“She said what? She said stick.”
The Alabama crowd chanted these words every time its gymnasts stuck their landings. Ironically enough, the team lost the meet on a slip during senior Corinne Bunagan’s beam performance, where she couldn’t stick a progression of acrobatics, landing on the mats below with a thud.
Her score didn’t count, but Alabama was forced to use junior Rachel Rybicki’s 9.575 performance, a deadly blow to the Tide’s hopes of a meet win.
Nevertheless, no amount of perfect dismounts for the Crimson Tide could overcome the Gators’ dominance on the mats – especially as senior Leanne Wong, the No. 2 all-around gymnast by the National Qualifying Score system, notched a near perfect vault score of 9.975.
For the first time this season, the No. 4 Gators snagged a road win over an SEC opponent, No. 14 Alabama, 198.025-197.450. Florida topped a total meet score of 198.000 for the third time this season and the first time on the road.
Wong, who collected the SEC Gymnast of the Week award on Tuesday, earned the highest all-around score of the night with 39.725. Junior Selena Harris-Miranda followed with a score of 39.650. Also competing in the all-around, freshman Ly Bui placed fifth with a 39.275.
Alabama, ranked No. 23 in the nation on beam, needed to shine on the event, but balance issues were apparent from the beginning of the rotation. Even when gymnasts didn’t fall, the Tide collected deductions for wobbles and small slips.
When the third rotation started, both teams were tied. By the end, Florida had gained a .525 lead.
Despite earning lower scores than their last meet against No. 8 Missouri (where UF tied the highest collegiate total meet score), the team put up enough solid performances to gain an edge.
Florida, which entered the meet in the top 10 in all events, excelled on floor and beam, where most of the Gators scored higher than 9.900. Harris-Miranda and Wong led the charge, aided by senior Riley McCusker, sophomore Skylar Draser and sophomore Alyssa Arana.
McCusker, who tied her season-best on bars with a 9.900, brought the Gators their second-highest score in the rotation. Draser, who led Florida’s beam rotation, also tied her season-best, putting up a 9.900. Arana, who has filled the gap left by injured senior Sloane Blakely, scored toward the top of the team’s rotation scores on bars and floor, demonstrating Florida’s depth.
Overall, the Gators’ performances throughout the evening were solid, featuring full body extensions and well-executed acrobatics. Despite this, Florida lost points on its dismounts, where it couldn’t stick its landings consistently
For instance, other than McCusker and Harris-Miranda, all of the Gators scored 9.875. Though not a bad score on the road, Florida lost points when gymnasts dismounted with too much energy, having to hop or step forward to maintain balance. As Nationals approach, this is one place UF will look to improve.
As the season draws to a close, Florida’s true next challenge will be the SEC Championship. The one-day team and all-around competition will feature a gymnastics smackdown, as three out of the top-five teams in the nation will perform on the mats: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 LSU and No. 4 Florida. After losing on the road to both, UF will try to find a way around the gymnastics powerhouses and repeat its home successes against lesser ranked SEC teams.
Before then, the Gators return home for their final meet of the season – and senior night – against a 6-5 Kentucky squad on Friday at 6:45 p.m.
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.
