(GYM) ***CLOSED***Gymnastics 2023 - 2024***CLOSED

Blakely is also depth on vault as well as Richards. 8 legit 10 vaulters is a nice luxury to have.

 

As much as I as I admire JR, I have often been surprised when her teams disappointed at crunch time. (Though the whole team has been screwed by judging bias as well!)
This year has felt different. Some of it may have been lowered expectations, some from watching the team improve steadily under her guidance and the way she has been improving line-ups.
My wish is that she guides this team to an upset and wins it all THIS YEAR.
I honestly believe they can.

 

I just don't understand this comment. I have been watching Gator gymnastics consistently for the past 40 years. I truly believe UF should have won the past two years and were within a whisker both times despite unfair scoring -- they excelled in finals when the competitive field has been more challenging than ever. She consistently wins SECs (this year was an aberration but she gets a pass b/c sometimes teams have bad meets). She recruits amazing athletes. I believe the team also was set up to win in 2020 before the pandemic killed the season. We are right there every single year consistently, this year included. I am thrilled with CJR. Oklahoma is just a touch better with a far more seasoned coach who also "underachieved" during her early years with OU.

Every single prior dominant program has stepped back after losing an NCAA winning coach (try being UCLA or Georgia and Utah is sliding, and Bama has been inconsistent) except UF. That is due to CJR.

 

It was a travesty that Coach Rowland wasn't named SEC Coach of the Year.

 

From floridagators.com article.
GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES:

• Florida's 198.325 improves its previous season high of 198.225 which clinched the Southeastern Conference regular-season title at Kentucky on March 3. It was second only to Oklahoma's 198.40 in 2024 NCAA Regional competition.
• In both rounds of NCAA Regional action, Florida used seven competitors. That is the nation's slightest number in a 2024 team meet.
• Florida and Utah have met now three times in NCAA Regional action, with the teams taking the top two team spots each time. Utah won the 2004 NCAA Regional in Tucson, Ariz., with Florida winning the 2010 regional in Salt Lake City.
• Ellie Lazzari reset her collegiate best to 39.65 to win a share of her first all-around title. Her previous best of 39.525 was reached twice as a freshman in 2021
• Anya Pilgrim opened and closed her 2024 Exactech Arena appearances with all-around wins. In addition to sharing today's win with teammate Ellie Lazzari, she opened her Gator career by winning the Jan. 12 home quad
• Victoria Nguyen equaled her collegiate floor best of 9.925 for the eighth time and the fifth time as a Gator
• Skylar Draser's collegiate bars best of 9.90 today was her fourth collegiate best in NCAA Regional competition. In Friday's Second Round action, Draser turned in her previous bars high (9.85) and set her all-around best (39.50). She led off Florida's lineup in both rounds by matching her collegiate beam best (9.90).
• Freshman Danie Ferris turned in 9.9 or better routines in both events competed – vault (9.90) and floor (collegiate-best 9.925)
• THEY SAID:
  "It was a sweet night. Actually, it was more than sweet. It was sweet and savory – a great mix. Extremely proud of this team for leaving everything out on the floor tonight. Everybody stepped up from the very first competitor. Kudos to our beam team for setting a great standard of what tonight was going to look like. It allowed everyone to settle in and just do gymnastics. It really felt like an intrasquad for us. Nothing more, nothing less. Everyone was extremely present, calm and collected. Really proud that we get to keep dancing." – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland
  
  
• Gators have claimed 21 Regional wins - 1982, '84, '85, '87, '97, '05, '06, '07, '08, '09, '10, '12, '13, '14, '15, '16, '17, '18, '21, '22, '24
• Collegiate bests tonight:
  • Skylar Draser: 9.90 (bars, beam)
  • Danie Ferris: 9.925 (floor)
  • Ellie Lazzari: 9.925 (vault), 39.65 (all-around)
  • Victoria Nguyen: 9.925 (floor)

 

Nice article just posted on Ellie Lazzari:
Big Stage, Big Performance: Lazzari Rose to Occasion - Florida Gators

 

There is nothing that you and ET have said that I would disagree with. As we have all said, biased judging had a lot to do with it. ET correctly added the injury factors that I didn't not. In addition, I have always been a great fan of JR, and, in fact have come to her defense when others have questioned her. But there have been quite a few, real and loyal fans who have worried about her in National Finals. All I said we that i had been disappointed. I doesn't make me less of a fan nor demonstrate lack of support for JR.

