When Sloane Blakely suffered a lower-leg injury during Florida’s Feb. 21 meet against No. 1 Oklahoma, no one knew the exact nature of the injury, but one thing was clear: it looked serious for both Blakely and UF’s future postseason hopes.
Instead, No. 3 Florida seemed to bounce back from the ugly meet with ferocity. Cheering from the sidelines, Blakely’s had a front-row seat to watch the Gators dominate their opponents, tying the highest collegiate score and recording the nation’s first perfect vault.
“I am first in awe of how strong Sloane Blakely is to be able to be here tonight — and be in the gym on Monday after she got injured — with a very positive attitude,” head coach Jenny Rowland said following the Feb. 28 Missouri meet. “So extremely proud of her for being able to do that and grateful for her support.”
From the players to coaches, the emotional toll on the Gators is apparent.
“It was heartbreaking anytime you see an athlete get injured, especially when it's a season-ending injury,” assistant coach Jeremy Miranda said. “[She] just came off a 10.000 floor the week prior, so she was firing on all cylinders and doing so, so, so well.”
An injury like Blakely’s can reset an entire team’s mentality and have ramifications outside of the immediate emotional moments, he said.
“It's been huge for our team to see that adversity,” he said. “I think that's so important because it does shake you up. It makes you start to question your own gymnastics for a second.”
For Florida, it appears Blakely’s injury provided inspiration and motivation to dominate in its final meets. Last Friday, the team claimed its first SEC road victory against Alabama. There, the Gators broke 198.000 again.
Since Blakely’s injury, senior Leanne Wong notched the fourth-highest collegiate all-around score at that point this season and was named SEC Gymnast of the Week on March 4. Graduate student Victoria Nguyen also earned SEC Specialist of the Week for a near-perfect vault debut against No. 8 Missouri.
“As sad and unfortunate as that is for Sloane, it's a good learning experience for our team moving forward,” Miranda said. “The next turn, the next tumbling pass, the next routine is not guaranteed.”
For the moment, Blakely has kept her cards close to her chest. The nature of her injury has not been disclosed, and the team has stated multiple times she’ll provide more information on social media when she feels prepared to. She underwent surgery on March 3 and is currently rehabbing.
“I have every confidence in the world that she's gonna heal up and take her necessary steps forward,” Miranda said.
While no longer on the mats, Blakely’s presence seems to be a source of comfort for the Gators. She joins sophomore Kayla DiCello, who received surgery after rupturing her Achilles during Team USA’s 2024 Paris Olympic trials.
“Going [into the] week was definitely hard, just knowing that she won't be competing anymore, but she's definitely doing a role,” Wong said after the Missouri meet. “We're just happy to have her support on the side.”
Despite this, Blakely told University Athletic Association senior writer Scott Carter that she didn’t want to take away from the Gators’ efforts as they prepare for the postseason.
"Although this is hard, and I'm not doing gymnastics for the rest of the season, the girls still have to do gymnastics,'' she said. "I didn't want this to be a roadblock for the team. I just didn't want that to be a distraction, taking away some of the goals still there for the team.”
Throughout the next few weeks, Florida must maintain a Top 4 position to earn a No. 1 seed in NCAA regionals. To do so, UF will need to remain consistent in the SEC Gymnastics Championship in Birmingham, Alabama, on March 22.
Before then, Florida will aim to finish its season strong against Kentucky in Gainesville on Friday during senior night celebrations 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.
