FORT WORTH, Texas — The Gators gymnastics team returned here to Dickies Arena on Wednesday afternoon, a familiar setting for the team's coaching staff and veterans. Florida is making its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships, which coincides with when the event moved into the posh new arena for the first time in 2021.
The No. 4-seed Gators took the floor for their practice session for
Thursday night's national semifinal against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 5 Utah and No. 8 Alabama. Coming off a season-best performance to win the NCAA Gainesville Regional, Florida dazzled the home crowd with a season-high score of 198.325.
Head coach
Jenny Rowland would have packed the O'Dome into her suitcase and popped it open when the Gators arrived in Texas if she could. Instead, she maintained the Gators' approach after a fourth-place finish at the SEC Championships last month.
"Trying to replicate, duplicate, simulate between regionals and nationals what we did between SECs and regionals,'' she said. "Doing what we can to improve upon what was a fantastic regional championship.
"This team definitely has more to give, and that's the exciting part."
In her ninth season, Rowland is a regular at the NCAA Championships. She has guided the Gators here seven times, including runner-up finishes the past two seasons with a lineup headlined by
Trinity Thomas.
Thomas now serves as a student assistant coach, which is a primary reason many pundits have looked at the Gators as an afterthought much of the season. It's the same way some viewed senior
Ellie Lazzari, once a regular in the lineup who suffered an Achilles injury in early 2022 and is finally back in peak form.
"She was one that we knew that can make an immediate impact,'' Rowland said. "[The] timing was great."
Lazzari shared the all-around title at the regional championship with freshman teammate
Anya Pilgrim, which is a vital part of why the Gators are no longer off the radar. They might not be the favorite – Oklahoma is playing that role – but they are an intriguing team at the time of year you want to be relevant.
Gators coach Jenny Rowland watches Leanne Wong practice on the beam Wednesday at Florida's practice in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo: Ashley Ray/UAA Communications)
"I think Florida is going to have to just pretend they're in the O'Dome,'' said ESPN announcer John Roethlisberger, calling the action with former Olympian Aly Raisman. "I mean, they perform so well at home. They performed unbelievably at regionals. They need to repeat their regional performance. The job that
Jenny Rowland and her staff have done this year, I think, is the best job they've done as a staff since they've all been together at Florida."
Roethlisberger, speaking on an ESPN Zoom call with reporters this week, said many people looked at the Gators as a team at least a year away, considering the loss of Thomas,
Kayla DiCello's gap year to prepare for the Paris Olympics, and a roster with six freshmen.
Lazzari is aware of the perception but not fazed by it.
"We've been used to being hunted,'' she said. "Now, this year, we are kind of like the underdogs. There's been a lot of doubters. We have so much depth and we have so much potential. We can perform when we need to."
The Gators must finish in the top two of their semifinal Thursday night to advance to Saturday's four-team final. They did not face the Sooners in the regular season but beat Utah in the regional. They lost at home to Alabama early in the season as Rowland tinkered with the lineup for maximum production. Meanwhile, the Gators beat No. 2 LSU and No. 12 Arkansas, two teams in Thursday's first semifinal.
The Gators rose to the occasion in the regional, a promising sign for a team that has performed without veteran
Payton Richards due to injury for much of the season. Senior
Victoria Nguyen is having her best season, and freshmen such as Pilgrim,
Skylar Draser and
Danie Ferris contributed during the regional outburst. Junior
Leanne Wong is as close to a superstar as the Gators have, and junior
Sloane Blakely is a dynamic performer capable of splash scores.
Rowland is uncertain about Thursday night's lineup. She said the Gators will warm up eight athletes in each event and see who looks the sharpest and most confident.
The plan worked perfectly last time out.
Can the underdog tag fit the Gators like a custom-made leotard once more?
"Expectations are never low. This staff knew that this team definitely had the ability to have a lot of success,'' Rowland said. "The unknown is having six freshmen and how quickly are they going to be able to adjust. They accepted the challenge and met those standards.
"It's not for us to listen to those [outside] voices. It's for us to control our controllables and do what we know how to do. And you know what? If it proves some people wrong, I'm perfectly OK with that."
One more time, and the Gators will be among the last four teams standing.
