Senior Leanne Wong pranced across the beam, spinning and flipping with no signs of the balance issues that haunted the Gators in their previous two meets against Utah, West Virginia University and Arkansas.
With a small smile on her face, she greeted her teammates who smothered her with hugs. She knew. When her 10.000 appeared on the screen, the crowd of more than 9,000 leapt to their feet and celebrated with deafening screams. It had been a long time coming, but the two-time Team USA Olympic team alternate finally impressed the judges enough to earn perfection.
One rotation later, senior Sloane Blakely repeated Wong’s success with her own 10.00 that featured perfectly executed flips, splits and launches. Blakely, after suffering a concussion during practice, took three concussion tests to be able to compete in the meet. For the first time nationally, two Gator athletes earned 10.00s in the same meet.
“At the end of a routine, internally [you say] ‘That was good. I really hope for that 10,’” Wong said. “When it comes up, it’s really exciting, and you can have the whole team celebrating with you.”
The Gator gymnastics team crushed No. 12 Auburn’s heart 197.625 -196.825 during the Valentine’s Day Friday night meet. Throughout the night, the Gators put up four 9.975s. On beam, Wong’s 10.000, as well as two 9.975s, earned the Gators the highest score nationally on the event this season.
The Gators returned to Gainesville after two road meets with a determination to prove why they could win Nationals in April despite their struggles on beam last week.
“We just had some uncharacteristic things happen last week, and [we] really just shake it off,” head coach Jenny Rowland said. “You don't make a big deal out of something…and I had all the faith and confidence in this team.”
Though she didn’t earn a 10.000, junior Selena Harris-Miranda tied Wong for first place and a Gator-season high in the all-around scores with 39.750. Her dominance on both the uneven bars and the beam with near-perfect scores of 9.975 hid the pressures she faced due to her teammates' struggles.
Freshman Skye Blakely dropped from the bars during one of her acrobatics, falling onto the mats below. It didn’t seem to phase the UCLA transfer. As the pressure increased, Harris-Miranda rose to the occasion.
She soared in her transitions with fully stretched legs and pointed toes. She straightened in handstands nearly perpendicular to the chalk-covered bars.
As Harris-Miranda flipped during the dismount, she held her chest high and stuck the landing, scoring a perfect 10.000 in the first judge’s eyes. To the crowd’s deafening boos, the second judge gave her a 9.950. Once totaled, she received a 9.975.
“I know if I fell down, she would have my back and do her absolute best,” Harris-Miranda said. “So that’s what I did and I think it helped me do my best.”
Despite recent struggles, the Gators found balance on the beam. Sloane Blakely, who didn’t compete against the Razorbacks last week, collected a 9.900 while sticking her landing. Graduate student Victoria Nguyen added another near-perfect score to the Gators’ rotation with her 9.975.
Yet, Auburn’s struggles in the first rotation helped put Florida in front from the get-go as well. AU sophomore Alex Irvine (who scored a 9.125) dropped during her uneven bars routine, and the Tigers were forced to count redshirt freshman Bryn Bartman’s 9.450 – a debilitating score against a dominant Gators team. From there, the Tigers never recovered.
Florida’s night, though, was not without mistakes. Skye Blakely, who did not compete in the Arkansas meet, dropped on the uneven bars. After reapplying chalk and completing her performance, Blakely stuck the landing. Her sister, Sloane, greeted her after she walked off the mats. They exchanged a few words, holding hands.
“Just words of encouragement,” Sloane Blakley said about her conversation with her sister. “I think that we both had each other's back…that's not what she wanted.”
The Gators scored well on vault, but their dominance in other events overshadowed the rotation. Sophomore Gabby Disidore set her collegiate-best vault score of 9.850 on her first NCAA performance in the event.
Still, despite some shortcomings, the Gators’ success thrilled more than the normal Stephen C. O’Connell Center crowd. In an arena normally awash with blue and orange, Florida donned a different color: pink.
Pink bows, pink sparkles glittering on pink leotards and pink cheerleading pompoms were littered throughout Florida’s gymnastics palace. Head coach Jenny Rowland patrolled the mats in aptly hot pink cargo pants and UF’s assistant coaches sported “Link to Pink” shirts.
The goal: to spread awareness of breast cancer, a disease that impacted five Gator gymnasts.
“It has a higher meaning,” Wong said. “I think that it means a little bit more not [just] for me, but for the people who are there.”
From here, the road to the nationals won’t get any easier. The Gators will next head to Norman to face Oklahoma, the No. 1 team in the nation, for a 9 p.m. Friday meet.
Contact Liana Handler at lhandler@alligator.org. Follow her on X @handlerliana
Liana is the Gators gymnastic beat reporter for the Alligator and a junior sports journalism major. In her free time, she likes to play dominos and listen to Celia Cruz.
