Florida Gymnastics Hosts Arkansas in Annual Link to Pink Meet

No. 6 Florida Gators hosts No. 13 Arkansas Razorbacks Friday night for the 18th annual Link to Pink meet in the O’Connell center.

The Gators (5-1) have been consistent this season only falling to Alabama in a close meet. The Hogs (2-1-1) who tied Alabama this season are looking to avoid a losing streak.

Previous Meets

The Gators are coming off a win against No. 21 Georgia. Florida defeated Georgia in Athens last Friday 197.475-197.30. The Gators held the lead after each rotation. Leanne Wong and Anya Pilgrim were leaders for vault, both scoring a 9.925. Sloane Blakely tied Ellie Lazzara with a 9.925 on the beam. The Gators will be counting on these high scorers tonight.

our event-specific awardees 🏆

🔹Vault | @anyapilgrim & @leannewong03 | 9.925
🔹Beam | @ellie_lazzari & @sloaneeblakely | 9.925#GoGators | #WeChomp pic.twitter.com/DA2oMk49cw

— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) February 3, 2024

Arkansas is coming off a tough loss to LSU. The Hogs fell short 198.475-196.20 against the Tigers. Arkansas had strong performances by Lauren Williams and Maddie Jones. Cami Weaver and Sirena Linton also had notable performances, and Priscilla Park had a near perfect score with a 9.975 on beam. The Hogs will be needing consistent near perfect scores for this meet.

https://twitter.com/RazorbackGym/status/1753620661019595208

SEC Matchup

This meet is both the Gators and the Hogs fourth SEC matchup of the season. Florida leads the historic series against Arkansas 51-3. The Gators have won the last 26 meets against the Hogs. The most recent meet between these top 15 teams was last season when the Gators took home the win 198.425-196.825. The last time Arkansas beat the Gators (196.425-196.550) was in 2011 by a margin of 0.125.

Florida vs. Arkansas

The Gators will be coming out strong as they are back in the O’Connell center for the first time since breaking their 20 meet win streak at home to Alabama. Florida will be wanting a win at home to keep the momentum going and get a winning streak again. Arkansas is looking for their first away win of the season and first win against Florida in 13 years. These two top 15 ranked teams will be chasing perfection in every event if they want the win.

Link to Pink

The arena will be under the pink lights tonight as both teams will be united together to raise awareness for breast cancer prevention and treatment. Fans are encouraged to forgo their schools’ colors and dress out in all pink to show their support. Among the crowd with be breast cancer survivors and their families who will be honored.

https://twitter.com/GatorsGym/status/1755944889634660481

The Link to Pink meet will start at 7:15 in the Exactech Arena at the O’Connell Center.