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Friday, March 29, 2024

Gators move closer to perfect season in win over Penn State

Trinity Thomas
Trinity Thomas

 Trinity Thomas could have folded under the pressure.

The Gators star has been in big moments before, but this meet was different.

For the first time in her collegiate career, Trinity was performing in her home state as Florida traveled to State College, Pennsylvania, about a two-hour drive from her hometown of York, Pennsylvania, to take on Penn State.

Instead of crashing under pressure, though, Thomas put on a show for the friends and family who were seeing her in-person for the first time in her collegiate career.

She scored her fourth 10 of the season and her first on floor in No. 2 Florida’s dominant 198.10-196.225 win over the 25th-ranked Nittany Lions on Saturday afternoon at Recreation Hall. That point total was the team’s second highest this season, just behind its 198.375 against LSU on Jan. 24 and the fifth-highest score in the nation this season.

“What an amazing night,” coach Jenny Rowland said “This night gives me so much hope for this team looking forward.”

UF (10-0) commenced the meet on the bars and had to overcome an obstacle early on.

In the second routine of the afternoon, senior Amelia Hundley scored a 9.175. Her low score put pressure on the rest of the gymnasts on bars.

But as has become the norm for this team, it conquered. 

Everyone else scored a 9.825 or better and three – Thomas, senior Rachel Gowey and sophomore Savannah Schoenherr — scored a 9.925 or better to give Florida a 49.50 heading into vault.

On vault, the Gators struggled despite senior Sierra Alexander equaling her career high of 9.95. UF’s score of 49.325 was one of its lowest totals of the season as sophomore Nya Reed’s (9.40) and junior Alyssa Baumann’s (9.725) scores hurt the orange and blue tremendously.

However, watching Florida in its next exercise – the floor – must have felt like watching Da Vinci paint the “Mona Lisa.”

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It was truly a masterpiece.

The Gators score of 49.70 was the highest for the team in any rotation this season and was No. 5 all-time on floor in UF gymnastics history. Every gymnast scored at least a 9.925, capped off by Thomas’ 10.

“It shows the depth this team possess,” Rowland said. “They come into the gym and work really hard and that’s what is making this team better.”

Thomas’s perfect score was witnessed by close family like her parents, as well as a large group of supporters from Prestige Gymnastics, the academy in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where she trained until coming to Gainesville.

“Ninety percent of our team is going to watch her,” Jen Fatta, owner of Prestige Gymnastics said prior to the meet. “They are making posters, some of the girls are making t-shirts.”

With UF up by a whole point heading to the beam, it had room for error, but instead added to the lead.

Gowey gave Florida its second 10 of the night. It was her first ever perfect score in any event and made the Gators the first school this season to have two gymnasts get a 10 on beam, joining Thomas on Feb. 7 and 14.

The squad’s beam score (49.525) would have been higher had it not been for Thomas’s 9.675 and Hundley’s 9.80 but UF still rolled to an easy win. Its margin of victory (1.875) was its largest since its win over Auburn on Feb. 14. Thomas won the all-around crown once again (39.525).

At 10-0, Florida also inched closer to its first-ever perfect regular season.

This team can continue to grow and get better,” Rowland said. “We left a lot in the tank, which is not a bad thing.”

 

You can contact Noah Ram at nram@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @Noah_ram1.

 

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Noah Ram

Noah is a third year journalism-sports and media student from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He has been with The Alligator since Spring 2019 and has covered men’s and women’s tennis, gymnastics and volleyball. When he isn’t on his beat, Noah is usually sadden over his beloved South Florida sports teams, such as the Heat and Dolphins.


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