Senior Alicia Boren was ready for her beam routine. The Gators were neck and neck with the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners heading into the last rotation.
She fell off the beam not long into it, and UF’s hopes fell with her.
Boren’s 9.250 was the drop score on a beam routine that wasn’t quite good enough to top the Sooners in Norman, Oklahoma, and the team fell to the nation’s best squad 198.325-198.025. With the win, OU brings its home winning streak up to 31 meets.
The Gators’ (3-1, 3-0 SEC) first rotation was on the bars. It’s their strongest event, and the team proved it, as freshman Trinity Thomas pulled off a 9.975 for the second straight meet. The routine was bolstered by strong performances from sophomore Megan Skaggs, who scored a 9.950, and freshman Savannah Schoenherr, who placed with a 9.925.
Oklahoma, however, had a great rotation of its own. The Sooners’ Olivia Trautman headlined a vault routine that only had a single score below the 9.9 mark, scoring a 9.950. It wasn’t enough to start with the lead, however, as Florida led 49.675-49.575.
UF’s vault score has been its Achilles heel this season, and that didn’t change in its second rotation. Although Schoenherr’s 9.900 redeemed her recent 9.450 and 9.325 vault scores, it was Florida’s only score above 9.9. Boren stumbled on her landing and had the drop score with a 9.650, and only two other Gators stayed above the 9.8 mark.
The Sooners, meanwhile, had an incredible bars rotation. The event was showcased by Nicole Lehrmann, who scored a perfect 10.000. She was trailed closely by Maggie Nichols, who scored a 9.975. Oklahoma had two other scores above the 9.9 mark on the rotation, giving it the lead 99.300 to 98.825 at the end of the second rotation.
The meet got closer in the third rotation, due in part to UF’s floor routine. Both Thomas and sophomore Alyssa Baumann placed with 9.950, and Boren and freshman Nya Reed rounded out the gymnasts that hit at or above the 9.9 mark.
The Sooners had a few costly slip-ups on the balance beam, including a 9.575 from Brehanna Showers. That was after Lerhmann fell off the beam entirely to earn a 9.225 drop score. The routine was salvaged by Nichols, who scored a 9.975 on the final beam routine for Oklahoma. Heading into the final rotation, the Sooners had a slim 148.500-148.425 lead.
They didn’t lose it. The Sooners’ floor rotation of 49.825 was their highest in school history, and they benefited immensely from Boren’s fall on the beam.
"I think that we are where we need to be right now,” Boren said in a release. “We're only in our fourth meet in which seems like a lot, but we've got a long way to go. I think we're in a good position and we have a lot to work on.”
Follow River Wells on Twitter @riverhwellls and contact him at rwells@alligator.org.
Freshman Trinity Thomas scored a 9.975 in her bars routine for the second straight meet and a 9.925 on the balance beam in the No. 2 Gators loss to No. 1 Oklahoma on Friday.
