Hopefully this gets the nerves out of their systems and now they can go out and nail it! Wouldn't it be great if Trinity can complete in all four events Saturday? She looked good today.
Team VT UB BB FX Total LSU 49.2500 49.4750 49.2750 49.4750 197.4750 Florida 49.3000 49.4875 49.0875 49.5250 197.4000 Cal 49.3500 48.7000 49.4125 49.4375 196.9125 Denver 49.2550 49.3625 48.5500 49.3625 196.5000
Trinity is in 1st Place for UB. Her 9.9500 was the highest score. No one else scored higher than 9.9250 She was asked about Saturday and replied that she was not sure if she will be able to perform. But you know if her leg can absorb the leaps, landings and muscle thru the beam's balancing act, she will be out there gutting it out thru the pain! I've rewatched her floor routine several times and can not see how she injured her leg.
The lights are still on. They may not be burning as brightly as we would like, but we wobbled and balance checked thru it. And as ETGator1 said, hopefully the Gators shook off their nerves and will settle down on Saturday. If we are without the services of Trinity, we will need to be lights out on Saturday-stick the landings on VT and Bars, no balance checks on Beam, perfect landings on Floor- and a little help from the other teams like counting a fall or wobble-itis on Beam? Out of bounds on Floor? Land on their butts on Vault? Slippery hands on Bars? Going out of order? Flu outbreak? Just as long as no one is injured...
I was saying wow because you can't predict a team out until the meet...and I always give our teams a chance..and yes..the other team made mistakes that helped us..however we helped keeping some in contention too with our slip ups... Yeah..don't want anyone injured..but balance checks, and landings not stuck for the competition would help
Both UF and LSU advanced with less than 197.5000. JMHO, it'll take .5000 higher on Saturday to sniff the championship against the top 2 teams coming out of the evening bracket. What UF did on the beam was all nerves that MUST be corrected before Saturday. It'll be a big help if Trinity can add the beam too. I can't see her fighting through tumbling passes on the floor. While I'd enjoy seeing 3 SEC teams in the final, I don't give Kentucky much of a chance tonight. California and Denver came back to earth today with both scoring less than 197.0000. For those who couldn't watch, the UF coaches including Jenny Rowland were over with LSU leading SEC, SEC, SEC cheers.
Watching Session 2 tonight, Utah's Beam Team is impressive. They scored below 49.500 only 3 times all season (49.450). Like us, Vault is their weakest event. If Utah is shaky on Beam, they will have a hard time winning. I noticed Oklahoma changed some things. On Beam, the gymnasts appeared to have switched out some of their more difficult elements, like easier dismounts. This is not the 1st time they've done this at Nationals. On their Bars line-up, the gymnasts' routines are almost identical. As a team, they have an uncanny ability to dial in on sticking their landings. NCAA Team Final Rotation VT UB BB FX Oklahoma LSU Florida Utah
OU would have won had they concentrated more on vault. They were playing it safe staying on their feet rather than trying to stick their landings. That is also what UF did and why LSU passed the Gators on the final rotation. The semifinal was simply about advancing to the final regardless of the score needed. The good thing is all 4 teams start fresh on Saturday afternoon.
To me, Trinity is the key. She can make a difference of several hundredths to a tenth or two in our point totals, which is usually the difference between winning and losing. It's truly a shame that she got that leg injury because with her completely healthy, I think we would have a solid chance to win. But even without her, or with her only competing in one or two events, we have a lot of depth on this year's roster and still have a fighting chance. The TEAM just has to step up and perform at their best. While I would love for them to win the national title, it would be icing on the cake since we won the SEC regular season and tournament titles and are in the Top 4 in the nation. Another great year for UF gymnastics.
If you have ESPN+, they will have each apparatus on its own screen. Gator legends Kennedy Baker and Bridget Sloan are commentators for two of the apparatuses.
The article has the time wrong. The meet is at 4 PM ET/3 PM CT. ABC also has a 30-minute preview show prior to the start of the meet. Go Gators!
Agree with you ET. We will need to raise our score by at least that .5 to sniff a championship. Who knows? If we have a great night on Beam we could nearly make it all up on that event alone compared to Thursdays performance. Having to compete without the extra .2 that Trinity would provide on floor and beam, puts us in a deep hole to start out considering the level of competition. After watching the night session Thursday I was very impressed with Utah. Didn’t realize that they are loaded with national team members similar to our roster. Realistically, without a healthy Trinity, we probably battle it out with LSU for third. As several posters have mentioned, reaching the final four at this level of competition is quite an accomplishment to be celebrated.
