Claire Boyce and Silvia Colussi-Pelaez may not be close in height, but Florida’s two freshmen are close. They see a lot of each other, both at practice and when they get home.
“We’re around each other all the time,” Boyce said.
“I mean we live together, we were on pretty much the same schedule last semester, and so we really try and stick together and be there for each other because there is only two of us, so we’ve got to be close.”
At UF’s first meet of the season, the 5-foot-6 Boyce and 5-foot-2 Colussi-Pelaez took different paths. Boyce competed in the beam (9.850) and floor (9.825) events, while Colussi-Pelaez exhibitioned in uneven bars and floor.
“It was a really great thing to be a part of,” Boyce said.
“I didn’t want to have expectations, because I just wanted to see and be in the moment.”
Colussi-Pelaez, who spent most of the fall training with the Spanish national team to compete at the 2013 World Championship, struggled in adjusting to collegiate competition.
“It’s just two different worlds, the elite level and the college level,” Colussi-Pelaez said.
“I exhibitioned for the first meet also because it’s my first meet ever, and they wanted to get me out there and see how I performed.”
After sustaining a fall on the uneven bars, Colussi-Pelaez admitted she did not have the best performance, but she hopes to gain a spot on the Florida lineup against Auburn.
“I just kind of got ahead of myself and was thinking about the end so I had a fall,” Colussi-Pelaez said. “I’m really hoping to work really hard on my consistency and be able to make the lineup.”
Coach Rhonda Faehn said she was happy with Boyce’s performance and plans on keeping her in the lineup for UF’s away meet against Auburn on Friday.
“She went out and competed like an upperclassman, like a pro,” Faehn said of Boyce, who placed fourth overall in balance beam and tied for eighth on floor.
As far as Colussi-Pelaez’s position on the lineup, Faehn is unsure.
“For Silvia, I think it was an eye opener,” Faehn said. “She has tremendous potential, and it’s a matter of her continuing to learn each time and to not let herself get overwhelmed.”
As of Tuesday, Boyce is set to compete on floor and beam at Auburn. Faehn said she could possibly exhibition on bars, too. She added vault is not likely for Boyce because of the risk for injury to her legs, which would take her off floor and beam — her strongest competitions.
Colussi-Pelaez could possibly compete in floor. If not, she will at least exhibition her floor routine, Faehn said.
“We wanted her to exhibition vault at UCLA but she just didn’t really have a great warm-up, so we choose not to,” Faehn said. “We’d like to be able to see her get out there for that and possibly bars again as well.”
Follow Erica A. Hernandez on Twitter @EricaAlyssa
UF gymnastics coach Rhonda Faehn's freshmen struggled early in the season.
