Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gator gymnastics team opens the 2017 season at North Carolina State on Sunday afternoon. Meet time is set for 2 p.m. ET in the Reynolds Coliseum.
 


This is Florida's fourth consecutive year opening on the road. The last three of those marks (196.925 – 2015 at Ball State, 196.825 – 2016 at Texas Woman's University and 196.65 – 2014 at UCLA) rank among the top five season-opening scores in program history. Since 1980, Florida has opened the season on the road 13 times and owns a road-season opening record of 21-16 in that span.
 
Here's how to follow the Gators:
Sunday's meet streams live on ACC Network Extra/ESPN3 beginning at 2 p.m.
 
Follow @GatorsGym to get rotation scores and standings.
 
Heading to Reynolds Coliseum? Tickets are $7 for adults; $5 for youth. Contact NC State Ticket Office at 919-865-1510 for more information.
 
Last Year:
The 2016 Gators took fourth in 2016 NCAA Super Six competition and won the Southeastern Conference and NCAA Minneapolis Regional team titles. Then senior Bridget Sloan won three NCAA titles in 2016 NCAA Championship competition. She won her second NCAA all-around title and also shared the wins for uneven bars and balance beam. She finished her career with a total of six NCAA event titles, which is tops in Florida history and third in the 35-year history of the NCAA Championships. She was one of three Gators during the course of the 2016 season to match school event records of 10.0 – Kennedy Baker (floor), Alex McMurtry (uneven bars) and Sloan (beam, floor).
 
About the Wolfpack:
North Carolina State was 16-6 in 2016 and took fifth in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League(EAGL). The Wolfpack return 11 letterwinners, including sophomore Paris Phillips (vault) and junior Nicole Wild (balance beam) who took third in 2016 EAGL Championship competition.
 
Gator-Wolfpack Connection:
NC State Associate Head Coach Colleen Johnson claimed 1993 All-America uneven bars honors as a Gator. In 1994, she was the first to incorporate the Gator chomp into her floor routine and since 1995, that bit of choreography appears in every Florida floor routine.
 
About the 2017 Gators:
The Gators return four gymnasts in 2017 (Kennedy Baker, Alicia Boren, Claire Boyce, Alex McMurtry) who own a total of 12 All-America honors. The 2017 Gators return 13 of 24 routines competed in the 2016 NCAA Championships. Two 2016 underclassmen are not with the 2017 team. Sophomore Peyton Ernst transferred to Alabama in January of 2017. Junior Ericha Fassbender will not be with the Florida team for the 2017 season. She could return to the team for the 2018 season.
 
The Gators' 13-member roster includes four freshmen and one newcomer. Three of the freshmen took part in their nation's Olympic Trials last summer. Amelia Hundley and Rachel Gowey both took part in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, finishing ninth and 11th, respectively. The U.S. Senior National Team members also teamed up to help the U.S. win the 2015 Pan America Games team title. Maegan Chant competed in the 2016 Canadian Olympic National Selection camp, taking ninth after day 2 competition. She represented Canada in 2013 and 2014 World Championships' competition and at the 2014 Pan Am Games. Freshman Sierra Alexander was runner-up in the 2016 and 2015 Florida Level 10 vault competition. This class ranks No. 2 on the 2017 CollegeGymFans.com Top Recruiting Classes list. In the last eight years, Florida's recruiting classes have ranked No. 1 five times and No. 2 twice.
 
Florida also added junior Rachel Slocum as she transferred to join UF for the 2017 season. She earned All-Mid-American Conference honors in 2016 and helped Eastern Michigan win the 2016 MAC team title. Slocum advanced the 2016 NCAA Championships' competition after sharing the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional floor exercise title.
 
Preseason National Rank:
Florida – Florida is No. 5 in the Road to Nationals preseason poll. The Gators are among the nation's preseason top five for the 11th consecutive year. Florida faces seven opponents among Road to National's preseason list in 2017 regular-season action.