GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 4 Florida gymnastics is in the Crescent City Saturday, seeking its third consecutive Southeastern Conference Championship meet title.
Second-seeded Florida looks to add to its regular-season trophy at the 2024 SEC Championships meet, held Saturday in front of an expected meet-record crowd at the Smoothie King Center<https://www.smoothiekingcenter.com/events/detail/sec-gymnastics-championship-1>.
The 43rd edition of the SEC Championship meet makes its second appearance in New Orleans, La., since the event moved to neutral sites starting in 2001. Nine of the 22 neutral site SEC meets were won by a team located in the state of the host city (Alabama 2021, 2014, 2011, 2003; Georgia 2008, 2005, 2004; Florida 2010; LSU 2019). Each SEC Championship since 2006 has been contested on podium.
With the addition of Missouri to the league in 2013, the format for the SEC Championships moved to two four-team sessions. Teams seeded No. 5-8 (based on March 18 national qualifying scores) compete in Saturday’s opening session at 3:30 p.m. ET followed by seeds 1-4 at 8 p.m. ET. Scores from the two sessions combine to determine the team and event champions. As the evening session’s second seed, Florida chose to begin competition on balance beam.
The four teams in the SEC Championships’ final session are among the nation’s top-10: (No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Florida, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 7 Alabama). Every SEC Championship meet since 2012 included at least four top-10 teams.
All SEC programs enter the 2024 SEC Championships among the nation’s top 20 – No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Florida, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 7 Alabama, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 13 Missouri, No. 14 Auburn and No. 18 Georgia. The Pac-12 is next with five and the Big Ten has four top-20 teams. The SEC is the only league with every program offering gymnastics among the current top 20.
Of the nation’s top 25 team totals in 2024, 10 came from SEC teams – LSU (6), Florida (2), Arkansas (1) and Kentucky (1).
How to Follow the Gators:
Florida competes in the evening session. The meet airs live on the SEC Network with Olympians Samantha Peszek and John Roethlisberger calling the action and Taylor Davis providing sideline reports.
Saturday, March 23 – Smoothie King Center – New Orleans, La.
Start Event
V
UB
BB
FX
3:30 p.m. ET
Arkansas
Missouri
Auburn
Georgia
8 p.m. ET
LSU
Alabama
Florida
Kentucky
Network: SEC Network
Video: Session I<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/c06c99d2-c6eb-4323-880e-3ff84be07004> Vault<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/1f1895d1-f47d-4eab-a5bc-6505d540840f> Bars<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/4c97748a-b663-4c36-b47f-079357d87659> Beam<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/9506edd5-b4c8-478b-9f9f-c29b3ae6a316> Floor<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/22f81a9d-ad68-4f44-8ffd-513ec5fdeb50>
Session II<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/75bbb922-0314-4a22-82d6-711e1b2d46b5> Vault<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/1e33f2e0-bdda-4c7b-9b45-c1016a17f465> Bars<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/41719e73-5bba-4bf6-bea7-d20c6c923c40> Beam<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/66c1199c-69aa-4549-baac-76233b4ed196> Floor<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/9179191f-7dd4-4cf7-95a0-f0041d3db3da> Award Ceremony<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/3986a3ba-75ee-46a6-a9b5-1af9934286fe>
Follow the scores: Session I<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=523964> Session II<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=523965>
Tickets: $25-$55<https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1B005F2CC4904FFA>
Florida in the SEC Championships Meet:
Gators are 12-time SEC Championship meet winners: 1982, ’83, ’84, ’85, ’89, ’07, ’10, ’12, ’13, ’16, ’22, ’23
Recap of 2023 SEC Championship meet win<https://floridagators.com/news/2023/3/18/no-3-florida-gymnastics-wins-sec-championships-meet.aspx>.
In the Gators’ Last Meet:
Florida closed regular-season action by posting its fourth-highest total of 2024, 197.90, to win Gators Senior Night presented by Auto ER in front of 8,133 at the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.<https://floridagators.com/news/2024/3/15/gymnastics-no-4-florida-closes-regular-season-action-with-senior-night-win.aspx> No. 18 North Carolina State was second at 196.825, followed by Iowa State (195.825) and Long Island University (192.025).
Two Gator freshmen won their first collegiate event titles Friday. Skylar Draser’s 9.95 to start off the meet topped the following 23 vault competitors. Alyssa Arana anchored the balance beam lineup with a 9.925 to share the win with Sloane Blakely and NC State’s Chloe Negrete.
Leanne Wong’s third consecutive 9.975 won the 20th uneven bars title of her career. It was the only event she competed Friday and she leads the Gators this season with 20 event titles.
For the second consecutive week, a Gator used a 39.625 to win her first all-around title since the opening meet of her freshman season. At the March 9 Ameritas Master’s Classic, Victoria Nguyen used a 39.625 to claim her first win since the opening meet of her freshman season at Georgia (Jan. 8, 2021). Friday, Blakely used a 39.625 to win her first all-around since the start of her freshman season (Jan. 7, 2022).
Four different Gators won all-around titles in 2024 – Wong (5), Blakely (1), Nguyen (1) and Pilgrim (1). That is the most since 2017 when five Gators picked up all-around wins (Alicia Boren, Kennedy Baker, Rachel Gowey, Amelia Hundley and Alex McMurtry).
