Florida’s gymnastics team didn’t lose its footing everywhere this season, but in the floor event, it briefly did.
While the Gators have leaned on stronger events to stabilize their team scores, their floor exercise has followed a different trajectory. After opening the season with promising marks, Florida hit a midseason dip in floor scoring before recently showing signs of recovery.
The shift, fueled by adjustments in choreography and cleaner execution, has turned a once-inconsistent event into a potential stabilizer as the Gators look to win their fourth NCAA title.
Florida started the season with a comfortable average of 49.41 through its first four meets. Gymnasts like senior Selena Harris-Miranda, junior Danie Ferris and sophomore Skye Blakely dominated the floor, regularly posting scores well above 9.900.
The Gators hoped this routine would remain a strength, but it did not. They faced a midseason drop in the floor routine, which in part contributed to their only two losses of the season against Missouri and Oklahoma.
The meets against Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma dropped Florida’s floor average to 49.36, its lowest of the season. Despite the loss to Oklahoma, three Gators posted floor marks of 9.9 or better, as Harris-Miranda notched her collegiate best of 9.975, which won the floor for that meet.
Florida seemed to have capitalized on this momentum as it closed out its two regular-season meets and the Southeastern Conference Championship. It was in this stretch that the Gators achieved their season-best in the floor event, scoring 49.750 against Louisiana State University and raising their overall floor average to 49.54.
The Gators grabbed their 13th Southeastern Conference Championship win as they closed out Oklahoma, LSU and Alabama with a score of 198.175.
As the regular season concluded, multiple Gators achieved their season-best scores in the floor routine. Freshman Jayla Booker and junior Gabby Disidore set personal collegiate bests of 9.90’s, while freshman Amelia Disidore earned a 9.925 and Blakely a 9.975. Blakey, senior eMjae Frazier and Harris-Miranda all share the season best feat of a 9.975 in the floor exercise.
Assistant coach and head choreographer Jeremy Miranda has played a key role in that shift. His work helped the Gators deliver some of their best and strongest performances in recent meets, including a season-best 198.575 total against Kentucky on March 13.
Miranda works individually with each gymnast, selecting music that complements their style while building routines with intentional structure, smooth transitions and strong artistic value. Each routine is tailored to the athlete’s personality, enabling more confident, controlled performances.
In March, consistency matters more than peak performance. As the postseason approaches, margins tighten, and Florida can no longer rely on carrying a weaker event. The floor routine does not need to outright win them meets, it just needs to be sustainable enough not to lose them.
Florida’s floor routine doesn’t need to be perfect; it just needs to hold. With steady improvement, the Gators are closer to a complete lineup, one capable of competing for the program's fourth NCAA title.
Contact Ethan Feinberg at efeinberg@alligator.org. Follow him on X @thefeinline.
Ethan Feinberg is a senior sports journalism student and the Spring 2026 men’s tennis reporter. He has previously written stories and produced audio sessions for WRUF, covering high school football. Ethan enjoys watching and playing sports like football and basketball, working out, fishing, cooking, and having a good laugh with his friends and family. His favorite sports teams are the New England Patriots, Miami Heat, Florida Panthers, and the Miami Marlins. (Drake "Drake Maye" Maye is the GOAT.)
