Florida gymnastics hit the mat in a tri-meet Sunday afternoon against West Virginia and No. 4 Utah. The No. 2 Gators came up victorious with a score of 197.525 compared to Utah’s 197.425 and the Mountaineers’ 195.475.
Coming off of last week’s win over Georgia, Florida maintained the lead throughout Sunday’s meet and posted the ninth-highest score in the nation this season.
Strong Start
In a tri-meet, three teams compete on three apparatus at the same time. The host team West Virginia began on the vault, No. 2 Florida on the uneven bars and the Utes on the floor.
The Gators hit six for six routines on bars, starting off with a 9.875 from Sloane Blakely. After missing last season due to injury, senior Riley McCusker posted a 9.9, her highest score of the season. Five stuck landings gave the Gators four scores in the 9.9 range and a season’s best on the exercise (49.525).
sticky with it 😮💨
▪️Sloane starting us off with a 9.875 pic.twitter.com/8W7trT0vEU
— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) February 2, 2025
Utah began on its weakest event, but the Utes were able to put up their second highest floor score of the season. The highlights from the rotation featured Makenna Smith and Olympian Grace McCallum‘s scores of 9.9 and 9.925, respectively.
On the vault, the Mountaineers did not see a score above 9.8. Freshman Karleigh DiCello, the sister of Florida’s Kayla DiCello, and sophomore Jurnee Lane put up the highest scores for their team (9.775).
Staying Consistent
The No. 1 team in the country on the event, Florida put up its lowest score on the beam so far this season. The Gators counted all scores over 9.8. Sophomore Skylar Draser scored a 9.875 in the leadoff before a 9.9 from Sloane Blakely. After two consecutive weeks starting her routine with a bobble, senior Leanne Wong changed her mount, allowing her to achieve a 9.9 on the apparatus.
Heading to the second rotation with a 0.15 point deficit, the Utes looked to close the gap on vault. In the fourth spot in the lineup, Smith stuck her vault and earned a near-perfect 9.95. Without another score over 9.9, Utah fell further behind the Gators, holding a firm grip on second place.
Makenna Smith? More like Makenna STICK!#RedRocks | #DROP pic.twitter.com/zJtcq7kleK
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) February 2, 2025
West Virginia’s bar rotation was highlighted by a 9.8 from fifth-year Trinity Macy. The team scored a 48.675 on the event.
Rotation Three
The Gators dipped just slightly in their floor rotation. Some rocky landings led to two scores below 9.8. However, Sloane Blakely put up a 9.95 before two scores of 9.925 from Wong and SEC Gymnast of the Week Selena Harris-Miranda. With the opportunity to perform in exhibition, 16-year-old Ly Bui nailed each of her landings, hyping up the team going into the final rotation.
With three consecutive scores of 9.875 to finish the rotation, Utah did not see a score over 9.9 on the uneven bars.
Meanwhile, West Virginia was able to post its highest score on beam this year. Finishing off the rotation with two scores of 9.85, the Mountaineers scored a 49.0.
Closing it Out
Florida is the No. 1 vault team in the country this season. In the second spot in the lineup, Bui matched her career high (9.925), which she set last week, with a near-perfect landing. Trailing the all-around competition by 0.025 going into the final rotation, Sloane Blakely appeared to get lost in the air during her vault. After her 9.2 score, Wong (9.925), Danie Ferris (9.825) and Harris-Miranda (9.95) wrapped up the meet with three hit routines.
https://twitter.com/GatorsGym/status/1886152032647528554
The Utes ended with a lights-out rotation on the beam, not counting a score below 9.85. UCLA transfer Ana Padurariu got her team started with a 9.925, and McCallum matched that score in the fifth spot.
West Virginia went into the rotation with nothing to lose, and the Mountaineers put up their highest floor score of the year to hit a season-high team score. Senior Anna Leigh led the way with a 9.925 before Lane completed her first ever all-around performance with a 9.85.
Event Winners
Vault – Selena-Harris Miranda, Makenna Smith (9.95)
Bars – Anya Pilgrim, Leanne Wong (9.925)
Beam – Grace McCallum, Ana Padurariu (9.925)
Floor – Sloane Blakely (9.95)
All-Around – Leanne Wong (39.675)
Up Next
The Gators return to SEC competition Friday at No. 13 Arkansas.