Florida Gymnastics NCAA Tournament: Is This Jenny Rowland’s Best Team?
Florida gymnastics underwent a major change a decade ago. Former head coach Rhonda Faehn resigned from her position, leaving the Gators wondering who would come next. Faehn had coached in Gainesville for 13 seasons, leading them to three national championship titles and four SEC championships amid a slew of other accomplishments. Soon thereafter, Florida hired Jenny Rowland to lead the next dynasty of Gators gymnastics.
In her career at Florida, Rowland has won seven SEC championships, but the final step has eluded her: a national title. And after six-straight victories, including an upset win in the SEC championship, speculation is intensifying. Queue, is this the year Rowland will finally secure college gymnastics’ most coveted title?
Although Florida’s been a consistent threat in gymnastics during Rowland’s tenure, it has come up short during many of its postseason runs.
In 2022 and 2023, Rowland arguably assembled two of her best teams, and she still finished runner-up in the national championship both years. Standouts most Florida fans remember, like Trinity Thomas, Sloane Blakely and Leanne Wong, guided the Gators during those seasons. Thus, those finishes were the best of Rowland’s career at Florida, but when the trio departed without a title, concern loomed.
Until this season, in which the Gators have reloaded and proved to be a strong contender for a national championship.
So is this the chance Jenny has been looking for in her 11th season as Florida coach? Is this her golden team?
Well, a major reason for this teams’ success has been the return of Kayla DiCello and Skye Blakely, similar to Florida maintaining Thomas, Wong and the older Blakely’s health in 2023. DiCello and Blakely suffered injuries to their achilles during the Olympic Trials in 2024 and have returned this season healthier than ever.
In addition to that pair, Rowland scored major transfers eMjae Frazier and Selena Harris-Miranda (transferred summer of 2024). And aside from them, the Gators kept a crucial member in their bars lineup, senior Riley McCusker, who unexpectedly stayed on for a fifth season. The group has been key in the success of the Gators this season, as al five athletes earned All-SEC honors with Blakely taking a share of the SEC Specialist of the Year title.
In turn, this season, the team broke the program record on the beam and posted its second-best score on the uneven bars. On top of these records, Florida earned the highest all-around score in the country this season during their meet against Kentucky in mid March, despite remaining No. 3. The Gators were able to tie their second-best floor routine this season, a record they haven’t come close to since 2022. That major improvement has been key to Florida’s higher scores this year. It also currently has a 14-meet win streak with only two losses across the season.
The past two seasons, Rowland has finished fourth (2024) and seventh (2025) in the NCAA tournament. Her team this season has proven itself to be a real threat as it’s beaten the No. 1 team in the country once and the No. 2 team twice. Though nothing is guaranteed, that may be Rowland’s best chance at a national championship since 2023. It may also be her best team, either way.
Rowland may never see a team like this again in the near future, as some of her best gymnasts (eMjae Frazier, Selena Harris-Miranda and Riley McCusker) are graduating this year. This is the moment for Florida to strike.
Will this be the team that wins it all?
Category: Gators Gymnastics
