No. 6 Florida Gymnastics at Missouri to the Lou Quad Friday
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 6 Florida gymnastics elevates competition this Friday at the Mizzou to the Lou Quad including No. 14 Missouri, No. 27 Illinois and Lindenwood. This quad meet will be contested on podium at the Family Arena<https://familyarena.com/event/mizzou-to-the-lou-quad-gymnastics/> in St. Charles, Mo. The meet begins at 7 p.m. ET and airs on the SEC Network.
This is Florida’s first regular-season meet contested on podium. The UF program’s first podium competition came at the 2004 NCAA Championships. Podium competition is similar to the set-up at many of the top gymnastics competitions, including Olympic, World and U.S. Championships. The podium is used at SEC and NCAA Championship (final site) meets. In 2006, the SEC was the first conference to use a podium for a league championship meet.
Gators Back in the Midwest:
Four Gators return to the Midwest for Friday’s quad meet.
Junior Leanne Wong and freshman Gabby Disidore both trained at GAGE in Blue Springs, Mo., a suburb of Kansas City.
Besides sharing Overland Park, Kansas, as their hometown, both Wong and Disidore are fans of the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Graduate Payton Richards (Mokena, Ill.) and Ellie Lazzari (Wheaton, Ill.) are both from Chicago suburbs.
It is around a four-hour drive to St. Louis from Chicago (south on I-55) and Overland Park, Mo. (east on I-70).
How to Follow the Gators:
Follow the action live:
SEC Network <https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/2d2b0d2b-108a-469c-ab9e-ab2c97a5005b> – Olympians John Roethlisberger and Sam Peszek call the action and Taylor Davis provides sideline reports
* Live Stats
* Tickets<https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/06005F8BDB6D3B9B>
Season-High in Gators Link to Pink:
Florida built on its season vault high (49.475) to post a 2024-high 197.85 to win the 18th Annual Gator Link to Pink versus No. 13 Arkansas (196.05) in front of sellout Exactech Arena crowd. Junior Leanne Wong wowed the Exactech Arena when she anchored the Gators uneven bars lineup with her first 10.0 of 2024. Wong used a season-best 39.725 to win her 11th career all-around title. Anya Pilgrim was second at 39.60, equaling the nation’s high by a freshman and Sloane Blakely completed a Gator all-around sweep at 39.175.
Freshman Danie Ferris’ collegiate best 9.95 earned her the vault win. Victoria Nguyen and Wong shared the balance beam win at 9.925 with Arkansas’ Kalyxta Gamiao. The Razorback’s Frankie Price won floor at 9.95 and UF sophomore Lori Brubach matched her collegiate best of 9.9 to share second with Arkansas’ Lauren Williams.
Friday’s performance earned two Gators weekly honors:
Anya Pilgrim: Feb.13 Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week
Leanne Wong: Feb. 12 Inside Gymnastics National Gymnast of the Week
Quad Opponents:
Illinois turned in its season-best of 196.50 in a Jan. 13 home quad. Seniors Mia Takekawa and Abby Mueller share the Illini’s season all-around high of 39.25.
Lindenwood set its program record of 197.075 to win the Tennessee Collegiate Classic on Jan. 19 in Lebanon, Tenn. Sophomore Jaly Jones’ season-high 39.275 took second in the same meet. Lindenwood announced Dec. 4, 2023 that 10 sports, including women’s gymnastics, would be dropped at the end of the 2023-24 academic year.
Missouri set its season high of 197.40 in its Jan. 20 win at Georgia. Among the Tigers’ six 2024 wins was a 197.325-197.225 home win over then No. 3 LSU on Jan. 26. Graduate Sienna Schreiber set MU’s 2024 high all-around of 39.525 Jan. 20 at Georgia and then equaled that total at Texas Woman’s University on Feb. 3. Junior Jocelyn Moore is the reigning SEC Specialist of the Week after her near-perfect floor mark of 9.975 at Kentucky.
Series Record:
Florida leads Illinois 9-0
Florida leads Lindenwood 1-0
Florida leads Missouri 33-1
