Selena Harris-Miranda started her final season in strong fashion Friday night. (Photo: Hannah White/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: Big Talent, Big Goals For Gators Gymnastics Team
Saturday, January 10, 2026 | Gymnastics, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Gators gymnastics team, as it has done every season since 2007, pulled the curtain open on another season Friday night ranked in the top five by the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association.
As one of the sport's signature programs, Florida ranked No. 3 to start the season hardly raised an eyebrow or created a ripple among the enthusiasts who can easily identify the difference between an Amanar and a Yurchenko. If you want to explore more, we have you covered.
The Gators are good year in and year out, have been for a long time, and now have been for more than a decade since winning three consecutive national championships from 2013-15. They are regular visitors to the NCAA Championships and Final Four, and the expectations are no different in 2026.
But the vibe after Friday night's quad-meet victory over visitors North Carolina, Temple and West Virginia at Exactech Arena exuded hunger for something more. The Gators, with an NCAA-leading six members who have been part of U.S. Senior national teams, have a loaded roster.
They are gifted. They know it. Everyone knows it.
But they sound like they want to be great.
"We have some big goals. That's really what I'm looking forward to,'' said senior Selena Harris-Miranda, a transfer from UCLA a season ago who earned Southeastern Conference Newcomer of the Year. "Really, the biggest goal is to be one with our team and to win every meet together. That's my biggest goal."
Sophomore Skye Blakely during her long-awaited return to the floor competition on Friday night at Exactech Arena. (Photo: Hannah White/UAA Communications)
To give you an idea of the talent accumulated by head coach Jenny Rowland and her staff, Harris-Miranda isn't even one of the six Gators with experience on U.S. Senior national teams. But she is one of the top collegiate gymnasts in the country, having been named the 2024 Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year and winning the SEC vault title in her first season at UF.
Harris-Miranda flashed her star power on Friday with a 9.975 score on beam – the second-highest in program history in a season opener – and a 9.950 score on the uneven bars, which was also the second-highest by a UF gymnast to start the season.
Harris-Miranda had long since shaken off any preseason rust as she prepared for the final opening night of her career.
"I felt like it was more like a mental game,'' she said. "I was very much where my feet were, and it felt pretty good to have that control in each moment. I felt good. I always expect myself to do pretty well. I really wanted to leave everything I could, and at the same time, I really wanted to be as present as possible because it was my last first meet."
Whatever nerves or butterflies danced in their stomachs before the meet quickly evaporated as the Gators led throughout, easily distancing themselves from runner-up North Carolina, 197.725-196.675, in the second-best team score in a season opener in program history.
Rowland had a stress-free stroll around the competition floor as she took it all in.
"I would say the Gators showed up and showed out,'' Rowland said. "That was their intention. We had 28 routines, and we had 28 hit routines. Twenty-eight for 28, that's not too bad. This is setting the stage for what we can do for the season. We know we still left a lot out there. It was a great foundation, a great starting point."
UF head coach Jenny Rowland opened her 11th season with a victory in the season opener. (Photo: Madilyn Gemme/UAA Communications)
As if to add icing on the cake, DiCello made her long-awaited return to college gymnastics after nearly three years, and Blakely performed a floor routine for the first time in almost two years. Both gymnasts suffered Achilles tendon injuries in the summer of 2024 as they neared roster spots for the Paris Olympics.
Instead, long recoveries followed, and they competed together for the first time at UF on Friday.
"Our team handled everything really well," Blakely said. "Knowing that we did so well in the opener, we will just continue to grow throughout the season. Being here with this team has been just amazing. My team has pushed me and brought me up the whole time leading up to this."
Afterward, a large throng of fans waited outside the O'Dome for the Gators to emerge, many of them holding items for the gymnasts to sign. These Gators are talented and with a chance to deliver on their massive promise.
They clearly have fans who can't wait to see what they do.
"I was just amazed by how we did,'' Harris-Miranda said. "We trained like that for four months straight, so I'm happy we were able to bring what we practiced to Gator Nation. We only go up from here. That was a really good starting mark."
