Friday, January 23
Auburn, AL
8:45 p.m.
Florida Gators
197.10
at
196.70
Auburn
Selena Harris-Miranda used marks of 9.95 to win vault (above) and balance beam Friday at No. 11 Auburn. The Gators opened 2026 road action with a 197.10 - 196.70 win on The Plains.
No. 1 Gators Open Road Action With Win at No. 11 Auburn
Friday, January 23, 2026 | Gymnastics
AUBURN, Ala. — Top-ranked Florida gymnastics rallied to take a 197.10 – 196.70 win Friday at No. 11 Auburn in front of a sellout Neville Arena crowd of 9,121.
Both teams are among the eight Southeastern Conference teams that appear in the nation's current top 11 teams. Every meeting with a league opponent is expected to be a challenging event.
Florida won each apparatus title. The high mark of the evening, a near-perfect 9.975, was posted by senior All-American Riley McCusker. Senior All-American Selena Harris-Miranda used a pair of 9.95s to win vault and balance beam for the second consecutive meet. Sophomore Skye Blakely earned a collegiate-best 9.925 to win her first floor exercise title of her Gator career. Auburn's Marissa Neal won all-around at 39.375.
Florida sophomore Ly Bui injured her right leg during her vault performance Friday. She will be evaluated by team doctors when the team returns to the UF campus.
TONIGHT'S MEET
Florida opened the meet by matching the nation's uneven bars high of 49.625. Big marks contributing to that total was Riley McCusker's near perfect 9.975 plus 9.925s from Skye Blakely, Selena Harris-Miranda and Anya Pilgrim.
Vault didn't go as well. Florida was forced to count a fall in the rotation for the first time since the 2009 season, which included an injury to Ly Bui on her vault landing. The Gators final two performers did put up the top two scores among the evening's vaulters, with Harris-Miranda winning at 9.95 and Danie Ferris taking second at 9.925.
Florida trailed Auburn by 0.075 at the midway point.
The Gators equaled their season high of 49.425 on floor exercise. Leading the team was sophomore Skye Blakely's collegiate best 9.925. All other Gator scores contributing to the team total were 9.875s.
Florida took a 0.250 lead into the final rotation, knowing that a hit balance beam set was needed to claim the win. The Gators did just that, with three consecutive marks of 9.90 or better contributing to the team's total of 49.45, which is just 0.025 away from UF's season best. Blakely turned in a collegiate best 9.90, followed by eMjae Frazier matching her season-best of 9.925. Harris-Miranda used a 9.95 to win her third consecutive beam title.
EVENT WINNERS:
Vault: Selena Harris-Miranda, UF 9.95
Bars: Riley McCusker, UF 9.975
Beam: Selena Harris-Miranda, UF 9.95
Floor: Skye Blakely, UF 9.925
All-Around: Marissa Neal, AUB 39.375
GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES:
RECORDS: Florida (5-0, 2-0 SEC), Auburn (1-2, 0-2 SEC)
THE SERIES: Florida leads 97-10-1
NATIONAL RANK:
Florida – Florida is No. 1 in the Jan. 19 Road to National rankings
Auburn – No. 11
THEY SAID:
On Gators' performance:
"This team showed a lot of fight, a lot of grit and a lot of growth today. We started off extremely strong today, and that's something that we've been talking about this whole week is starting our first event strong and continuing through our second event. Vault was not what we do. It isn't it's not how we execute. And you know what? We're not going to be perfect and we're going to have mistakes. Our last two vaulters definitely did a great reset for this team.
"I can't tell you how proud I am of our three freshmen on floor that killed it. Three of our six in our lineup were freshmen. They felt it and handled the adversity with so much grace so really proud of them. On beam, this team just fought for every skill, every tenth, every half tenth.
"So really, really proud of the fight, in the grit shown this early in the season. They didn't get rattled, and they stuck with it and did Gators gymnastics." – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland
On posting a near-perfect bars mark tonight:
"I just went out there and I did my normal, did what we do every day in the gym.
