GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gator gymnastics regular-season finale brings the fifth top-25 opponent to the
Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in 2017. UF will face No. 22 West Virginia on Friday, March 10. Meet time is set for 6:45 p.m. The meet streams live on SEC Network +.
The meet is also Gator Senior Night, or as her teammates are referring to it – Claire Night.
Claire Boyce is the lone senior on the 2017 team. She helped the Gators win two NCAA Championships (2014, 2015) and was part of Florida's 2016 Southeastern Conference title team. Boyce announced late last month she was moving to a student coach role due to continued pain in her hip.
Friday's Promotions:
- Senior Night - Stay post-meet to celebrate Claire Boyce's Gator career
- Giveaway - 1,000 commemorative pint glasses
- UF Alumni Association Night - Present a valid UFAA ID at the ticket office & receive BOGO general admission tickets!
- Youth Art Gallery - Local elementary schools are invited to submit student's Gators themed artwork. Select pieces will be displayed in the Youth Art Gallery at the meet.
- Gator Boosters Night - Gator Booster members receive BOGO general admission tickets by showing their Booster Membership card at the Ticket Office
- GIF Booth - Fans can create their very own custom GIF at the GIF Booth! It's just like a photo booth, but you can create GIFs to text, post, and share. And be sure to use #GoGators!
To get tickets for Friday's meet, visit the
FloridaGators.com ticket site or stop by the Gator Ticket Office (open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.).
Complete list of Florida's 2017 home promotions
Parking Update & Parking shuttle:
Here's information to help you park and get to Friday's meet:
Fans with the season parking pass can access the O'Connell Center lot from either:
- Gale Lemerand Drive
- SW 2nd Avenue
No parking pass? No problem. Those fans can access the O'Connell Center lot at:
UFPD and O'Connell Center staff will redirect fans without parking passes to SW 2
nd Avenue. These attendants will be at University Avenue and Stadium Road. Fans with parking passes should be prepared to show the pass to gain access to Gale Lemerand Drive.
Another efficient option is the complimentary parking shuttle. It transport fans from the UF Commuter Lot on Gale Lemerand Drive to the O'Connell Center. For more information, visit
FloridaGators.com.
Reminder that the No. 2 Gator baseball team opens a three-game series with Seton Hall Friday at 6:30 p.m. Traffic is expected to be heavy in the O'Connell Center area. Park in legal spots to avoid UFPD tickets.
How to Follow the Gators:
The meet will stream on
SEC Network +. New to the SEC Network + coverage this season is all the pre-meet pageantry and festivities will be part of the on-line production. Tune in beginning at 6:45 p.m. to see the pre-meet show.
Last Sunday at LSU:
Last Sunday in Baton Rouge, La., the Gators lost 198.15-196.60 to No. 2 Louisiana State. The win gave LSU the first-ever Southeastern Conference regular-season trophy with a 7-0 SEC record. Florida will take second in the regular-season standings with a 5-2 league record.
It was not the Gators' top performance of the season as bobbles, misses and steps hurt the team's scoring potential. There were some UF performances of note, especially
Alex McMurtry's vault 10.0 to share the event title with LSU's Ashleigh Gnat. It was McMurtry's sixth 10.0 of her career and third of 2017. With the mark Sunday, McMurtry becomes the first Gator to earn 10.0s on three
different events in a single season. Fellow junior
Kennedy Baker equaled her collegiate bars best of 9.90 to lead UF on the event. McMurtry anchored the beam set with a team-high 9.90.
Sophomore
Alicia Boren shared second at 9.925 in the final floor exercise standings. She also won her fourth all-around title of the season at 39.55. Five of her last seven all-around totals have been 39.50 or higher. Freshman
Amelia Hundley turned in another steady performance Sunday, sharing second at 39.425.
About the WVU Mountaineers:
West Virginia (12-7, 2-1 Big 12) set its season best of 196.30 in a home quad meet on Jan. 29. Friday's meet is the first dual meet of the last four outings for the Mountaineers, as WVU has competed in five multi-team meets this season.
The top event ranking for WVU in the current Road to National standings is vault. The Mountaineers shared 18
th with a regional qualifying average of 49.085.
National Rank:
Florida – Florida is No. 3 in the ninth
Road to Nationals poll. The rankings now listed by regional qualifying average (top two road, home and then next two highest totals. The high is discarded, with the total of the remaining scores divided by five to compute RQS).
WVU – The Mountaineers are No. 22 in the Road to Nationals poll.
