Florida gymnastics made program history Saturday night at the Tempe Regional Final in clinching a spot at the NCAA Championships.
The No. 3 Gators posted a 198.05 to win the meet at the Desert Financial Arena and advance alongside No. 6 Georgia, which placed second with a 197.75. No. 11 Michigan State and No. 14 California rounded out the leaderboard and were eliminated.
The score marked Florida’s fifth consecutive total above 198 to set a program record and win their 23rd NCAA Regional trophy.
“They are unbreakable,” UF coach Jenny Rowland said. “They’ve stayed together and fought together through two challenging meets.”
Seniors Selena Harris-Miranda and eMjae Frazier placed second and third, respectively, behind Michigan State’s Nikki Smith in the all-around.
Harris-Miranda scored above 9.9 on every event, including a collegiate-best 9.975 on floor to win the event title. She also posted a 9.925 on beam, sharing the title with teammate Kayla DiCello.
Florida opened on vault with a 49.375, led by 9.9s from Harris-Miranda and DiCello.
The Gators followed with a 49.575 on bars, an event the team has continually found success in. Sophomore Skye Blakely led the Gators with a 9.95 after earning her first career 10.0 on bars in Thursday’s regional semifinal. Three other Gators scored above a 9.9, allowing Florida to take the lead at the halfway point.
Florida earned a 49.550 on beam. All scores counted exceeded 9.9, marking the team’s fourth-highest beam total of the season.
The Gators closed on floor with another 49.550. Along with Harris-Miranda’s performance, Blakely scored a 9.95 and Frazier added a 9.925.
Florida will compete in the NCAA semifinal in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 16. After a season full of highs and lows, the Gators will compete in the NCAA Championships for the 42nd time in the event’s 44-year history.
“Improvements moving forward is just being even more intentional than we’ve been all season,” Harris-Miranda said. “And learning how to use the noise to hype us up a little bit, too.”
