Gators freshman Anya Pilgrim kept her fiery momentum throughout the meet. She shined in multiple apparatuses, her most prominent being on the uneven parallel bars.
Pilgrim gripped onto the bars and left all her fears on the floor. She flew high into the air as she switched in between bars. In the final moments of her routine, she made a clean stuck landing.
The freshman almost earned a ten with an exception of one judge's score who felt there was something off. She earned the Gators’ highest score of the night, a 9.975 to walk away from the apparatus.
The No. 4 Florida Gators (21-4, 6-1 SEC) swept the No. 13 Missouri Tigers (13-6, 2-5 SEC), No. 20 Georgia Bulldogs (6-10, 1-6 SEC) and the No. 36 Iowa State Cyclones (10-15, 2-2 BIG 12) in the second round of the NCAA Gainesville Regionals.
Florida placed first with a score of 197.925, Missouri placed third with a score of 197.525, Georgia placed fifth with a score of 197.425 and Iowa State placed sixth earning a 196.575 final score.
“I am really grateful to be home for regionals, it's been seven years,” Florida head coach Jenny Rowland said. “This is regionals, it’s gymnastics. At the same time, it is always great to be in front of Gator Nation.”
Freshman Skylar Draser opened for the Gators with a seamless vault performance where she earned a 9.925. Florida senior Victoria Nguyen executed a clean vault routine as she landed an almost-perfect stuck landing and earned a 9.95.
Pilgrim delivered an ecstatic routine until she wobbled on her landing which forced a reduction of 9.9.
Junior Leanne Wong’s solid landing and majestic routine not only stunned the crowd but also earned her a 9.9.
Florida led 49.575 as it headed into the second apparatus on the uneven parallel bars.
UF junior Sloane Blakely struggled on her first bar performance when she slipped in between switching bars. Despite trouble on the first round, she managed to pull herself together for a second attempt and managed to earn a 9.350.
UF senior Ellie Lazzari brought the Gators momentum back as she had the crowd erupted in cheers off her stuck landing that earned her a 9.725. Pilgrim stuck a perfect landing on her bars routine which earned her a 9.75 off her high-strung performance.
Wong closed out the second apparatus with a 9.9 score off her well structured stuck landing, but fell short when she took an extra step.
Florida remained in the lead 98.875 headed into the third apparatus on the balance beam.
Draser opened on the beam with an elegantly defined routine where she kept her balance during her flips and effortlessly made a stuck landing to earn 9.9.
Pilgrim brought the O’Dome to its feet after her perfect stuck landing left the crowd mesmerized as she earned a 9.925.
Wong gracefully swept her feet across the beam as she earned a 9.925 to keep the Gators momentum heightened.
Lazzari shined on the beam to close out the apparatus as she earned a 9.95.
Florida managed to remain in the lead 148.450 headed into the final apparatus on the floor.
Nguyen dazzled in her floor routine as she secured a 9.925 off her performance. Lazzari followed with a graceful performance where she scored a 9.9.
Pilgrim shined in her routine and persevered as she fell back off a flip but got right back up and continued on with her performance. Her fall caused a deduction of 9.15.
Blakely strutted across the floor as she brought a fiery energy with her beaming facial expressions that earned her a 9.9.
Draser finished off the final routine with 9.825 as she made a strong stuck landing which had her teammates jumping and cheering up and down. Draser replaced graduate student Payton Richards in the lineup just moments before her performance.
“Warming up I had an idea, it was between me and her,” Draser said. “When I got up there I was a little nervous, but I calmed myself down and told myself I could do this.”
Next, UF will compete in the final round of NCAA regionals on Sunday at 5 p.m. at home.
Contact Alyssa Britton-Harr abritton-harr@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @abrittonharr.
Alyssa Britton-Harr is a second-year journalism major and a sports reporter for The Alligator. In her free time, she enjoys cheering on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and spending time with her friends.
