The Florida gymnastics team’s regular-season slate is set to continue tonight at the O’Connell Center as the Gators take on No. 5 Alabama at 6:45 p.m.
"They always bring their ‘A’ game to the table," coach Jenny Rowland said of Alabama.
"I know this weekend it’s not going to be any different."
Tonight’s dual meet is Florida’s third consecutive matchup against a team that advanced to the 2015 NCAA Championships and its second against a 2015 Super Six competitor.
Bringing a perfect 3-0 record into the meet, Florida takes to the gym a week removed from a convincing 197.075-195.900 Southeastern Conference victory over then-No. 8 Auburn.
With three of the nation’s top six all-around competitors in senior Bridget Sloan, sophomore Kennedy Baker and freshman Alicia Boren, the Gators look formidable as ever.
Winning their first three meets for the fifth time since 2003, UF complements their all-around trio with solid specialists, spearheaded by sophomore and reigning SEC Specialist of the Week Alex McMurtry.
Opening the season, three different Gators have clinched three consecutive titles across four different events.
Sloan has swept both the uneven bars and the all-around at each of the campaign’s first three contests, with McMurtry and Baker taking the vault and floor, respectively.
However, in spite of its early-season struggles, Alabama presents a daunting obstacle to overcome.
Sandwiching a two-meet win streak with slim losses to then-No. 6 UCLA and then-No. 10 Arkansas, the Crimson Tide (2-2, 2-1 SEC) still boast a talented roster.
Alabama returns five All-Americans from its 2015 SEC Championship-winning squad, highlighted by senior and 2015 NCAA all-around 10th-place finisher Lauren Beers.
Furthermore, the two-time defending conference champions lead the all-time series by a commanding 33 victories, holding a 71-38-2 advantage over the Gators while bringing the nation’s second-ranked floor unit to the O’Dome mat.
The Gators recognize the value of getting in a solid string of practices leading up to such an important meet.
Much like they have in weeks prior, landings have drawn the most focus on the practice-gym mat.
"We’re going to be working hard this week just to polish up some little things here and there, work on landings. We were hopping a little bit too much around on our landings this weekend, but hopefully (we’ll) just settle down a little bit, relax, have a little fun," Rowland said.
"I know the Gators love to compete in the O’Dome, as do I, so I know they’ll be ready to bring it on."
Contact Alejandro López at alopez@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @ajlb95.
UF's Alex McMurtry performs on bars during Florida's win over UCLA on Jan. 15, 2016, in the O'Connell Center.
