It’s going to be a special Sunday in the O’Dome for No. 4 Florida gymnastics.
The Gators will host their final meet of the season, a top-five showdown against SEC-rival No. 2 LSU, which doubles as senior night. It’ll be the eighth-consecutive season this matchup is the country’s highest-ranked meet of its respective weekend, as the Gators and Tigers are perennially among the nation’s best.
Across the years, the Florida-LSU dual has been a crucial competition for SEC standings, marked by high stakes and exceptional performances. This year should be no different. Florida has strong victories, outscoring top-10 teams like Georgia, Arkansas and Alabama. But what the Gators need is a great win, which could come against LSU. A victory could jump Florida into the top three as it looks toward the SEC championship and the NCAA tournament.
The Gators are coming off a quad meet win, defeating Texas Woman’s University, Arizona State and Fisk in Denton last Friday. The Gators were dominant, notching their second-highest meet score of the season (197.700). Their balance beam performance, in particular, earned a 49.800, which, notably, was a school record. And the records didn’t stop there, as SEC Specialist of the Week Skye Blakely earned her first career perfect 10, which is also Florida’s first of the season.
However, LSU has significantly more consistent this year. It, too, is coming off a quad meet where it defeated No. 3 Alabama, No. 17 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Arizona — a set of significantly stronger foes than Florida’s last week — with its second-highest total of the season (198.200). LSU’s Kailin Chio posted her sixth perfect 10 of the season and her fourth-straight on beam. She was also crowned SEC Gymnast of the Week.
“When you have a team coming in, you are wanting and going to be at your best,” Florida coach Jenny Rowland said, describing the Florida-LSU rivalry. “This team has always rallied to step onto that competition floor to the best version of ourselves possible.”
Rowland and the Gators need a win to carry momentum into the final stretch of the season. Seniors Lori Brubach, eMjae Frazier, Selena Harris-Miranda and Riley McCusker will be honored in the post-meet ceremony.
