Senior Ellie Lazzari felt the pressure as she stepped on the mat for the uneven bars. A hard fall in the landing of her vault routine forced numerous deductions to tally a 9.150 for her in the apparatus.
But she refused to let her landings plague her for any longer.
She took a deep breath and jumped on to the bars. With a clean flip from bar-to-bar, she presented a clean and seamless routine.
Her struck landing left the audience erupting in cheers. A smile filled with shock decorated her face as her team embraced her in celebration.
Lazzari topped the apparatus and earned a spot in a three-way tie for first place with a 9.925.
“Ellie and Victoria had some uncharacteristic moments, but [they] were able to take their steps forward and continue to shine for the Gators,” head coach Jenny Rowland said on Lazzari’s performance.
The No. 8 Florida Gators (4-1, 1-1 SEC) fell to the No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide (5-0-1, 2-0-1 SEC) 197.575-197.425 in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, Friday night. The loss marks the Gators’ first loss of the season and a compromised undefeated home-meet ranking.
“I’m really proud of this team tonight,” Rowland added. “A lot more free routines that I saw from our team, and really just [them] competing comfortably, confidently and just owning what they do every day in the gym.”
Florida opened the meet on vault with a mix of performances. Senior Victoria Nguyen presented a near-perfect vault routine. She earned a 9.975 despite a 10 from the first judge. Junior Leanne Wong kept the momentum going with an equally strong routine and fell second to Nguyen with a 9.950.
Landings continued to prove tough for the Gators. Lazzari breezed through her vault routine but a hard fall on her landing cut her short on the score to earn a 9.150. Freshman Danie Ferris wobbled on her landing and received a 9.600.
UF trailed after the first rotation, 49-375-49.275.
Junior Sloane Blakely opened the uneven bars exercise for the Gators. She received a 9.875 to cut the Gators’ trail down to 0.050. Ngyuen followed Blakely with a 9.275. Her first attempt ran unsuccessfully on the bars, but her second attempt flew cleaner with a strong landing.
The night’s first and only 10 was earned by Alabama junior Lilly Hudson on the vault. Both judges agreed on Hudson’s perfect execution and landing to push the Crimson Tide further up with their lead.
The Crimson Tide remained ahead after the first half, 98.775-98.000.
Freshman Anya Pilgrim shined on the balance beam. She hit two consecutive straddles with no hesitation and clinched a 9.925 to match Blakely's score. Lazzari and Nguyen kept the heat with two 9.900s.
The balance beam helped Florida climb back up in the meet. After trailing in both first half exercises, the Gators ended the apparatus tied with Alabama at 148.150.
“I like to say, keep [a] calm heart and [a] strong mind,” Rowland said heading into the fourth rotation. “Let’s bring this crowd to their feet, and there were a lot of performances that did that tonight.”
Sophomore Lori Brubach’s first performance of the night was on the floor exercise. Despite opening the apparatus for the Gators, Brubach breezed through her routine with no hesitation. Her performance earned her a 9.825.
But it was Blakely who was the talk of the night on the floor exercise. Her confidence beamed in the routine, and she consistently struck strong landings with a swift routine. Audiences were left mesmerized as they stared in awe.
“I got to be myself,” Blakely said on her floor routine. “And using the energy from my teammates and the coaches, especially Gator Nation, [it] helped me a lot.”
Blakely earned a 9.925 and shared the top spot in the rankings with Hudson in the floor exercise.
Florida ended the floor apparatus with a total of 49.275, and Alabama wrapped up with a 49.375.
The Gators will compete Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. against its rival Georgia in Athens, Georgia. The meet will be broadcast on the SEC network.
Contact Krisha Sanghavi at ksanghavi@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter at @krishasang.
Krisha Sanghavi is a third-year public relations and economics major. In her free time, she loves cheering on Miami sports teams and spending time with her friends.
