Senior Victoria Nguyen's performance on the balance beam was mesmerizing. With effortless grace, she glided across the apparatus bleeding precision and poise. She breezed through her run with a double straddle and a back handspring dismount. Her composure didn’t waiver for a second.
Nguyen seized first place in the balance beam apparatus with a 9.950. Her performance contributed to her all-around title with a 39.625 to push the Gators’ dominating run on the leaderboard. Freshman Anya Pilgrim stood in first place in vault, junior Leanne Wong topped bars, and Nguyen claimed beam and all-around.
The No. 4 Florida Gators (14-1, 6-1 SEC) defeated No. 27 Nebraska (11-8, 4-5 BIG 10) (197.150), Lindenwood (8-2) (196.325) and Eastern Michigan (7-5, 2-3 MAC) (193.600) in a quad meet, Saturday evening.
UF kicked off the meet on the uneven bars. Freshman Skylar Draser set the tone for the apparatus with an extended form in her bars routine to secure a career-high 9.825. Senior Victoria Nguyen and freshman Gabby Disidore followed suit with flawless execution to both score 9.875.
The Gators reached its crescendo on the bars with senior Leanne Wong's near-perfect performance. A minor deduction prevented her from clinching a perfect 10, but her 9.975 propelled the Gators ahead.
Heading into the second rotation, Florida maintained its lead with a 49.400, while Nebraska-Lincoln trailed closely behind, just 0.175 points shy of the top spot.
On the balance beam, senior Ellie Lazzari and Draser continued the Gators’ momentum with a 9.9. Nguyen stole the spotlight with her precise routine to receive a 9.95 on the exercise.
Junior Morgan Hurd struggled on the beam exercise. A tough dismount, side steps and wobbles added up deductions for the Gators. Hurd received a 9.700 to tie for seventh place. Wong encountered an equipment malfunction in her run to originally receive an 8.925, but recovered on her second attempt for a 9.925 and second place in the rotation.
The Gators entered the third rotation in the lead with a 98.950. Nebraska stood at 98.550, Lindenwood at 98 and Eastern Michigan at 96.875.
Sophomore Lori Brubach maintained strong form in both passes of her floor routine to earn a 9.825. Hurd and Bluffstone delivered stunning performances to land a 9.850 and a three-way tie with Lindenwood sophomore Jaly Jones.
Nguyen continued to dazzle in the third apparatus. Her graceful passes on the floor with strong dismounts scored her a 9.875. Despite earning a perfect 10 last week, Pilgrim failed to keep the heat in the floor routine this week when she earned a 9.775.
Florida led the meet heading to the fourth rotation with a 148.175. Nebraska-Lincoln stood in second place with 147.700.
In the final rotation, the Gators shined on the vault. Pilgrim’s struggles didn’t last in the vault when she dazzled with her dismount to secure a 9.950 and first place in the apparatus. Nguyen received a 9.925, falling in deductions on her landing. Draser and Lazzari ended in a three-way tie with Lindenwood sophomore Reese Baechle.
UF closed the vault with a team total of a 49.525, second to the balance beam (49.550). The Gators earned a 49.400 on the bars and a 49.225 on the floor exercise.
Next, UF will compete against Iowa State, NC State and Long Island on March 15 at 6:45 p.m. in a home matchup. The meet will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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.
