FORT WORTH, Texas – No. 2 Florida gymnastics advances to Saturday's NCAA Championships team final after taking second in Thursday's opening semifinal at Dickie's Arena. Saturday's final airs at 4 p.m. ET on ABC.
The two Southeastern Conference schools in NCAA Semifinal I advance to the NCAA Championships team final – Louisianan State (197.475) and Florida (197.40). Rounding out the opening semifinal results were California (196.9125) and Denver (196.50).
No. 5 seed Utah upset defending NCAA champion and top-seeded Oklahoma 198.225 – 198.1625 to win the second semifinal. UCLA (197.9125) was third in the second semifinal, followed by Kentucky (197.125).
SATURDAY'S TEAM FINAL:
Three different conferences are represented in Saturday's NCAA team final:
Big XII Oklahoma
Pac-12 Utah
Southeastern
Florida & LSU
NCAA Team Final Rotation
| Starting Event |
Vault |
Bars |
Beam |
Floor |
| Team |
Oklahoma |
LSU |
Florida |
Utah |
THIS AFTERNOON'S MEET:
Florida hit its final five routines to recover from an early miss to post the program's third-highest uneven bars total (49.4875) in NCAA Semifinal action. The question on Florida fans minds - Would
Trinity Thomas compete? - was answered in the opening event. Thomas suffered a right lower leg injury in NCAA Regional Round II floor exercise competition and was sidelined for the Regional Final. She led all competitors in semifinal I bars competition with a 9.95. Florida also got a 9.9375 from
Leanne Wong, which was second among NCAA Semi I competitors and a 9.9 from
Riley McCusker.
The Gators slight 0.05 lead disappeared after the team's season low balance beam set of 49.0875. Sophomore
Sloane Blakely led off the lineup with the team's top mark of 9.9375 and
Kayla DiCello turned in a 9.925.
Florida dropped to fourth at the midway point and was 0.175 out of the second advancing position.
The afternoon's high floor exercise total of 49.525 buoyed the Gators into the three-rotation lead. Wong and LSU's Aleah Finnegan's 9.9625 led the opening semifinal floor performers.
Victoria Nguyen started off the lineup with a solid 9.9 and senior
Payton Richards matched her collegiate best of 9.925.
Florida's 49.30 on vault solidified a top-two advancing berth. Thomas made her second appearance of the day, leading the Gators with a 9.90. Three tied at 9.8625 for the Gators next highest score to earn All-America second-team honors – Nguyen, Richards and Wong.
Wong's 39.5625 tied for eighth in the all-around across both semifinals.
EVENT WINNERS:
Scores are combined from both NCAA Semifinal sessions to determine event winners:
Vault: Olivia Trautman, Oklahoma 9.950
Bars: Jordan Chiles, UCLA 10.0
Beam: Maile O'Keefe, Utah 10.0
Floor: Jordan Chiles, UCLA 9.9875
AA: Maile O'Keefe, Utah 39.7625
A Gator was among the top 8 for each event.
GATOR ALL-AMERICANS:
Seven Gators earned a meet-high 12 All-America honors (across both semis) in Thursday's NCAA semifinal competition.
Seven different Gators earning All-America honors equals the program high set in 2010 NCAA Championships.
| 2023 Gator All-Americans |
| Name |
Event |
Semi I Score |
All-America team |
|
|
|
|
| Sloane Blakely |
Balance Beam |
9.9375 |
First team |
|
|
|
|
| Kayla DiCello |
All-Around |
39.500 |
Second team |
|
Balance Beam |
9.9250 |
Second team |
|
|
|
|
| Riley McCusker |
Uneven Bars |
9.900 |
Second team |
|
|
|
|
| Victoria Nguyen |
Vault |
9.8625 |
Second team |
|
|
|
|
| Payton Richards |
Vault |
9.8625 |
Second team |
|
|
|
|
| Trinity Thomas |
Vault |
9.900 |
First team |
|
Uneven Bars |
9.950 |
First team |
|
|
|
|
| Leanne Wong |
All-Around |
39.5625 |
First team |
|
Vault |
9.8625 |
Second team |
|
Uneven Bars |
9.9375 |
First team |
|
Floor Exercise |
9.9625 |
First team |
|
|
|
|
GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES:
- Florida advances to its 19th NCAA team final (1994, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023). Florida won NCAA team titles in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
- Two honors in both events Trinity Thomas was able to compete today brings her career total of All-America honors earned in NCAA Championships competition to 11 – which ties for fifth all-time for the Gators. All of her honors in 2022 (five events) and 2023 (two events) earned All-America first team honors.
- Victoria Nguyen earned vault All-America honors in her first successful performance of a Yurchenko 1.5. She competed a Yurchenko full in the first two meets of her freshman year at Georgia. She was in UF's lineup earlier this season at Oklahoma, but didn't execute the vault, resulting in no score.
- This is the seventh consecutive meet Payton Richards turned in a 9.9 or better on floor exercise. She equaled her collegiate best of 9.925 today for the third time this season.
- Sophomore Sloane Blakely led off Florida's beam lineup with a 9.9375 – the second-highest score of her career on the event. The mark earned Blakely her first collegiate All-America honor.
- For the second consecutive year, Leanne Wong earns four All-America honors in NCAA Championships' action.
- A part of the last seven uneven bars lineups, sophomore Riley McCusker's earned a 9.9 or better six times. Her 9.9 today earned McCusker her first collegiate All-America accolade.
- Kayla DiCello was the top freshman in NCAA Semifinal I all-around competition, earning All-America honors by placing seventh in the semifinal.
- Collegiate bests this afternoon:
COACH ROWLAND SAID:
"It's a great day to be a Florida Gator. It's always a great day to be a Florida Gator. Extremely proud of the fight that this team shows as it continues to persevere. Not a flawless meet by any means for the Gators and yet it pays off to stay on the equipment sometimes. The team continues to fight through it, continues to take those steps forward and just keep fighting.
"Our motto for the week was 'All For the Gators'. It just encompasses everything that this Gator team has put together - their love, their passion, their dedication for each other, for their team and for their teammates. The Gators get to keep dancing so super grateful for another opportunity that these 17 young women again get to compete for each other." – Florida Head Coach
Jenny Rowland
UP NEXT:
NCAA Championships team final air Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on ABC.
Apparatus video stream available with Olympic medalist & Gator Great Bridget Sloan (bars), Gator All-American Kennedy Baker (vault), Ashley Miles Greig (beam) and John Roethlisberger (floor) calling the action.
No. 2 Florida at NCAA Semifinal I
Team Totals |
| April 13, 2022 – Dickies Arena |
| Team |
Vault |
Bars |
Beam |
Floor |
Total |
| LSU |
49.2500 |
49.4750 |
49.2750 |
49.4750 |
197.4750 |
| Florida^ |
49.3000 |
49.4875 |
49.0875 |
49.5250 |
197.4000 |
| California |
49.3500 |
48.7125 |
49.4125 |
49.4375 |
196.9125 |
| Denver |
49.2250 |
49.3625 |
48.5500 |
49.3625 |
196.5000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| NCAA Semifinal II |
| Utah^ |
49.3625 |
49.6750 |
49.6875 |
49.5000 |
198.2250 |
| Oklahoma^ |
49.4625 |
49.4875 |
49.5500 |
49.6625 |
198.1625 |
| UCLA |
49.1750 |
49.5125 |
49.5125 |
49.7125 |
197.9125 |
| Kentucky |
49.3125 |
49.1250 |
49.4125 |
49.2750 |
197.1250 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ^ advance to Saturday's NCAA Team Final |
|
|
|
