Sunday night brought another top-10 Florida gymnastics matchup, and it carried on the tradition of excellence.
And no one was more excellent than senior Selena Harris-Miranda. On Senior Night, Harris-Miranda earned a perfect 10.000 on her beam routine, sending the O’Dome crowd into a frenzy. The score aided in her being awarded the all-around title, with a final score of 39.850 to close out Florida’s chart-topping night.
The No. 4 Gators secured a much-needed conference victory in their first home action since Feb. 13, narrowly topping No. 2 Louisiana State 198.450-198.325. Florida’s final score ranked No. 4 in program history.
“I’m really proud of this team,” head coach Jenny Rowland said. “They did not chase the win, they allowed the win to happen tonight.”
The Gators’ slight edge over the Tigers is something both programs are familiar with. Of the last 36 meetings, less than half a point has decided 23 contests, including the prior five dual meets. Florida last defeated LSU at the O’Dome on Feb. 23, 2024, by a slim 0.200.
Sunday was also just the 12th time in NCAA history both schools scored at least 198.000.
The Gators honored their four seniors following meet action: Harris-Miranda, eMjae Frazier, Riley McCusker and Lori Brubach have contributed 29 total All-American honors in their respective Florida tenures.
Harris-Miranda transferred to UF in Summer 2024, but has made a household name for herself in her near two-year career in Gainesville.
The Las Vegas native quickly made the most of her final home action. She earned a 9.950 on vault, tying her season-high. She and junior Kayla DiCello each picked up the score in Florida’s first rotation.
While Harris-Miranda was at the forefront of Florida’s record-breaking outing, DiCello also impressed. The Maryland native earned two scores of 9.950, 9.925 and 9.900 across the dual meet. She also tied her collegiate-best score on vault.
“She is Selena Harris-Miranda and she is amazing,” Rowland said.
Harris-Miranda continued her dominant all-around showing after notching a 9.950 on bars just a few moments later. However, her impressive event total fell short of another Gator.
Sophomore Skye Blakely added a score of 9.975 on the uneven bars, tying her career best. She last saw the score during Florida’s quad meet victory on Feb. 27. She came into Sunday’s meet sporting Southeastern Conference Specialist of the Week honors.
Florida entered the meet as the nation’s best group on bars and it extended that mantra on Sunday. The Gators totaled 49.625 during the event, coming just shy of the night-best 49.675 on beam.
On the beam, Florida entered the event trailing by a shy 0.075, but jumped out on top after Harris-Miranda’s first 10 of the season.
UF’s conference victory came down to the wire as it led by just 0.025 heading into the final rotation. Florida ranked No. 7 on floor, but emerged victorious as five Gators posted scores of at least 9.925. Blakely and Frazier each earned a 9.975 in their respective floor routines, propelling Florida ahead.
“This is what we’ve been doing day in and day out,” Rowland said. “It just goes to show that when you have a little fun and you shut out the noise, and just take that pressure off yourself and not worry about what anybody else is doing, great things can happen.”
The Gators will travel to Lexington to take on the No. 22 Kentucky Wildcats on Friday. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. on SEC Network+.
Contact Riley Orovitz at rorovitz@alligator.org. Follow her on X @rileyorovitz.
Riley is a sophomore sports journalism student in her second semester at The Alligator. She is the beat reporter for Gators Gymnastics and Swim & Dive while also contributing to the Gators Football Beat. She previously served in the same role in her first semester with the newspaper. Riley is an avid South Florida sports fan and enjoys playing/following all sports in her free time.