"And I'm just really proud of the entire team for coming together tonight and keeping the energy up and supporting everyone. We did great. And you know what? That's what we do. We come back and we do our jobs and we support each other. And you know, tonight, this win is for Ly (Bui)." - Senior All-American Riley McCusker
Recalling that her sister Sloane also won floor at Auburn:
"Coming into this meet, I do remember that Sloane scored her first 10 here at Auburn as a freshman. So coming into floor, I was thinking 'let me channel my inner Sloane Blakely a little bit.' And I feel like I did. I'm really happy about it and really proud. I feel like I'm getting better and better each week, and just really working on the confidence, calmness. It's all coming together.
"I am so, so proud of this team. It's hard to see one of us go down or get hurt. You know, we love each other. We train with each other every day, and we really have each other's backs. I'm beyond proud. We didn't let it shake us, we didn't panic, we stayed calm. We simply just held each other up and we did it. I'm so proud."
Sophomore Skye Blakely
UP NEXT:
Florida finishes January action next Friday versus No. 8 Arkansas. The meet airs on ESPN2.
Arkansas won 197.475 – 192.675 over Southeast Missouri Friday in Fayetteville, Ark.
When: Friday, Jan. 30 at 7:15 p.m. ET
Venue: Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center
TV: ESPN2
Live Scores: Virtius
Tickets: $15 - $30
Both teams are among the eight Southeastern Conference teams that appear in the nation's current top 11 teams. Every meeting with a league opponent is expected to be a challenging event.
Florida won each apparatus title. The high mark of the evening, a near-perfect 9.975, was posted by senior All-American Riley McCusker. Senior All-American Selena Harris-Miranda used a pair of 9.95s to win vault and balance beam for the second consecutive meet. Sophomore Skye Blakely earned a collegiate-best 9.925 to win her first floor exercise title of her Gator career. Auburn's Marissa Neal won all-around at 39.375.
Florida sophomore Ly Bui injured her right leg during her vault performance Friday. She will be evaluated by team doctors when the team returns to the UF campus.
TONIGHT'S MEET
Florida opened the meet by matching the nation's uneven bars high of 49.625. Big marks contributing to that total was Riley McCusker's near perfect 9.975 plus 9.925s from Skye Blakely, Selena Harris-Miranda and Anya Pilgrim.
RILEY. MCCUSKER.
— NCAA Women's Gymnastics (@NCAA_Gymnastics) January 24, 2026
That's it. That's the tweet for a near-perfect 9.975 for @GatorsGym in Rotation 1️⃣💥#NCAAGYM x 🎥 SECN / @USAGym pic.twitter.com/9TdJJ3LNeq
Vault didn't go as well. Florida was forced to count a fall in the rotation for the first time since the 2009 season, which included an injury to Ly Bui on her vault landing. The Gators final two performers did put up the top two scores among the evening's vaulters, with Harris-Miranda winning at 9.95 and Danie Ferris taking second at 9.925.
Florida trailed Auburn by 0.075 at the midway point.
The Gators equaled their season high of 49.425 on floor exercise. Leading the team was sophomore Skye Blakely's collegiate best 9.925. All other Gator scores contributing to the team total were 9.875s.
Florida took a 0.250 lead into the final rotation, knowing that a hit balance beam set was needed to claim the win. The Gators did just that, with three consecutive marks of 9.90 or better contributing to the team's total of 49.45, which is just 0.025 away from UF's season best. Blakely turned in a collegiate best 9.90, followed by eMjae Frazier matching her season-best of 9.925. Harris-Miranda used a 9.95 to win her third consecutive beam title.
