No. 1 Florida Opens Road Action Friday at No. 11 Auburn

Friday, January 23

Auburn, AL

8:45 p.m.

Florida Gators

Auburn

eMjae Frazier (above center) celebrates her uneven bars routine versus Alabama. The top-ranked Gators open road action Friday at No. 11 Auburn.

No. 1 Florida Opens Road Action Friday at No. 11 Auburn

Wednesday, January 21, 2026 | Gymnastics

By: Mary Howard

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Top-ranked Florida gymnastics hits the road for the first time this season Friday, opening Southeastern Conference competition at No. 11 Auburn.

The Gators bring the nation's No. 1 ranking to the Plains for the first time since the 2021 season opener, renewing a growing SEC rivalry that again pairs two top-12 programs. Friday marks the 29th meeting between Florida and Auburn since 1991 and the fourth consecutive matchup in which both teams enter nationally ranked in the top 12.

Florida begins its road slate riding early-season momentum after posting the nation's highest score of the year (197.725) in its opening quad meet and starting league action with a 197.425 to win over then-No. 4 Alabama last Friday. Auburn opened the 2026 season with a 197.15 home win against North Carolina State and scored a 196.075 in a conference loss Sunday at then-No. 10 Arkansas.

How to Follow the Gators:
When:                    Friday, Jan. 23 at 8:45 p.m. ET
Venue:                   Neville Arena | Auburn, Ala.
TV:                          SEC Network with Alex Perlman and Anastasia Webb calling the action
Live Scores:          Virtius
Tickets:                 $15 - $25 (Almost sold out)

Florida Opens SEC Action with Win
Top-ranked Florida edged No. 4 Alabama 197.425–197.275 to open Southeastern Conference action on Jan. 16.

With SEC programs holding eight of the top 10 spots in the national rankings, every league meet is expected to be highly competitive. The conference opener was the nation's top dual of the weekend.

Florida won or shared three event titles. Senior All-American Selena Harris-Miranda captured her second consecutive balance beam title with a 9.95 and shared the vault win with Alabama's Azaraya Ra-Akbar at 9.925. Florida's Taylor Clark and Amelia Disidore shared the floor exercise title at 9.90 with Ra-Akbar and Jamison Sears of Alabama.

Ra-Akbar won the all-around at 39.60, while Alabama's Chloe LaCoursiere posted the meet's highest score, a 9.975, to win the uneven bars.

After her performance on Jan. 16, Harris-Miranda shared her second consecutive SEC Specialist of the Week honor. It is her fifth SEC weekly honor since she joined the Gators in 2025, as Harris-Miranda picked up the SEC Gymnast of the Week three times last season.

Season Notes:

Two Gator freshmen made an immediate impact by opening their collegiate careers with 9.90 scores on floor exercise — Jayla Booker on Jan. 9 and Amelia Disidore on Jan. 16. They are among nine Florida gymnasts to debut on floor with a 9.90, a group that includes Disidore's older sister, Gabby, who accomplished the feat last season.

The highest floor score ever recorded in a collegiate debut by a Gator is 9.925, achieved by Anya Pilgrim (Jan. 12, 2024), Nya Reed (Jan. 11, 2019) and Megan Skaggs (Jan. 12, 2018).

Selena Harris-Miranda's near-perfect 9.975 matches the second-highest balance beam mark for a Gator in a season-opener. She followed that performance with another beam win in the SEC opener versus No. 4 Alabama with a 9.95. Harris-Miranda is ranked No. 1 in the early Road to Nationals beam rankings.

Back this season are Kayla DiCello and Skye Blakely. Both suffered Achilles injuries at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. Blakely competed only uneven bars for the Gators in 2025, posting a collegiate-best 9.95 at the SEC Championships. In the first two meets of 2026, she's added beam and floor to her competition slate, earning season best of 9.85 and 9.875, respectively.

DiCello's appearance in Florida's season-opening vault (9.825), bars (9.90) and beam (9.90) lineups were her first collegiate routines in 1,001 days. In addition to the Achilles injured at the Trials, she had surgery on the other Achilles in December of 2024, sideling her for the 2025 season. She was the 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year and earned five All-America honors that season.