Florida gymnastics has season-best showing on SEC’s first Pride Night
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Florida Gators
For Florida gymnastics, the 2021 season has been one focused on the pursuit of a fourth national title one that may well have been the Gators’ to lose last spring.
But in the wake of social unrest nationally and some pointed criticisms from former Florida gymnasts about the program itself it has also been an opportunity to show that the Florida program is strengthened by its diversity. And last Friday, the Gators made that message of equality unmissable by hosting the very first Pride Meet in the SEC. Athletes wore rainbow-colored hair ribbons and COVID-protective masks, and custom rainbow t-shirts reading “more than entertainment.” Perhaps most visibly, junior Savannah Schoenherr, who is openly gay, was announced during pre-meet introductions while wrapped in a rainbow “EQUALITY” flag.
Special report on the Florida Gators gymnastics team:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The little things added up to a big score Friday in the No. 1 Gator gymnastics team’s win over No. 24 Missouri. Florida’s 197.85 total leads the nation and gives UF four of the leading six totals of 2021.
The Tigers tallied a 194.80. The meet was held in front of physically-distanced sellout Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center crowd of 2,141.
TONIGHT’S MEET
Two of the nation’s leading all-around totals were posted tonight by Florida’s Trinity Thomas and Megan Skaggs. Thomas’ equaled her national high total of 39.75 to claim her second all-around win of 2021. Skaggs, the reigning Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Week, upped her collegiate best total to 39.60 to take second. Sophomore Payton Richards also had a season-high 39.35 to complete the Gator all-around sweep.
Florida gymnastics continues cruise through turbulent 2021 season with win at Arkansas
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It is strange to think that the Florida Gators of the beam and floor are hitting their stride for the middle of the season when it is only January, but with a shorter 2021 season due to COVID, it’s essentially true.
And despite January still having a week to go, the Gators are in midseason form.
No. 1 Florida headed to No. 8 Arkansas last Friday for a top-10 matchup against a rising program in the SEC and came away with the win, 197.425-197.25. Although the final score was a bit tighter than may have been anticipated the Razorbacks held close with the Gators in score for the whole meet in the end, the Gators came away with the W in perhaps their toughest test to date.
Florida gymnastics downs Georgia despite rare Trinity Thomas fall
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Trinity Thomas had an off night. And for Florida gymnastics’ junior superstar and Olympic aspirant, that’s a truly rare sight.
But it wasn’t nearly enough to keep the No. 1 Gators from cruising through their first home meet of the season against No. 7 Georgia, notching a respectable 197.250 and thumping the Gym Dogs by more than a point.
On the occasion of Thomas’s first fall in almost a year, her classmates juniors Leah Clapper, Nya Reed, and Sydney Johnson-Scharpf were the most prominent parts of the contingent that stepped up to make sure the Gators’ score wouldn’t suffer. But they didn’t need to until late in the meet.