EVENT WINNERS:
Vault: Selena Harris-Miranda, UF 9.95
Bars: Riley McCusker, UF 9.975
Beam: Selena Harris-Miranda, UF 9.95
Floor: Skye Blakely, UF 9.925
All-Around: Marissa Neal, AUB 39.375
GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES:
- Riley McCusker used a near-perfect 9.975 to claim her first uneven bars win since she claimed a share of the 2025 Southeastern Conference Championship Meet title with a 10.0. That score equals the nation's high for 2026.
- Selena Harris-Miranda claimed her 12th vault title of her career and second consecutive with her 9.95 tonight. She also won her third consecutive balance beam title with a 9.95. Harris-Miranda is No. 1 in the nation's beam rankings.
- Finishing her competition with a pair of collegiate-best marks was sophomore Skye Blakely. She posted a 9.925 on floor and then earned a 9.90 on balance beam.
- She's not the only Blakely to win a floor title in her first trip to Auburn. Her All-American older sister Sloane shared the floor title at 10.0 on her first trip to The Plains in 2022.
- Collegiate bests:
- Skye Blakely 9.90 (beam), 9.925 (floor)
- Jocelyn Sasson 9.825 (floor debut)
RECORDS: Florida (5-0, 2-0 SEC), Auburn (1-2, 0-2 SEC)
THE SERIES: Florida leads 97-10-1
NATIONAL RANK:
Florida – Florida is No. 1 in the Jan. 19 Road to National rankings
Auburn – No. 11
THEY SAID:
On Gators' performance:
"This team showed a lot of fight, a lot of grit and a lot of growth today. We started off extremely strong today, and that's something that we've been talking about this whole week is starting our first event strong and continuing through our second event. Vault was not what we do. It isn't it's not how we execute. And you know what? We're not going to be perfect and we're going to have mistakes. Our last two vaulters definitely did a great reset for this team.
"I can't tell you how proud I am of our three freshmen on floor that killed it. Three of our six in our lineup were freshmen. They felt it and handled the adversity with so much grace so really proud of them. On beam, this team just fought for every skill, every tenth, every half tenth.
"So really, really proud of the fight, in the grit shown this early in the season. They didn't get rattled, and they stuck with it and did Gators gymnastics." – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland
On posting a near-perfect bars mark tonight:
"I just went out there and I did my normal, did what we do every day in the gym.
"And I'm just really proud of the entire team for coming together tonight and keeping the energy up and supporting everyone. We did great. And you know what? That's what we do. We come back and we do our jobs and we support each other. And you know, tonight, this win is for Ly (Bui)." - Senior All-American Riley McCusker
Recalling that her sister Sloane also won floor at Auburn:
"Coming into this meet, I do remember that Sloane scored her first 10 here at Auburn as a freshman. So coming into floor, I was thinking 'let me channel my inner Sloane Blakely a little bit.' And I feel like I did. I'm really happy about it and really proud. I feel like I'm getting better and better each week, and just really working on the confidence, calmness. It's all coming together.
"I am so, so proud of this team. It's hard to see one of us go down or get hurt. You know, we love each other. We train with each other every day, and we really have each other's backs. I'm beyond proud. We didn't let it shake us, we didn't panic, we stayed calm. We simply just held each other up and we did it. I'm so proud."
Sophomore Skye Blakely
UP NEXT:
Florida finishes January action next Friday versus No. 8 Arkansas. The meet airs on ESPN2.
Arkansas won 197.475 – 192.675 over Southeast Missouri Friday in Fayetteville, Ark.
When: Friday, Jan. 30 at 7:15 p.m. ET
Venue: Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center
TV: ESPN2
Live Scores: Virtius
Tickets: $15 - $30
| No. 1 Florida at No. 11 Auburn Final Team Totals |
|||||
| Jan. 23, 2026 ● Neville Arena (9,121) | |||||
| Team | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | Total |
| Florida | 48.600 | 49.625 | 49.450 | 49.425 | 197.100 |
| Auburn | 49.175 | 49.125 | 49.100 | 49.300 | 196.700 |
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