Wearing her signature bow, dyed blue and white to match her glittering white leotard, Leanne Wong started her floor routine for her final season as a Gator gymnast. With graceful movement and on-point flips, the UF senior moved around the mat as the crowd clapped the beat.
Wong’s all-around event score of 39.725 marks the highest nationally so far this season. Her floor routine, scoring 9.950, was the cleanest of Florida’s floor routines, which included a few tumbles and wobbles.
“We didn’t leave everything out there, and that's OK,” head coach Jenny Rowland said. “First meet of the year, and we're hungry. Our team is just raring to go and ready.”
Despite the missteps, the No. 3 Florida Gators gymnastics team defeated No. 23 Nebraska, No. 11 Michigan State and Northern Illinois with a score of 196.675 Friday evening at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in the team’s first meet of the 2025 season.
Michigan State came in right behind Florida at second with a score of 196.650. Nebraska placed third with 195.600, while NIU finished last with 191.950.
The meet also marked the start of four Gator gymnasts’ senior seasons including Wong, the defending NCAA uneven bar champion and a Team USA alternate during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
“This team has been through a lot over the last couple years,” Rowland said. “They've seen a lot of highs, and they've tasted that championship. So truly, for me, wanting them to just enjoy this opportunity that they get this last year. I know the freshmen and sophomore are behind them, 100%.”
Though UF classes have yet to officially begin, the packed crowd in the O’Connell Center was deafening, especially when the Gator gymnasts stuck their dismounts. Florida led through most of the night, with Michigan State and Nebraska trailing close behind.
The Gators started their evening on the vault. Though most of the scores hovered around 9.800, sophomore Danie Ferris led the charge for the Gators, earning the team’s highest score of that rotation.
After launching off the vault, she twisted through the air and stuck the landing. She posed toward the judges before screaming at her coach. The Gator team ran to her side on the mats, jumping up and down while high fiving each other.
Wong scored second highest with a 9.875, as the judges docked her for small movement after her landing. Sophomore Anya Pilgrim and Junior Selena Harris-Miranda both scored a 9.800, while Senior Sloane Blakely and freshman Ly Bui ended with a 9.775.
Florida held a slight lead over Nebraska as they transitioned to the second rotation of uneven bars. As they took back to the floor, the Gators had rallied an event score of 49.200 compared to the Cornhuskers’ 49.175.
Blakely, the first Gator to compete on the bars, twisted. After a rotating dismount, she landed with a smile and slight shake of her head. The crowd erupted before the judges’ evaluation of 9.900 appeared.
Not to be outdone, both Pilgrim and Wong stuck their landings. Wong, who ended her performance with a 9.950, is one of three NCAA gymnasts this season to earn that score on the bars.
Freshman Skye Blakely, sister of Sloane Blakely, finished her uneven bar routine with a 9.725. Skye Blakely, who only landed her dismount in training on the uneven bars for the first time Jan. 3, is one of two Gators who injured themselves during the 2024 US Olympic Trials. She and sophomore Kayla DiCello have been able to rely on each other for emotional support during the recovery process.
“Being able to talk to her about many different things: that injury, our emotions, how we feel mentally, it just made the whole process easier,” Skye Blakely said. “I believe for both of us, we can just lean on each other.”
Despite the low scores from freshmen Bui and Skye Blakely this meet, head coach Jenny Rowland said Floiida’s performance shows a high potential.
“There's so much depth, so much talent on this team that it's going to be a lot of fun being able to see new faces here,” Rowland said.
Halfway through the meet, Florida led its opponents with a total score of 98.524 points, while Michigan State and Nebraska trailed within a two-point distance. The Gators, who transitioned to the balance beam, continued to add to their lead.
Wong continued to dominate, scoring another 9.950. She stuck the landing before running to where DiCello was watching on the floor, hugging her injured teammate.
“It means a lot to have the whole team who is there to support you,” Wong said, adding that she wanted to make sure DiCello felt included.
Additionally, Sloane Blakely’s score of 9.925 and Harris-Miranda’s 9.900 added to the Gator’s lead of 148.025 going into the floor routine.
On the floor routines, Florida looked uneasy. Graduate Student Victoria Nguyen scored a 9.750. Graduate student Ellie Lazzari, who followed, fell down after one of her jumps. Though she recovered and finished the rest of her routine, she ended with a score of 9.050. In the final performance of the night, Sophomore Gabby Disidore fell in her routine, ending with an 8.850 score.
Despite this, Florida ended with an event score of 48.650, inching past Michigan State by 0.025 points.
After the meet, Rowland acknowledged the floor routines needed some adjustments.
“We don't need big things changed, just little tweaks here and there,”she said.
Florida’s road to an NCAA title continues next with a heavyweight SEC matchup in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The reigning NCAA champion LSU’s roster features social media phenomenon Olivia “Livvy” Dune and all-around national champion Haleigh Bryant.
“We're going to continue to compete against the Gators, compete against ourselves, and try to get a little bit better every day, like we have been doing in the gym,” Rowland said. “We all know that this is a marathon. It's not a sprint. So, we're going to do it safely, and we're going to do it and make the most of every moment.”
Florida will head on the road to face the Louisiana State Tigers Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Contact Liana Handler at lhandler@alligator.org. Follow her on X @handlerliana
