(GYM) Gymnastics 2024 - 2025

I'm fairly certain that these are the revised 2024 class rankings for the 2025 season after the gymnasts enrolled.

I didn't know about Lily missing last year injured. Thank you for that tidbit. This is probably bigger in the #16 ranking than just having 3 gymnasts. Two 5 stars and one 4 stars is still a strong class even if short on numbers.

 

WVU is showing 2/2 as a tri-meet with UF and UTAH. I hope WVU has it right. That tri-meet would likely be on TV:

2025 Gymnastics Schedule - Florida Gators

2025 Gymnastics Schedule - West Virginia University Athletics

• vs
  Florida
  Feb 2 (Sun)
  Morgantown, W.Va.WVU Coliseum
  2 p.m.
  
• 
  vs
  Utah
  Feb 2 (Sun)
  Morgantown, W.Va.WVU Coliseum
  2 p.m.

 

What type of injury did Lily have last year, and will it hold her back as a freshman?

Even with Kayla and Skye redshirting for the 2025 season, UF should have a better team than in the 2024 season. Finishing 4th in the nation for such a young team last year was a good accomplishment.

The 2024 freshman should make a sophomore jump in experience and skill. Having Danie Ferris healthy to start the season should be huge. She's so young she should have been attending high school when she was performing with UF last season. What can you say about Skylar and Anya other than they were terrific as freshmen.

Selena transferring in from UCLA can't be understated. She has all the tools, and she delivers.

Riley is a huge get back. She will be a 2-event specialist, but her skills on bars and beam are excellent. She reminds me in grace of performance so much of Alyssa Baumann who was my favorite gymnast while with UF, just bars instead of floor. Riley's performances are beautiful to watch.

Add in Leanne, Sloane, Ellie, and Victoria and it becomes apparent that UF has a roster that can compete for rings. UF was my pick to win the SEC and national championships before Kayla and Skye went down. This team is capable of winning championships even with Kayla and Skye redshirting.

Welcome to the gymnastics thread. I hope you will participate regularly.

 

College Gym News has Lily as one of the freshmen to watch on bars. That agrees with what you are hearing. Glad it was an ankle injury rather than knee or Achilles heel. Those are the toughest injuries to get over.

Can't wait to see your vids. From some pictures I've already seen, it looks like Ellie is getting herself into the best shape she has been in since before her Achilles heel injury.

 

Your lineups look close to mine. However, I only took each event out to a top 8. I'm sure as the season progresses, all of our gymnasts will get their chance to shine in the lineups.

I deferred to you on Taylor Clark as I haven't seen enough to know how she will do at the next level although she has outstanding scores on vault and floor. College Gym News has Taylor as one of the Most Anticipated freshmen to watch on floor:

Taylor Clark, Florida

Clark gets excellent amplitude on her tumbling passes, including on her opening double layout. Despite being unable to compete most of the 2024 season, Clark proved her potential in 2023. If she’s able to return to the level she was in late 2023 when she earned a 9.95 to clinch the Florida state floor title, she could immediately contribute to the Gators’ floor lineup.

and Honorable Mention on vault:

| 2023 Magical Classic Vault: 10.0 | Instagram

I watched Lily Bruce's bars, and I have her at #9. I'm not sure she is in her best conditioning after being off a year with an injured ankle.

I didn't include either Skye Blakely or Kayla DiCello. If either perform in 2025, it will likely only be on bars and beam. Besides needing medical clearance, I don't think CJR will risk either gymnast's career for a partial year and only 2 events of performances. I think both will be redshirted for the 2025 season.

While I hope Ellie can be a 3-event performer to be rewarded for coming back for her 5th year, I cringed every time she performed her vault. Half the time, Ellie's vault was a disaster.

I put the top 8 for each event in alphabetical order:

Vault

Sloane Blakely
Taylor Clark
Skylar Draser
Danie Ferris
Selena Harris-Miranda
Victoria Nguyen
Anya Pilgrim
Leanne Wong

Bars

Sloane Blakely
Gabby Disidore
Danie Ferris
Selena Harris-Miranda
Riley McCusker
Victoria Nguyen
Anya Pilgrim
Leanne Wong

Beam

Sloane Blakely
Skylar Draser
Selena Harris-Miranda
Ellie Lazzari
Riley McCusker
Victoria Nguyen
Anya Pilgrim
Leanne Wong

Floor

Sloane Blakely
Taylor Clark
Danie Ferris
Selena Harris-Miranda
Ellie Lazzari
Victoria Nguyen
Anya Pilgrim
Leanne Wong

 

Top 8 listed alphabetically.

