NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: Gators Close Strong, Win Semifinal I

FORT WORTH, Texas — The Gators gymnastics team is returning to the NCAA Finals after a year away.

No. 3-seed Florida won the NCAA Semifinals Session I on Thursday afternoon at Dickies Arena, beating No. 2-seed LSU 197.7875-197.4375. Georgia (197.2625) finished third, and Stanford (196.9375) placed fourth. Florida and LSU will be two of the four teams in Saturday's NCAA Championships. From semifinal II, No. 1 and defending NCAA champion Oklahoma won at 198.30. The lowest seed in the semifinals, No. 13 Minnesota, will make its first appearance in the NCAA team final after posting a 197.4625. No. 4 UCLA (197.275) and No. 9 Arkansas rounded out the evening semifinal results.

"I'm extremely proud of this team, this journey, this story they have written this season,'' head coach Jenny Rowland said. "No regrets. We can say there have been no regrets this year. I'm incredibly excited to continue dancing."

The Gators, wearing their football-themed leotards named in honor of former UF football coach Steve Spurrier, started on beam and were in second place after the first rotation, after eMjae Frazier led the way with a 9.9250 beam score.

Frazier's impact remained a constant theme. She posted Florida's highest score on floor with 9.9375, and Florida's team score of 49.4375 lifted the Gators past LSU into first place at the midway point. By the end of the third rotation, the Gators were still in first place with a 49.2250 vault score. You guessed it, Frazier had the highest individual UF mark with a 9.8750 vault.

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With the Gators prepared to finish on uneven bars, their strongest event, they were in good shape entering the final rotation as Southeastern Conference rivals Georgia and LSU battled for the runner-up spot and berth in Saturday's finals.

Florida closed the meet with four consecutive 9.9000s or best on the uneven bars, highlighted by Riley McCusker's 9.9875 in the Gators' final performance of the night.

McCusker didn't know it at the time, but the Gators had clinched a spot in the national championship, fulfilling a promise the team made at the start of the season.

"Last year, it was the whole reason we created 'The Promise,' " McCusker said. "I really don't think without what happened last year that we would be where we are."

What it Means

The Gators opened on beam in Thursday's NCAA semifinals, marking only the third time since 2011 that Florida started the national semifinals on beam. The last two times? In 2011 and 2025. Those are the only seasons the Gators have failed to advance from the semifinals at the NCAA Championships. The Gators rewrote that script Thursday with a 49.4625 beam score, finishing the first rotation in second place behind LSU.

In the Spotlight

Frazier, a graduate transfer from Cal, rose to the occasion in her first national semifinal appearance for the Gators. She was steady throughout and finished second in the all-around standings. Frazier's 39.5625 all-around score was second to LSU's Kailin Chio (39.6125).

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McCusker Wins Uneven Bars Title

Florida senior Riley McCusker's 9.9875 from the first semifinal proved to the overall event winner for the uneven bars.

McCusker is the 12th Gator to win a NCAA individual title and this is the program's 25 overall NCAA event crown.

Other Gators to win the uneven bars title include: Alaina Johnson (2013), Alex McMurtry (2017), Bridget Sloan (2014 & 2016), Trinity Thomas (2022) and Leanne Wong (2024).

EVENT WINNERS:
Scores are combined from both NCAA semifinal sessions to determine event winners:
Vault:     Keira Wells, Oklahoma       9.975
Bars:     Riley McCusker, Florida 9.9875
Beam:    Brooklyn Rowray, Minnesota 9.9625
Floor:     Jordan Chiles, UCLA          9.975
AA:         Faith Torrez, Oklahoma     39.7875

Staggering Statistic

The Gators have an opportunity Saturday to clinch the program's fifth national championship on Saturday (one AIAW (1982), three NCAA (2013-15). If they do it, it will be the 50th team national title in Florida Gators history.

Gator All-Americans

Six Gators earned 15 All-America honors in Thursday's NCAA semifinal competition.

2026 Gator All-Americans
Name	Event	Semi I Score	All-America Team
Skye Blakely	UB	9.975	First
	BB	9.9125	Second
Kayla DiCello	AA	39.5375	First
	V	9.8625	Second
	UB	9.900	Second
	BB	9.8875	Second
eMjae Frazier	AA	39.5625	First
	V	9.875	Second
	BB	9.925	First
	FX	9.9375	First
Selena Harris-Miranda	AA	39.4625	Second
	UB	9.925	First
	BB	9.8875	Second
Riley McCusker	UB	9.9875	First
Anya Pilgrim	UB	9.875	Second

Gator Performance Notes

Florida's five All-Americans on uneven bars matches the program's all-time high for number of All-Americans on an event at the NCAA Championships. Florida also had five earn All-America honors in 2022 for floor exercise.
Skye Blakely's 9.975 on uneven bars matched the Gators' all-time uneven bars high score in NCAA semifinal action (set by Trinity Thomas in 2022). A new high was set three competitors later when Riley McCusker anchored the lineup at 9.9875. Those scores are the No. 2 and No. 3 highest bars scores ever in NCAA semifinal action across all teams.
Florida's total of 197.7875 is No. 4 all-time for Gators in NCAA semifinal competition.
UF's bars total of 49.6625 is No. 2 all-time among all teams in NCAA semifinal competition.

NCAA Championships Coverage:
When:	NCAA Team Final \| Saturday, April 18 at 4 p.m. ET
Venue:	Dickies Arena \| Fort Worth, Texas
TV/Stream:	NCAA Team final live on ABC.
	Olympians Aly Raisman, Samantha Peszek and John Roethlisberger call the action with Taylor Davis providing sideline reports.
	Final
Live Scores:	Virtius Final
Tickets:	Tickets

No. 3 Florida in NCAA Semifinal Championships Semifinal I
Team Totals
April 16, 2026 – Dickies Arena (5,170)
Team	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
Florida^	49.225	49.6625	49.4625	49.4375	197.7875
LSU^	49.475	49.1875	49.250	49.525	197.4375
Georgia	49.325	49.150	49.250	49.5375	197.2625
Stanford	48.875	49.2875	49.525	49.250	196.9375

NCAA Semifinal II
Oklahoma^	49.750	49.475	49.5375	49.5375	198.300
Minnesota^	49.250	49.3875	49.3875	49.4375	197.4625
UCLA	48.975	49.2625	49.4875	49.5500	197.275
Arkansas	49.375	49.200	49.0875	49.300	196.9625
^advances to NCAA Team Final

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