No. 5 Florida Gymnastics Falls Short to No. 1 Oklahoma
No. 5 Florida fell to No. 1 Oklahoma 198.075–197.575 Friday night at the 20th annual Link to Pink meet in Gainesville.
The loss marked Florida’s fourth straight against the Sooners and Oklahoma’s first win in Gainesville since 2013.
“It felt like the momentum kept getting stronger and stronger,” Gators coach Jenny Rowland. “And I am extremely proud of the fight and the finish and the grit that this team ended on.”
For the second consecutive week, Florida struggled early, posting a 48.975 on vault. Junior Kayla DiCello, competing in her first all-around of the season, recorded a season low 9.625. The Gators were forced to count the score after Selena Harris-Miranda stumbled on her landing.
Oklahoma took control on bars, sticking five of six dismounts for a 49.450. Freshman Mackenzie Estep led her team with a 9.925. Estep earned the first perfect score of the season for the Sooners last week. Later, Addison Fatta added a second 10.0 on vault against Florida.
Florida answered with a nation-high 49.650 on bars, redeeming itself from last week’s struggle in the event against No. 7 Missouri. All six Gators nailed their dismounts and exhibited little trouble in transitions.
DiCello scored a season high of 9.950, and anchor Riley McCusker matched her season high with a 9.975, to pull the Gators within three-tenths at the halfway mark.
Junior Alyssa Arana posted her season high on beam with a 9.9, joined by sophomore Skye Blakely. The sold-out crowd made their disdain known after Selena Harris-Miranda was awarded a 9.950.
Oklahoma remained solid through their floor rotation with Elle Mueller and Kamila Pawlak both scoring a 9.925. Oklahoma kept their lead 148.375-148.125.
The teams remained within reach entering the final rotation, but Oklahoma sealed the meet on beam. All six gymnasts scored above 9.900, including Ella Murphy’s 9.975.
The crowd was electric through Florida’s floor routine, where DiCello made her first appearance for Florida since 2023. Many fans were once again upset with a lack of perfect score for Harris-Miranda and Blakely, who scored a 9.975 and 9.950. However, it was not enough to overcome Oklahoma.
This is the second meet Florida has dropped as they head into the back half of the season. Although the Gators did not end up with a win, the team is not backing down so quickly.
Florida will travel to Athens to face rival Georgia on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. in another conference matchup.
Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Gymnastics, Gymnastics, SEC
