The Florida Gator gymnastics team recorded its best competition of the season and earned the 2015 National Championship title, with a score of 197.850. It is the third year in a row that Florida has won the national championship.
Starting on the beam, the Gators had solid routines, with the first four scoring 9.85’s. Kytra Hunter finished off the beam for Florida, scoring a 9.90. Florida was in second place after the first rotation, with the roughest already behind them.
Next up was the brightest point in the Gators competition, the floor exercise. Florida had five scores at a 9.90 or above, highlighted by Hunter scoring a 9.975. This makes her the only Gator to score a 9.975 on floor in Super Six history, and she’s done it twice. Two other Gators made the UF record books; Bridget Sloan tied for third with a 9.95, and Kennedy Baker tied for 10th with a 9.925. The Gators scored the third highest score on floor in Super Six history with a 49.65. They now hold three of the top four floor totals in Super Six history.
The vault started off shaky for the Gators after Bridgette Caquatto fumbled her landing and scored a 9.325. The next five Gators needed to be strong, and they came up great with Baker, Sloan and Alex McMurtry scoring a 9.90. Hunter landed a solid vault scoring a 9.925. Florida earned a 49.45 on vault, matching the third-highest team score on the event at the Super Six in program history.
The last event for the Gators was the uneven bars, one they typically do well on but the first four routines up didn’t show that previous success. All four missed their landings, with Hunter taking a full step out. To get the title the Gators needed two knockout routines, and the last two were Sloan and McMurtry. Sloan has scored two perfect 10’s on bars this season, and was near perfect again with a 9.95. Freshman McMurtry had to score a 9.9 to tie with Utah and above to get the win. She put forth her season best performance and scored a 9.95, giving the Gators sole possession of their third straight national title.
Only three teams have won three consecutive titles since the NCAA Championships began in 1982. Utah won the first five, from 1982-1986, and Georgia won five from 2005-2009. The Gators now join those ranks winning from 2013-2015.
This is the 34th all-time national championship title for the University of Florida. Gymnastics and Men’s Indoor Track are the only two to win three in a row.