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Friday, March 29, 2024

Maybe it's fitting that the NCAA Championships signal the arrival of summer for the UF gymnastics team, much like exam week in the spring is the sign of summer for students.

The UF gymnasts will still have to deal with finals, but the NCAA Championships beginning Thursday cap off a semester-long season full of wear and tear.

"We know this is our last week of training, our last competition," Maranda Smith said. "Summer's here. We have to set goals for our training and already start thinking about next year after this meet is over."

This summer, Smith is looking forward to getting shoulder surgery a week after her return from the national championship meet.

She said the rehab would take her four to six months, ending around the same time the fall semester does. Smith said she welcomes the thought of being fully healthy again, even if it means spending the summer healing.

"I love competing and doing gymnastics all the time, but sometimes it gets tough when you're hurting," Smith said.

Smith hopes the summer rehab will leave her healthy and in-shape enough to "jump back again and be pretty much right where I left off from this year," she said. This year saw Smith turn in her best statistical season thus far, including appearances on balance beam while filling in for injured teammates.

For Courtney Gladys, the end of the NCAA Championships will bring a sigh of relief.

"It's the end of gym for a while, so it's going to be good for a lot of the gymnasts and myself to rest physically and mentally from the sport," Gladys said.

Gladys, like Smith, had to increase her workload when teammates - the count is now at four - had their seasons cut short due to injuries.

Gladys said she takes two to three weeks after the NCAA Championships to rest. She'll be in Gainesville for the first part of summer and still plans to condition and practice, but at a much easier pace than when fall rolls around.

"The three months you're off, yeah, you could take it off, but is it really going to benefit you when you're pounding in August again?" Gladys said.

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There's no rest for the weary, as UF coach Rhonda Faehn has a banquet, a coaches' meeting and recruiting on her to-do list following the NCAA Championships.

"There's a little bit of down time," Faehn said, even though she won't really get time off until mid-August.

"It's weird to say this: (The championship) re-energizes us, the coaching staff, to already be thinking ahead and getting excited for next season," Faehn said.

She mentioned how the team starts planning routines, discussing new skills, managing lineups and events at the team's banquet before summer has even started.

"We don't come and go, 'It's time to chill and relax and rest,'" Faehn said.

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