Leah Clapper’s reaction said it all.
The sophomore was grinning from ear to ear and jumping up and down with her teammates after she completed her beam routine in Friday night’s win over Georgia.
Her score of 9.95 was the crowning accomplishment for No. 2 Florida in its 197.80-196.50 win over the No. 10 Bulldogs on Friday night at a sold out Stegeman Coliseum in Athens.
Clapper and the Gators had much to celebrate after the win. They improved to 9-0, one of their best starts in program history, and got revenge on the Bulldogs (8-6, 2-3 SEC) after losing to them last season in Gainesville.
Most impressively, though, UF achieved something Friday night it never has before: Finishing SEC play undefeated.
In 2007, Florida finished SEC play with no losses but with a tie against none other than Georgia.
“It really was a special night and a great exclamation to our SEC regular season,” coach Jenny Rowland said in a release. “Being the first team in program history with an undefeated SEC regular season is just a testament to this team’s commitment in and out of the gym.”
In the nation’s only top-10 meet this weekend, Florida (9-0, 7-0 SEC) began on the bars, as it usually does on the road.
Sophomore Trinity Thomas nearly picked up her fourth 10 of the season with a score of 9.975 to win the event title. Junior Megan Skaggs finished second (9.875) and sophomore Savannah Schoenherr tied for third with UGA’s Megan Roberts (9.85).
On the vault, Thomas and Schoenherr equaled their career highs. Thomas won the vault title (9.95) and Schoenherr finished third (9.90). UF had a pretty substantial lead after two rotations, with 0.6 between it and UGA.
Florida’s score dropped slightly on the floor. Thomas won her third event title (9.950) and sophomore Nya Reed returned to the lineup after missing the last four meets. She scored a disappointing 9.65.
Once again, the Gators best performance came on the beam. Their score of 49.65 was just behind the school record of 49.675. UF has now finished with at least a 49.50 on the beam five meets in a row, setting a new NCAA record.
Four gymnasts finished with a 9.9 or better. Junior Alyssa Baumann led the way with a nearly perfect 9.975. This was her second-straight week and fourth meet of the season with that score.
Clapper and Thomas finished tied for second (9.95) and senior Rachel Gowey (9.90) topped out behind them.
Thomas’s all-around score (39.825) matched the program record and is the nation’s second best this season.
Florida’s score is No. 13 in the country and its margin of victory (1.30) was the largest ever for the orange and blue in Athens, Georgia.
After the meet, Rowland credited the win to another Gators coach – football coach Dan Mullen. Before the meet, Mullen sent a video to the team, telling them to beat its archrival.
“All night on the competition floor, they were saying, ‘Do it for Dan,” Rowland said. “We did as we were told, which was beat those Bulldogs.”
Follow Noah Ram on Twitter @Noah_ram1. Contact him at nram@alligator.org.
Trinity Thomas
Noah is a third year journalism-sports and media student from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He has been with The Alligator since Spring 2019 and has covered men’s and women’s tennis, gymnastics and volleyball. When he isn’t on his beat, Noah is usually sadden over his beloved South Florida sports teams, such as the Heat and Dolphins.