 

A little history lesson:

Rhonda Faehn came to UF in 2003. By 2007, she had the #1 team in the nation, was equal or better than mighty Georgia, won SECs, and then came in 3rd at NCAAs after a "nervy" performance. OK, it was their first time being in that level of spotlight. In 2008, again the team was equal to or better than the mighty Georgia and Bama teams, came in very close 2nd at SECs, won regionals, and came in .... fourth at NCAAs. 2009 was injury riddled and fourth was considered a good finish. in 2010, again won SECs, beat Utah at Utah in regionals and came in with a top seed to NCAAs hosted in Gainesville and finished .... fifth. The stacked 2011 team did not even qualify for NCAA nationals. In 2012, Yoculan had retired and Georgia dipped. The door was open. National team recruits galore. Won SECs. Dominated regionals. And came in .... second after a nervy floor performance, when even the announcers thought UF would win it after three rotations. In 2013, which included the great Bridget Sloan, Kytra Hunter, Marissa King, Alaina Johnson, etc., won SECs, dominated regionals, finally won but only after not one but TWO beam falls in the first rotation. We only won because Bama also had two beam mishaps at the very end, otherwise we would have come in second. In 2014 we TIED Oklahoma for the title despite our loaded roster and easily could have lost with one less stuck landing. and in 2015, we eked out a win over Utah by 0.05 and everyone screamed that Alex McMurtry's bars were given "reputation" scoring at the end b/c we were the defending champs.

In 2022, Oklahoma beat us by 0.1125 after what I considered to be "reputation scoring" for their vault rotation. I still firmly believe UF won. In 2023, Oklahoma beat us by 0.15. Two tiny bobbles difference. If Leanne hits her first floor pass, we win. If Trinity wasn't injured, we win. In both years, we scored well over 198 in the NCAA finals. And if you ask me, KJ Kindler is like the Suzanne Yoculan Cyborg, a true monster of a coach who stands in everyone's way.

By the way, the format change in 2019 made reaching finals that much harder. If this were 2013, I would confidently say UF would reach the Super Six finals this year. Now they have to make final four, so even more pressure in preliminaries. I would argue that if UF did not have a bye right after the two beam falls in 2013, they would not have won. Now there are no byes. It is PRESSURE. And for the past two years, they have handled it just fine.

On top of all this, we have a roster of exemplary student athletes who are also ambitious and delightful and put on a great show week after week. There are zero problems on the roster. Athletes stick around after graduating to student coach. Assistant coaches stay for years. Best choreographer in gymnastics. It is a very stable, top performing program. And they make us, and at least me, very proud.

Want to complain? Try being an LSU fan -- never won the title despite having huge talent year after year. Or even worse, a Georgia fan -- that team is so far behind its glory years it is not even funny. Their fans are watching the afternoon session of SECs and crowing about how they came in third in NCAA preliminary round. How about Michigan, a recent NCAA winner who did not make it past preliminaries for a regional they hosted? Or UCLA, another former juggernaut who did not even make regional finals.

If your only goal is winning it all, then you will in most years be disappointed. It is a bit of a crapshoot. It takes luck and yes, some reputation scoring. And maybe that secret sauce that KJ Kindler has which causes all those sticks. No one else seems to have it, but CJR is closest if you ask me.

This is how close gymnastics is. Enjoy the ride.

 

Thanks. Of course you are right. Fortunately, I have a much larger life than most, so my primary response to the world is gratitude.College sports is just a small bit.

 

To me the first goal of any coach at UF is to win the conference championship, regular season being more important than a post season tournament of some kind. Any post season titles are great and wonderful, but just icing on the cake. Look at Mary Wise. She's never won a national title, but has tons of SEC championships and I think she's the greatest coach UF has ever had in any sport, with the possible exception of Mike Holloway. Coach Rowland is doing great, IMO.

 

When do we learn rotation orders for finals?

 

Puncher's chance!