with excitement over the possibilities.
"There's a lot to process,'' Rowland said.
The UF gymnastics team did what it could not afford in the first semifinal on Thursday at the NCAA Championships. If the Gators were to advance and compete for their first national championship since 2015, Rowland had spelled out the winning formula before they left campus.
First, second, and third, they had to stick their landings. They had to avoid the minor missteps that eat points on the biggest stage in college gymnastics. Rowland calls the NCAA Championships a "stick-fest."
If you stick, you have a chance.
"We were not part of the stick-fest tonight,'' she said.
Florida (197.200) finished third behind Southeastern Conference foes Oklahoma (197.550) and Missouri (197.300). Alabama (196.825) finished fourth. The top two teams advanced to Saturday's NCAA Finals to face Utah and UCLA, the teams from Thursday night's second semifinal to advance. Defending national champion LSU finished third, suffering the same fate as Florida.
Starting on beam, the Gators managed to get through the rotation without a major hiccup. But there was a warning light flashing. Senior Leanne Wong, one of the most-decorated gymnasts in program history, posted the team's lowest score with a 9.800. Wong stepped onto the competition floor as a two-time SEC beam champion.
Still, the Gators stood second behind Oklahoma as they moved to the floor exercise, where Wong struggled to find footing. She stepped out of bounds as she finished one of her floor passes, and the deduction dropped her score to a 9.6625, once again Florida's lowest score.
Still, Florida remained on Oklahoma's heels at the midway point (98.7500-98.6500) and had opened a cushion against third-place Missouri (98.3500).
A cushion that quickly evaporated when the Gators moved to the vault.
"We had two strong events left. We really don't have a weak event," Rowland said. "We were a little tight, obviously, on the first two events. But they fought through and did a good job. On vault, we just couldn't seem to get that momentum going."
Gators head coach Jenny Rowland speaks to her team following Thursday's third-place finish in an NCAA Semifinal at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo: Madilyn Gemme/UAA Communications)
And when they did, it was in the wrong direction, starting with a 9.7125 from sophomore Anya Pilgrim. Fifth-year senior Victoria Nguyen followed with a 9.7625, and after Danie Ferris steadied the Gators with a 9.900, Wong (9.8375) and Selena Harris-Miranda (9.7500) could not match Ferris' score with the Gators on the ropes.
Florida's season-low vault score (49.0750) and Missouri's 49.450 on the uneven bars dropped UF into third and cranked the vibes to maximum pressure entering the meet's final rotation. The Gators' previous low vault score (49.200) this season came in the season opener in January.
"I'd say a little tight on vault,'' Rowland said. "We had a couple of short, under-rotation landings. It just didn't feel like we were training. It felt like we were a little tight. It is what it is. No one event is going to make or break everything. The little things add up, and the Gators just had too many mistakes tonight."
At the NCAA Championships, every performance matters, and that proved no different Thursday as the Gators closed on the uneven bars, an event UF scored a season-best 49.850 last month at the SEC Championships. The Gators needed a similar performance to have a chance to keep their season alive.
Florida's 49.4750 was its best score of the day, but Missouri posted a 49.5000 on beam – highlighted by Helen Hu's 9.9875 as the anchor – to spoil the Gators' championship dreams. Wong turned in her best performance on bars (9.9375), and freshman Alyssa Arana matched Wong's score to give the Gators hope. Riley McCusker rose to the challenge with a strong performance in Florida's final routine, scoring a 9.8625, but judges deducted for a hop on the landing.
The Gators stood glumly as the meet closed and reality set in, and then circled Rowland for some final words.
"I told them that, yeah, it hurts. I feel them. I know they are going to be upset. I don't want them not not to be upset,'' she said. "I'm proud of them. I love the Gators. And I will always stand tall and keep my head up high for this group of 19 young women."
Selena Harris-Miranda, center, and the Gators accept their third-place trophy on Thursday. (Photo: Morgan Hurd/UAA Communications)
On a day when the Gators had to be their best, they were not.
Florida's failure to advance to the NCAA Finals for the first time since 2019 is a disappointing end, but maybe more surprising was how Wong appeared human for a change.
Wong had a rare off day as a 27-time All-American, Olympic alternate, and fourth on Florida's all-time wins list (88). She will be inducted into the UF Athletic Hall of Fame one day, but on Thursday, Wong's college career ended amid tears and disappointment.
In her 10th season leading the Gators and a former college gymnasts, Rowland felt for her standout senior. Wong will be on the NCAA Championships preview show Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET on ABC) along with Jade Carey to discuss her journey as an elite and collegiate gymnast.
"I don't want to speak for her. I don't know how she's feeling. I don't know what was going through her mind,'' Rowland said. "I would say this last week, she's been a little harder on herself. A little tighter. I have been there. I understand. I've seen it for so many years, that last this, that last that. When you do something you love and are so passionate about and did it your entire life, and knowing this right here could be the end, it's not easy. It's not easy.
"She may have just gotten a little too hard on herself and wanted it so badly that there were just little things here and there that added up."
That was the story of the day for Wong and the Gators. They were close, but far away. They were good, but not good enough.
Rowland stood around in the aftermath, trying to process the end. Nearby, a group of gymnasts screamed as the excitement built for the second semifinal.
"I don't like to say this right now, but [the future] continues to excite me,'' Rowland said. "We have a great group coming in, and those that were injured this past year, coming back next year, will be a shining light alongside the team that is returning."