 

Saturday was a great day for Gator Gymnastics to lift the spirits of cancer patients:

Gator Gymnasts Help Lift Pediatric Cancer Patient Spirits at 17th Annual Climb for Cancer - Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Six a.m. is an early alarm for a weekend.

But the Gator gymnasts had plans for their Saturday morning.

First, it was off to weight lifting at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Then after a quick change, the gymnasts were off to join many other Gator student-athletes at a different kind of lifting event.

The student-athletes met at Florida's Indoor Practice Facility to start the morning of fun at Climb for Cancer. The event, now in its 17th year, is a chance for children who are undergoing cancer treatment or cancer survivors to meet at UF's athletic facilities to play games and sports with the Gator student-athletes.

"It's just a great way to spend our day off," Gator All-American Leanne Wong said. "These kids are battling illnesses and cancer so anything we can do help them have fun and forget about that is a great Saturday morning."

 

If you see anything you disagree with, please don't hesitate to say so. For instance, you may be right on Ellie Lazzari as she looks to be in better physical shape. Maybe you'll get her vaulting in your Thanksgiving vids.

The 2/2 meet at West Virginia is being listed as a tri-meet by West Virginia with WVU/UF/Utah while UF has it as a dual meet:

2025 Gymnastics Schedule - West Virginia University Athletics

Utah also has it as a tri-meet:

2025 Gymnastics Schedule - University of Utah Athletics

Do you know anything about the differences in the reported schedules? The tri-meet would be attractive enough to be televised. WVU likely won't have an impactful team, but both UF and Utah would be a likely top 4 in a neutral location.

 

College Gym News 7 Unrecognizable Teams in 2025:

7 Teams That Will Look Virtually Unrecognizable in 2025 - College Gym News

UF has meets against 5 of the 7 unrecognizable teams:

Alabama
It’s hard to imagine a Crimson Tide team without names like Luisa Blanco and Makarri Doggette. Both brought big scores on multiple events for their team, along with Ella Burgess and Mati Waligora, the latter of which transferred to Arkansas for her sixth year. While the Tide have reloaded with head coach Ashley Johnston’s largest recruiting class since her arrival in Tuscaloosa, fans of the Tide will miss the almost-guaranteed 9.900 plus scores Blanco, Burgess, Doggette, and Waligora brought weekly.

Georgia
Names like Haley de Jong and Katie Finnegan have been synonymous with Georgia gymnastics for the last few years, but the team will likely look completely different under co-head coaches Cécile Canqueteau-Landi and Ryan Roberts. The team will be watched very closely to see how they gel with a roster of seven freshmen, three transfers, and 12 returners under an almost completely new coaching staff. No pressure, right?

Kentucky
We knew there would come a day when we’d have to say farewell to Raena Worley as a gymnast, but it still feels like it came too soon. Either way, the Wildcats are ready for a revenge tour in 2025 with six freshmen and two transfers in Isabella Rivelli and Skylar Killough-Wilhelm. While we will miss Worley’s gymnastics, the Wildcats are ready to add to the legacy she leaves behind.

Missouri
Missouri will look extremely different in 2025, and we mean that in the best way possible! An already strong team is looking even stronger with the additions of Abby Mueller, Lauren Macpherson, Amy Wier, and Elise Tisler. All but one of these gymnasts have extensive experience being big contributors, and they should make an immediate impact for the Tigers. Plus, watching Missouri without also watching Sienna Schreiber will certainly be an adjustment. But this stacked Tigers roster should be able to fill her big shoes!

West Virginia
Despite the down season in 2024, West Virginia had their own star gymnasts in Kiana Lewis and Abbie Pierson. Both had 9.900-plus scores on multiple events during their time as Mountaineers and brought leadership to a team that struggled to put up six healthy gymnasts on some events. While West Virginia should be in a better place health-wise in 2025, it will truly miss the senior leadership from Lewis and Pierson.

 

I did find the vault Ellie posted on her Instagram, and it was very good. However, she has followed up performance vaults like that with low scores. She vaulted 10 times last season. Her season average was 9.6963 with a high of 9.925 and a low of 9.100. Those type of scores won't make it into the top 6 or my top 8 in 2025 on a better team than in 2024. I've got Ellie at #9 on vault and in the top 8 for beam and floor. I will be exceedingly happy if Ellie proves me wrong.