GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 2 Florida claims its second consecutive Southeastern Conference gymnastics title with Friday's win over No. 8 Alabama.
The top two gymnastics teams in league standings met Friday in front of a sellout Exactech Arena crowd. The Gators led the meet from the first rotation and added to the margin to claim the win, 198.05 – 197.45, over the Tide.
Florida's 198.05 is the nation's No. 5 total of the 2020 season. Half of the nation's top 10 totals of 2020 belong to the Gators.
SEC TITLE:
- Florida claims its 12th SEC title and second consecutive (1982, '83, '84, '85, '89, '07, '10, '12, '13, 16, '19, '20). This is the fourth year for the awarding of a regular-season SEC gymnastics title. From 1981-2016, the winner at the SEC Championship meet was considered the league champion.
- Florida athletics leads all league programs with 246 SEC team titles.
Florida's win tonight clinches the SEC title with one league meet remaining on its schedule (Feb. 28 at No. 11 Georgia). The Gators are 6-0 in league action and all other teams have at least two SEC losses.
| SEC Standings (as of 2-21-20) |
| School |
SEC Record |
Overall |
| Florida |
6-0 |
8-0 |
| LSU |
4-2 |
10-2 |
| Alabama |
3-2 |
4-4-1 |
| Georgia |
2-2 |
8-5 |
| Kentucky |
3-3 |
6-4 |
| Arkansas |
2-4 |
2-6 |
| Auburn |
3-4 |
4-6 |
| Missouri |
0-6 |
2-9 |
TONIGHT'S MEET
Florida's opening rotation was highlighted by a perfect vault score for senior
Sierra Alexander. Her soaring Yurchenko full earned a 9.95 – the vault's maximum value. She took second in the event to Alabama's Lexi Graber's 9.975. Two other Gators scored a 9.90 –
Trinity Thomas and Gator sophomore
Savannah Schoenherr.
Little hops on landing kept the Gators from reaching their full potential on the uneven bars. Alabama's Makarri Doggette won the bars title at 9.95. Florida's
Amelia Hundley and Thomas shared second at 9.90.
Florida powered past an early miss in the beam lineup to equal its school-record total of 49.675. Every counting score was a 9.9 or better. The back half of the lineup was stellar, with 9.95s by
Rachel Gowey and Thomas. Sophomore
Leah Clapper anchored with her collegiate-best 9.975 to claim her first event title.
Floor produced consistent marks of 9.9 from four consecutive Gators. Junior
Alyssa Baumann broke that trend with a bang, winning the evening's event title by matching her collegiate best of 9.975.
Thomas won her fifth consecutive all-around (39.65) and freshman
Payton Richards was third (39.425). Alabama's Graber was just a fraction away from her season best, as she was runner-up at 39.625.
GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES:
- Tonight's sellout Exactech Arena crowd of 9,301 is the top Gators Link to Pink crowd in the event's 14-year history. It is the No. 4 crowd since the reopening for the 2017 season.
- This is the 58th consecutive time both Florida and Alabama brought a top-10 ranking into a meeting (dating back to 2002 NCAA Championships). Tonight's meeting between No. 2 Florida and No. 8 Alabama was the nation's only top-10 meeting of the day.
- Alexander's perfect 9.95 for her Yurchenko full set her collegiate best for the second consecutive meet. Last week at Auburn, Alexander equaled her then best of 9.875 for the fifth time.
- Clapper returned to the Gator lineup last week at Auburn, equaling her then best of 9.875. She is the third among the 2020 Gators with a collegiate beam best of 9.975, joining Baumann and Gowey. Thomas twice has posted a beam 10.0.
- Tonight's performance was the second 9.975 on floor for Baumann. She set her collegiate best in the Feb. 7 tri-meet.
- Florida is the 2020 leader on balance beam. With its 49.675 event total tonight, Florida is the first program in NCAA history to post a team total of 49.50 or better in five consecutive meets. UCLA twice recorded four-meet strings of 49.50-plus in their history.
- This is the first time in the 37 all-time regular-season meetings between these two programs that Florida won three consecutives (2018 home, 2019 away, 2020 home).
- Collegiate best set or equaled tonight by the Gators:
RECORDS: Florida (8-0, 6-0 SEC), Alabama (4-4-1, 3-2 SEC)
THE SERIES: Alabama leads the Florida series 74-47-2.
ABOUT LINK TO PINK:
Tonight was the 14
th Annual Gators Link to
Pink meet. These meets are part of a Southeastern Conference initiative and most of the league's teams will participate in a "
pink" meet this season. Team colors are set aside as the teams wear
pink to show their support for the breast cancer fight.
