Gator Gymnastics Regular Season Finale Ends with Second-Highest Win of Season

The number three Florida gymnastics team took a trip to Denton, Texas to compete in their regular-season finale before heading to Duluth,Georgia where they will fight for the 2023 NCAA title. The Gators faced off against Texas Woman’s University, University of Washington, and NC State.

The Gators ended their regular season with their second-highest win of the season, scoring a 198.175 total.

A Gator Win!

🔹second-highest team score of the season!#GoGators | Presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/C2MKWOJhBC

— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) March 12, 2023

Since 2008, at least one Gator has called Texas their home; this year three Gators competed on home turf. Graduate student Rachel Baumann, junior Victoria Nyguen, and sophomore Sloane Blakley all returned home for the weekend. 

Rotation 1

For the first rotation, the Gators took on the uneven bars, Texas Woman’s was on the vault, NC State was on the floor and Washington started on the beam. Sloane Blakley, one of the three Texas natives, started off for the Gators. Kayla DiCello and Riley McCusker both had scores of 9.925 and Leanne Wong took the highest score for the Gators with a 9.950. The Gators ended the first rotation in the lead with 49.475 and both NC State and Washington tied for second, following the Gators with 49.300.

https://twitter.com/GatorsGym/status/1634989345341046784

Rotation 2

Next up, the Gators tackled the beam. Future Gator and sister to Sloane Blakley, Skye Blakley was in the stands cheering for her sister and future teammates. Skye joined current Gator Leanne Wong at this past World Championships. During this rotation, junior Ellie Lazzari was added to the roster. Lazzari and Sloane both scored 9.925s. Both Trinity Thomas and Kalya DiCello scored 9.900s. Last week Kayle DiCello’s performance against Oklahoma made her the SEC Freshman of the Week for the fifth consecutive time. Riley McCusker not only earned her career high but also scored the highest out of all the Gators on the beam with a winning score of 9.950. After the second rotation, the Gators extended their lead on the other schools, entering the third rotation with 99.075. 

Beam on Film📸#GoGators | #WeChomp pic.twitter.com/dIxozSkppf

— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) March 12, 2023

Rotation 3

Lori Brubach, Rachel Baumann, Payton Richards, Leanne Wong, Trinity Thomas, and Kayla DiCello all took the floor in Florida’s third rotation. Trinity Thomas took the highest score for the Gators with a winning score of 9.975. Following closely behind Thomas, Leanne Wong scored a 9.950, and DiCello scored a 9.925. Heading into the final rotation of the quad meet, the Gators were still in the lead 148.675 with Washington in second, NC State in third, and Texas Woman’s in fourth. 

https://twitter.com/GatorsGym/status/1635005440861044736

Rotation 4

The Gators headed to beam for their final rotation of the 2023 regular season. Bri Edwards competed for the first time in this meet, scoring a solid 9.800 on vault. Sloane Blakely hit her career high while also having the highest vault score of the meet with a 9.975  and Trinity Thomas followed behind with a 9.900. Although there weren’t any perfect 10s, Florida still came out on top, beating the other three schools. For the All-Around, Florida’s Leanne Wong took first place with Kayla DiCello and Trinity Thomas tying for second place.

Vault on Film 📸#GoGators | #WeChomp pic.twitter.com/bOhdmL6Sji

— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) March 12, 2023

What’s next for the Gators

Next up, the Gators will travel to Duluth, Georgia this Saturday to compete at the 2023 SEC championships.