It was during its vault rotation that the Gators’ gymnastics team watched its lead in the SEC Championships dwindle to the LSU Tigers. An outside observer would likely believe that UF was going to spend a lot of time in the gym improving the event it scored the lowest on before it headed off to Oregon for the NCAA Corvallis Regional on Friday.
For Florida, one of the top gymnastic teams in the nation, an eighth-place ranking is unusual.
It came down to the little things in the final vault rotation.
The Gators gymnastics team had a week to reflect on its regular-season conference title.
Florida gymnastics walked into Fayetteville, Arkansas, on the first day of March and walked out as regular-season SEC Champions.
The Gators were nearly perfect at the O’Connell Center during the regular season, with their only loss coming against Georgia. Now, however, they’ll leave it all behind following their victory against No. 25 Penn State on Friday.
It’s what is called an exhibition: a routine performed at the end of the rotation that doesn’t count toward the score.
Alicia Boren clapped her hands in fury moments after she stuck her landing on the vault. With a scream of triumph, she high-fived every teammate and coach that rushed to congratulate her on the routine.
The Gators were riding high as the SEC’s sole undefeated team in conference play when they stepped into the O’Connell Center to face off against Georgia last Friday.
Perhaps it was her family.
The audience at the O’Connell Center gasped in disbelief as sophomore Alyssa Baumann hit the floor.
“Have a great day!”
Normality.
The Alabama crowd was silenced when the judges flashed Alicia Boren’s floor routine score of 9.975.
Many gymnastics teams would consider a top-10 matchup a highlight of its competitive schedule. For the Florida Gators, it’s just another Friday.
The SEC has its team to beat.
The Gators had already won when freshman Trinity Thomas took the mat for her floor routine.
There are only two SEC gymnastics teams unbeaten in conference play. Come tonight, there will only be one.
The Gators’ gymnastics team may be competing in a regular season meet against Auburn on Friday, but there’s nothing regular about it.
It counts as a loss in the books. The Gators walked into the Lloyd Noble Center and walked out with their first defeat.
Solutions by The State News
