GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Team high totals on the first three events along with a pair of 10.0s by Trinity Thomas and Leanne Wong boosted No. 4 Florida gymnastics to the nation’s leading total for 2022 in its win Friday over No. 13 Arkansas.
Florida’s 198.25 is the nation’s 2022 leader. Arkansas, coming off a week off due to COVID protocol, posted a 196.475.
Friday’s Gators Link to Pink meet sponsored by UF Health was held in front of a sellout Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center crowd of 9,173. It was Florida’s second consecutive sellout.
THIS EVENING’S MEET
Florida opened the evening with season high totals for both vault (49.55) and uneven bars (49.725). The bars total equals the program’s record set in 2019.
It was a Gator vault and uneven bars sweep. Trinity Thomas won vault with her near perfect 9.975. She was followed by fellow seniors Savannah Schoenherr (9.95) and Nya Reed (9.90).
Leanne Wong anchored the uneven bars lineup with the nation’s first 10.0 on the event this season. Schoenherr equaled her second collegiate best of the evening to take second at 9.975. Freshman Riley McCusker and Thomas shared third at 9.925.
The nation’s first balance beam 10.0 of 2022 was posted by Thomas. It was her third on the event and first since 2020. Fellow senior Leah Clapper was runner-up with her near-perfect 9.975.
Reed used a 9.95 to earn her second floor exercise win of 2022.
Wong won her first all-around with a team season best 39.625. Arkansas’ Kennedy Hambrick was runner-up (39.475) and UF senior Megan Skaggs took third at 39.40.
GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES:
* Wong is the fifth Gator freshmen to earn a 10.0. Three first-year 10.0s came on vault (Alex McMurtry/2015, Savannah Evans/2004 and Susan Hines/1996). Melanie Sinclair twice turned in 10.0 uneven bars marks as a redshirt freshman in 2007.
* This was Thomas’ third 10.0 of 2022 and 11th of Gator career. She also scored a 10.0 on both vault and floor on Jan. 16 versus Alabama. She is the nation’s only gymnast in 2022 with more than one 10.0 on any event.
* Florida matched program record team totals for uneven bars (49.725) and balance beam (49.70). Both are the nation’s high for 2022.
* 198.25 is the sixth-highest team total in program history.
* Savannah Schoenherr competed in the opening two events Friday, equaling her collegiate bests for both. She set her best of 9.95 to win vault last season at Arkansas. She also had a near-perfect 9.975 bars mark in 2020.
* Dating back to last season, Reed’s earned a 9.9 or above in five of her last six vault performances.
* Reed’s 9.95 was her 17th consecutive mark of 9.925 or better on floor.
* With wins on vault and beam, Thomas now has 81 event titles. Two more moves her to a tie for fourth with Kytra Hunter.
* Tonight’s crowd of 9,173 is the program’s second consecutive sellout and fifth highest since the arena’s renovation for the 2017 season.
* Collegiate bests tonight:
* Sloane Blakely: 9.85 (bars)
* Chloi Clark: 9.75 (floor)
* Riley McCusker: 9.925 (bars)
* Savannah Schoenherr: 9.95 (vault), 9.975 (bars)
* Trinity Thomas: 10.0 (beam)
* Leanne Wong: 9.85 (vault), 10.0 (bars), 9.925 (beam), 39.625 (all-around)
ABOUT LINK TO PINK:
Tonight was the 16th Annual Gators Link to Pink meet. These meets are part of a Southeastern Conference initiative and most of the league’s teams will participate in a “pink” meet this season.
This event is well supported by the Gainesville community. Six of the top 12 crowds in the program’s history are Link to Pink events.
Florida and Arkansas collaborated on a Link to Pink video message<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__twitter.com_GatorsGym_status_1487099901905408001-3Fs-3D20-26t-3DSd8rO4VJmeZnXYA5SYOqcA&d=DwIFJg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=YFqnnL3mWw-0RaAiIYbZp4-7kdSJ-vMESy6Qr4XSWGoNz3wpfdUqvSZGOJsRUWEZ&s=G8fk08kn0V7MErlhspVf8oeP5WDXhltHGkobe-DHWyA&e= >.
COACH ROWLAND SAID:
“It was a great night. Really thankful to be a part of such a great event and we Gators competed for the [breast cancer] fighters and survivors tonight.
“The atmosphere was absolutely amazing. We couldn’t ask for Gator Nation to be any better. The support from the crowd and the support from our team on the floor was just incredible.” – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland
RECORDS: No. 4 Florida (6-0, 3-0 SEC)
No. 13 Arkansas (1-2, 0-2 SEC)
THE SERIES: Florida leads 47-3.
National Rank:
Florida – Florida is No. 4 in the Road to Nationals Rankings<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__roadtonationals.com_results_standings_season_2022_3_0_5&d=DwIFJg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=YFqnnL3mWw-0RaAiIYbZp4-7kdSJ-vMESy6Qr4XSWGoNz3wpfdUqvSZGOJsRUWEZ&s=NLpt0eW9R_qxutyEYRuj7CEqwcLoNotNQcWgZX05QCU&e= >
Arkansas – The Gymbacks are No. 13
UP NEXT:
Florida at No. 10 Missouri is the only competition for next week’s SEC Network’s Friday Night Heights.
When: Friday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Hearnes Center<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__mutigers.com_facilities_hearnes-2Dcenter-2Dgym-2D_23&d=DwIFJg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=YFqnnL3mWw-0RaAiIYbZp4-7kdSJ-vMESy6Qr4XSWGoNz3wpfdUqvSZGOJsRUWEZ&s=kA4eJE3nMyfM_83LoS-dfrL0jhh3wYk-P2Tcga_9rkE&e= >
TV: SEC Network
Stats: Stats Link<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__stats.statbroadcast.com_statmonitr_-3Fid-3D381910&d=DwIFJg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=YFqnnL3mWw-0RaAiIYbZp4-7kdSJ-vMESy6Qr4XSWGoNz3wpfdUqvSZGOJsRUWEZ&s=fBeKPf9unTmK1WtwHSGh2IhKn0bJpi4GoxPQtRLR-ZM&e= >
Tickets: Missouri Gymnastics Tickets<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__am.ticketmaster.com_mizzou_gymnastics-23_&d=DwIFJg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=YFqnnL3mWw-0RaAiIYbZp4-7kdSJ-vMESy6Qr4XSWGoNz3wpfdUqvSZGOJsRUWEZ&s=kJru8ESsDf2eKhmDa7uZnxLUlG-ohRmDyCleB4KKB3c&e= >
No. 3 Florida versus No. 13 Arkansas
Final Team Totals
Jan. 28, 2022 ● Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center (9,173 – sellout)
Team
Vault
Bars
Beam
Floor
Total
Florida
49.550
49.7525
49.700
49.275
198.250
Arkansas
49.025
48.775
49.475
49.200
196.475
