Riley McCusker swings on the bars as Florida gymnastics beat Arkansas on Friday, Jan. 30, in Gainesville. — Florida gymnastics is looking for its fourth-straight ranked win. (Noah Lantor/WRUF)

Florida Gymnastics takes on Missouri in Top-10 Showdown

Another top-10 matchup awaits No. 2 Florida gymnastics as the Gators travel to Columbia to take on No. 7 Missouri on Friday night at Mizzou Arena. The meet will air live on ESPN 2, with the competition scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. ET.

The SEC battle marks the fourth consecutive meeting between Florida and Missouri in which both teams enter ranked within the top 10. The series has grown increasingly competitive, highlighted by all three meetings in 2025 with the largest margin of victory being .4 points. Missouri finished second, ahead of third-place Florida, in the NCAA semifinals to advance to the NCAA Team Final in its final meeting last year.

Mizzou Arena has proven to be a difficult environment for the nation’s top teams this season. Missouri pushed then-No. 2 Oklahoma early in a Jan. 16 meet before falling by just 0.50 points, and last week the Tigers narrowly missed another upset, trailing then-No. 2 LSU by only 0.175. Despite the loss, Mizzou posted its highest score of the season with 197.500. Tigers Railey Jackson and Hannah Horton earned event titles of the night. Jackson had a career best on vault with a 9.950 and Horton took the uneven bars with a matching score of 9.950.

Florida enters this weekend riding momentum after closing January with the nation’s third-highest score of the season. The Gators posted a 198.05 in a home SEC win over No. 6 Arkansas, sweeping all four event titles in front of a season-high crowd of 8,069 in Gainesville.

Sophomore Skye Blakely led the way with a stunning performance, earning a meet-high 9.975 score on floor and adding shared wins on uneven bars and balance beam. Senior Selena Harris-Miranda and junior eMjae Frazier also impressed in their first all-around appearances of the season, finishing first and second overall.

Missouri will look to leverage its home-floor advantage once again, as Florida aims to stay sharp in a challenging road environment and remain undefeated. With both programs on the up early in the season, Friday night’s matchup offers a chance to make a statement as the SEC slate intensifies.

Category: Gator Sports, Gators Gymnastics, Gymnastics