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The Florida gymnastics team has been one of the most consistent sports in the Gator athletic program. According to the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches preseason poll, the Gators are ranked third before starting their season.
Gator Gymnastics flying high
Preseason poll places 🐊s No. 3⃣!
Florida faces 8⃣ teams in preseason top 2⃣0⃣.
2019 season opens Jan. 11 – still time to get @GatorsTix!https://t.co/WAsvUkgPgN #WeChomp#GoGators pic.twitter.com/X6SDvacQ0a
— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) December 10, 2018
This season’s preseason poll consists of the best of the best in collegiate gymnastics. The top five teams in the poll also finished in the same order at the 2018 NCAA Super Six team final.
1. UCLA
2. Oklahoma
3. Florida
4. LSU
5. Utah
The Gators have been ranked in the top five for preseason rankings every season since 2007.
A Tough Road
The SEC is one of the toughest conferences in collegiate gymnastics. Florida’s who mostly faces SEC teams throughout the season, won’t have an easy schedule. Florida’s first eight opponents are are ranked amongst the top 20 in the rankings.
At home, Florida faces several teams ranked in the top-15 including No.7 Georgia, No.10 Kentucky, and No.14 Auburn.
In addition to tough competitions on their home floor, Florida also has a tough road schedule. The Gators will take on several teams ranked in the top 15, away from their home floor this season. In 2019, Florida will take on No.2 Oklahoma, SEC Rival No.4 LSU, No.6 Alabama, and No. 12 Arkansas.
Meet the Gators
Florida has several veterans who are returning with 11 All-America honors. These gymnasts consist of Alyssa Baumann, Alicia Boren, Rachel Gowey, and Amelia Hundley. Baumann and Boren, are also defending conference event champions in the balance beam and floor exercise respectively.
Just rewatched our Orange and Blue Intrasquad from yesterday and WOW this team is something special.😍 Can’t wait for y’all to see what we have in store for this year. 1 month until season…who’s ready???
— Alyssa Baumann (@Alyssa_Baumann_) December 7, 2018
Florida also has a fairly large freshman class with six new Gators on the roster. One of these standouts includes Trinity Thomas. Thomas will be another additon to a Gator roster with gymnasts who have international experience. Thomas is a member of the U.S Senior National team. She also recently won gold in the team competition and silver in the all-around and uneven bars at the 2018 Pan-American games. Sydney Johnson-Scharpf, another freshman with international experience who competed on Team USA joins the Gators this season. From 2015-16 Johnson-Scharpf earned a spot on U.S senior national team.
Other new Gators with national experience include Leah Clapper, Nya Reed, Savannah Schoenherr, and Halley Taylor.
Clapper along with Johnson-Scharpf have competed at the U.S Gymnastics championship.
Reed, Schoenherr, Taylor and Clapper have all competed at the Junior Olympic Level 10 National Championships.
Schoenherr finished her Junior Olympic career strong before coming to Florida. This year she won the 2018 uneven bars title.
Friday Night Heights
Florida gymnastics has their first meet of the season at home in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell center, where they will take on the 19th ranked Missouri Tigers as their first opponent. The meet will be televised on the SEC Network at 6:45 PM.
