No. 3 Florida Places Third at NCAA Gymnastics Championship
FORT WORTH, Texas — No. 3 Florida gymnastics walked out of Dickies Arena without a team title Saturday at the NCAA Gymnastics Championship.
Oklahoma captured its fourth title in five years, posting a 198.1625 to edge LSU’s 198.075. Even without star all-arounder Addison Fatta on all four events, the Sooners secured the win by 0.0875.
Florida finished third with a 197.6875 despite recording the second-highest semifinal score. Minnesota placed fourth with a 197.375 in the first Final Four on the Floor appearance in program history.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” Gators coach Jenny Rowland said. “It’s not gymnastically what we wanted at the end, and emotionally, this team gave it their all and left it all out there tonight.”
The Gators began on beam, as they did in the semifinal round, recording a season-low 49.3875. They had to count senior eMjae Frazier’s 9.8 after a fall from junior Alyssa Arana following a bobble in her routine. In her first NCAA Championship Finals, senior UCLA transfer Selena Harris-Miranda led Florida with a 9.9375, receiving a 10 from one judge.
The Sooners posted a 49.6 on vault with two scores above 9.95. LSU followed with a 49.5125. Minnesota sat in fourth after one rotation, recording just one score of 9.9.
“It was disbelief today,” OU coach KJ Kindler said.” “We were just on the edge of our seats. I honestly could not believe it.”
On floor, Florida scored a 49.45. Sophomore Skye Blakely posted a 9.9125, and Harris-Miranda added a 9.9 in her final career floor routine.
The standings remained the same after two rotations, with Oklahoma leading after a 49.4875 on bars.
LSU notched a 49.475 on vault, highlighted by sophomore Kailin Chio’s 14th-career perfect 10 — the first perfect score at the national championship since Gator great Trinity Thomas in the 2023 finals.
The Gators did not stick a single vault, resulting in no score above 9.9. They dropped to fourth place heading to bars.
“Once we get here, it’s who makes the least amount of mistakes, and we had a couple of mistakes too many still,” Rowland said.
Oklahoma showed some vulnerability on beam, counting Fatta’s 9.7375 after junior Keira Wells fell. Meanwhile, LSU excelled on bars, counting all scores above 9.9 to take a 0.075 lead heading to beam.
Minnesota recorded two 9.9s and a 9.9125 to move ahead of Florida.
The No. 1 team in the country on bars, the Gators regained third place. Entering the rotation, Florida had just five scores above 9.9 and nearly doubled that total with four in the event.
Harris-Miranda finished her career with a 9.95, matching Blakely’s earlier score. The two tied for the highest mark in the session alongside LSU junior Konnor McClain.
Fifth-year senior Riley McCusker also saw her career come to an end, scoring a 9.8375 after winning the individual championship on the event on Thursday.
“So much love and an overwhelming sense of gratitude for this team, and I’ve had the best experience with them,” McCusker said. “This team is so special, and I couldn’t have thought about doing another year and had it been any different.”
The Tigers struggled on beam, as Lexi Zeiss fell and others had balance checks. Oklahoma closed strong with a 49.6375 on floor to secure the title.
For the Gators, an early deficit proved too much to overcome, preventing their first national championship since 2015. Rowland has yet to capture the title at Florida.
“I saw this team unbreakable,” Rowland said. “I saw this team fight until the end. They didn’t back down. It was a we over me team this year, and I saw so much growth and joy and happiness and fierceness and competitiveness.”
Category: Feature Sports News, Gators Gymnastics
