In its fourth consecutive NCAA Regional victory, the Gator gymnastics team books its ticket to the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas to defend its back to back national titles. This will be the 33rd time the Gators have gone to the NCAA championships in its 34-year history.
Florida wins the NCAA Regional on Saturday held at West Virginia University.
Florida posted meet-high totals on both floor (49.40) and vault (49.625). This was the second consecutive meet where the Gators posted their season high vault total, and tied for second highest score in school history.
Bridget Sloan returned to All-Around competition with a 39.80. This score gives her the second highest All-Around score in the nation, and is just off her school record score of 39.825. She also earned her 18th All-Around title, moving her to fifth on the Gator career All-Around wins chart. Sloan took home the Regional vault (9.975), bar (9.95), and floor (9.95) titles. She shared the bar title with Illinois’ Sunny Kato and the floor title with fellow Gator Kytra Hunter.
Hunter earned her 30th floor title, making her the all-time leader for the Gators with floor title wins. She has won the floor title at Regionals each year, making her the first Gator to win a Regional event title for four consecutive years. Hunter used a 9.95 to win the floor title each year. The National Association for Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches voted Hunter the Southeast Gymnast of the Year. She is the third Gator to be given this honor since 2010.
The Gators have won the Regional title 10 of the 13 years under head coach Rhonda Faehn. They’ve also won the All-Around title for the last six years.
Next up, Florida will be heading to the NCAA Championships with the Super Six on April 18th and Finals on April 19th.