HEAR FROM THE GATORS:
Opening Statement:
"Someone asked me what tonight meant and how proud I am of these athletes – I cannot say enough about this team's dedication, determination and focus this season. They have come from point A to point B and how they've carried themselves and worked together as a team is wonderful. They have fought hand and hand. Props to the entire team – that is one of the things I have been most thankful for, the way they have been handling this season thus far. Really looking forward to a great second half of the season. That fire is shining bright in their hearts. Looking forward to celebrating a great evening, then taking a step forward to see what is next for this team." – Florida Head Coach
Jenny Rowland
On if this year's SEC Championship title feels different than last year:
"It was fun that it was at home this year. Last year it was at Arkansas, so to celebrate it with Gator Nation, on the floor, when we really wanted to get it done was an awesome feeling. Anytime you get to do it, it's an amazing feeling, but getting to share it with Gator Nation, with our team, pulling out such a great score and all our hard work paying off… I think we got a little taste of what is to come. We are going to stay motivated, and keep pushing, just get better from there and do it again." – senior
Amelia Hundley
On Sierra Alexander's performance on vault:
"Phenomenal. It was a long time coming and she has been doing a really great job in the gym of focusing. Sometimes she is trying too hard, getting into her head – it's a constant battle, it's not always rainbows and butterflies. It is a constant battle with themselves, especially when we are just talking about sticking a vault, but she performed it perfectly this evening and was rewarded for it." – Florida Head Coach
Jenny Rowland
On Link to Pink:
"I think it's just cool to be able to have this platform, Jenny [Rowland] talked to us about that before the meet. We're able to have this platform and use it to do more than just gymnastics and help other people. So, any time we get that opportunity we want to take advantage of it and we did so in a special way tonight." – junior
Alyssa Baumann
On her vault performance and receiving the Ernestine Weaver Award for most entertaining performance of evening:
"It just means so much, especially since it's my senior season. It just really shows me that hard work really, really pays off and that just the support from my coaches and my team [is key]. Every time I run down the vault runway that's all I think about – just making them proud and doing it for my team." – senior
Sierra Alexander
On if the mood shifted after the fall in beam:
"I don't think so, no. This isn't the first time that we've experienced a fall early on in the lineup. We picked up where we left off after Payton (Richards) with a strong 9.90. I think we just kind of picked up where we left off, and kept going strong. We didn't let it phase us, we had four more opportunities in lineup to put up the best score we possibly could. You just kind of have to get it out of your head that there was a fall. Pretend that didn't happen, pretend that you're the first one up, the first one leading the Gators, and keep going." – senior
Rachel Gowey
On the focus this team has:
"It's just really taken the dedication in and out of the gym. This season, we're taking care of ourselves way more out of the gym, doing what we need to do for our bodies to keep us healthy during the season. So that may be getting more sleep, eating healthier, going to treatment every day instead of three times a week. Really dedicating ourselves to ourselves and taking the time we need to become better in the gym." – senior
Rachel Gowey
On what Leah Clapper's strong performance did for the team tonight:
"It was awesome to see that. Anyone going up in that sixth spot, knowing that there was a fall in lineup and knowing that you need to hit just to put up a good score… You want it so badly for the team. I think she was definitely feeling that, but she roasted the pressure. She works so hard every day in the gym, earning her spot and showing that she's ready to go whenever we need her. I love it when any gymnast can go up and do what they've been doing in workout, and that's exactly what she did. She just kept it normal, and it was great to see her hard work pay off … Honestly when she stuck that we were all just so happy for her. To see her hard work pay off was really amazing." – senior
Amelia Hundley
On going into rivalry week with Georgia:
"I feel like I have been a broken record, but at the same time, it is something we have been talking a lot about as a team is building the foundation. This team did a great job of doing that both this past summer and past fall. They have been building the foundation week in and week out in the gym – they have been showing more confidence and everyone has been getting better in the gym. After a solid performance tonight, it will be easy to get back into the gym on Sunday to prepare for our next opportunity. We are taking it day-by-day, trying to get better each day and we are looking forward to each opportunity that is presented every day, as well as Friday nights." - – Florida Head Coach
Jenny Rowland
NATIONAL RANK:
Florida – Florida is No. 2 in the
Week 7 Road to Nationals rankings.
Alabama – The Tide is No. 8
UP NEXT:
Florida finishes Southeastern Conference regular season action Friday at No. 11 Georgia.
When: Friday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Stegeman Coliseum
Television: SEC Network
Tickets: Sold out
Tickets can be found on
StubHub
No. 2 Florida versus No. 8 Alabama
Final Team Totals |
| Feb. 21, 2020 ● Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center (9,301-sellout) |
| Team |
Vault |
Bars |
Beam |
Floor |
Total |
| Florida |
49.450 |
49.350 |
49.675 |
49.575 |
198.050 |
| Alabama |
49.325 |
49.350 |
49.350 |
49.425 |
197.450 |
