No. 2 Florida Gymnastics Advance to Saturday’s NCAA Final

FORT WORTH, Texas – No. 2 Florida gymnastics advances to Saturday’s NCAA Championships team final after taking second in Thursday’s opening semifinal at Dickie’s Arena. Saturday’s final airs at 4 p.m. ET on ABC.

The two Southeastern Conference schools in NCAA Semifinal I advance to the NCAA Championships team final – Louisianan State (197.475) and Florida (197.40). The other two advancing teams will be determined in the second semifinal that airs tonight at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.

Rounding out the opening semifinal results were California (196.9125) and Denver (196.50).

This Afternoon’s Meet:
Florida hit its final five routines to recover from an early miss to post the program’s third-highest uneven bars total (49.4875) in NCAA Semifinal action. The question on Florida fans minds – Would Trinity Thomas compete? – was answered in the opening event. Thomas suffered a right lower leg injury in NCAA Regional Round II floor exercise competition and was sidelined for the Regional Final. She led all competitors in semifinal I bars competition with a 9.95. Florida also got a 9.9375 from Leanne Wong, which was second among NCAA Semi I competitors and a 9.9 from Riley McCusker.

The Gators slight 0.05 lead disappeared after the team’s season low balance beam set of 49.0875. Sophomore Sloane Blakely led off the lineup with the team’s top mark of 9.9375 and Kayla DiCello turned in a 9.925.

Florida dropped to fourth at the midway point and was 0.175 out of the second advancing position.

The afternoon’s high floor exercise total of 49.525 buoyed the Gators into the three-rotation lead. Wong and LSU’s Aleah Finnegan’s 9.9625 led the opening semifinal floor performers. Victoria Nguyen started off the lineup with a solid 9.9 and senior Payton Richards matched her collegiate best of 9.925.

Florida’s 49.30 on vault solidified a top-two advancing berth. Thomas made her second appearance of the day, leading the Gators with a 9.90. Three tied at 9.8625 for the Gators next highest score to earn All-America second-team honors – Nguyen, Richards and Wong.

Wong’s 39.5625 tied for fourth among semifinal I all-arounders.

GATOR ALL-AMERICANS:
Seven Gators earned 12 All-America honors in Thursday’s NCAA semifinal competition. Florida’s individual and total All-American honors led NCAA Semifinal I teams.

Seven different Gators earning All-America honors equals the program high set in 2010 NCAA Championships.

2023 Gator All-Americans

Name

Event

Semi I Score

All-America team

Sloane Blakely

Balance Beam

9.9375

First team

Kayla DiCello

All-Around

39.500

Second team

Balance Beam

9.9250

Second team

Riley McCusker

Uneven Bars

9.900

Second team

Victoria Nguyen

Vault

9.8625

Second team

Payton Richards

Vault

9.8625

Second team

Trinity Thomas

Vault

9.900

First team

Uneven Bars

9.950

First team

Leanne Wong

All-Around

39.5625

First team

Vault

9.8625

Second team

Uneven Bars

9.9375

First team

Floor Exercise

9.9625

First team

GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES:

* Florida advances to its 19th NCAA team final (1994, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023). Florida won NCAA team titles in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
* Two honors in both events Trinity Thomas was able to compete today brings her career total of All-America honors earned in NCAA Championships competition to 11 – which ties for fifth all-time for the Gators. All of her honors in 2022 (five events) and 2023 (two events) earned All-America first team honors.
* Victoria Nguyen earned vault All-America honors in her first successful performance of a Yurchenko 1.5. She competed a Yurchenko full in the first two meets of her freshman year at Georgia. She was in UF’s lineup earlier this season at Oklahoma, but didn’t execute the vault, resulting in no score.
* This is the seventh consecutive meet Payton Richards turned in a 9.9 or better on floor exercise. She equaled her collegiate best of 9.925 today for the third time this season.
* Sophomore Sloane Blakely led off Florida’s beam lineup with a 9.9375 – the second-highest score of her career on the event. The mark earned Blakely her first collegiate All-America honor.
* For the second consecutive year, Leanne Wong earns four All-America honors in NCAA Championships’ action.
* A part of the last seven uneven bars lineups, sophomore Riley McCusker’s earned a 9.9 or better six times. Her 9.9 today earned McCusker her first collegiate All-America accolade.
* Kayla DiCello was the top freshman in NCAA Semifinal I all-around competition, earning All-America honors by placing seventh in the semifinal.
* Collegiate bests this afternoon:
* Victoria Nguyen: 9.8625 (vault)
* Payton Richards: 9.925 (floor)

COACH ROWLAND SAID:

“It’s a great day to be a Florida Gator. It’s always a great day to be a Florida Gator. Extremely proud of the fight that this team shows as it continues to persevere. Not a flawless meet by any means for the Gators and yet it pays off to stay on the equipment sometimes. The team continues to fight through it, continues to take those steps forward and just keep fighting.

“Our motto for the week was ‘All For the Gators’. It just encompasses everything that this Gator team has put together – their love, their passion, their dedication for each other, for their team and for their teammates. The Gators get to keep dancing so super grateful for another opportunity that these 17 young women again get to compete for each other.” – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland

UP NEXT:
NCAA Championships team final air Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on ABC.

April 15

NCAA Team Final

ABC

ESPN3<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/bce248c4-09c7-46f1-8c78-6c0eca662bcb>

Live Scoring

Apparatus video stream available with Olympic medalist & Gator Great Bridget Sloan (bars), Gator All-American Kennedy Baker (vault), Ashley Miles Greig (beam) and John Roethlisberger (floor) calling the action.

Date

Competition

Links

April 15

4 p.m. NCAA Team Final

Multi-View<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/438b91f1-5d40-4602-beaa-833a0adb1fae>

Vault<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/2a01b246-78c9-43dc-a716-79158721a31f>

Bars<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/0ff7a90e-e7fc-4ea3-8785-cd57020669c0>

Beam<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/c6cbce00-7f95-4a7d-be94-eb3f264c64b0>

Floor<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/29d65066-e07d-454d-b658-0364394cacde>

No. 2 Florida at NCAA Semifinal I
Team Totals

April 13, 2022 – Dickies Arena