It’s the big one already
Tonight, It Just Means More.
The reigning national and SEC champion #2 LSU gymnastics program is back home for one of the biggest meets of the young season. Tonight, they host back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back SEC regular season champion #7 Florida in a titanic collision that’s earned its spot on ESPN2 at 6:30. John Roethlisberger and Sam Peszek will be on the call, and Taylor Davis will be on the floor as the floorside reporter. For those going to the meet, doors open at 5:00, and you’ll want to be in line as soon as possible for the giveaway tonight. The first 1000 fans will receive a mini replica national championship ring (though the picture they used online has me thinking it’s not an exact replica).
Match-up history for LSU and Florida
LSU is 46-78 in all competitions against Florida and is 17-12 at home. The last time the two teams met was at the 2024 NCAA finals in Fort Worth at which LSU secured their first title and at which Florida finished fourth in a 198.2250-197.4375 meeting. The last time the two teams met in the PMAC was in 2023 when the #8 Tigers upset the #2 Gators 198.100-197.975. LSU is one of just three teams with both a regular season and a postseason win over the Gators since 2023, with the others being Alabama (2024 regular season and SEC Championship) and Oklahoma (2023 regular season, 2023 national championship).
About #7 Florida:
Florida is coming off their worst season in quite a while, a season most other teams would admittedly kill for. They dropped their first home conference meet since 2019, had their worst SEC Championship finish since 2005 (4th), lost to Kentucky for the second time ever (also at 2024 SECs), and had their worst overall finish since 2021 (4th). Despite this, the Gators managed to win their sixth consecutive SEC regular season title. One of the reasons they had such a rough season was due to their bevy of freshmen and lack of Kayla DiCello since she deferred to train for the Olympics. DiCello missed the Olympics due to an injury she suffered, and she suffered another one right before the season which will leave her unavailable for 2025.
Florida lost one NQS routine from 2024, and that was from Morgan Hurd, someone who was highly unlikely to contribute as heavily in 2025 and who medically retired to work as a photographer for the team. The team’s big names coming in are 5-star Lily Bruce, 5-star and person who somehow competed 199 days after tearing her Achilles Skye Blakely, and UCLA transfer and 2024 Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year Selena Harris-Miranda (she added the Miranda to be more in line with her Guatemalan roots). Harris-Miranda and Leanne Wong are the big names to watch for, with Wong coming off an SEC Gymnast of the Week-earning performance of 39.725 in the season opener, a total which ties her with Aleah Finnegan and Jade Carey for the national lead.
Florida’s opener wasn’t great. They scored a 196.675, which snapped a six-year streak of opening the season with a 197+. Everything was fine until a total collapse on floor which saw the Gators snap the second-longest streak of floor 49s in NCAA history at 76 meets, second only to the Gators’ record of 82 in a row from 2012-17 (because they don’t call them Vaultida, Barsida or Beamida). Florida eked out a .025 win over Michigan State to top their quad meet opener thanks to a judging controversy I won’t delve into here.
Rankings at this point in the season are meaningless. That said, Florida is #7 on vault [49.200], tied for #4 with Utah and Denver on bars [49.325], #1 on beam [49.500] and #40 on floor [48.650].
The Gators are led by head coach Jenny Rowland in her 10th season at the helm. She is assisted by associate head coach Owen Field in his 10th season with the program, assistant coach Adrian Burde in his 19th year with the program and assistant coach Jeremy Miranda in his 18th year with the program.
What they had to say: Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland
Prior to the season, I reached out to the communications person for every SEC team to try and get answers to some questions for an SEC preview I shelved when I only got three responses. The first response I got was from Florida, though. Again, these responses are from the preseason.
What have been the main focuses of the preseason?
“Strength, skill section, getting 1% better every day, preparing each athlete to be the best version of themselves possible.”
What is y’all’s rallying cry for the 2025 season and why?
“We don’t have a rally cry. ‘All For The Gators’ is a consistent theme mindful of putting the team first over the ‘me.’”
What does success look like for y’all in 2025?
“No regrets, have the best time making the most of every opportunity presented to us, would do it all over again!!”
What does the addition of Selena Harris-Miranda mean for y’all?
“Selena brings a wealth of competitiveness, experience, grit and much joy to the sport of gymnastics and this team.”
How are Skye Blakely and Kayla DiCello expected to contribute after suffering major injuries during the Olympic qualifying process earlier this year?
“Skye and Kayla are huge contributors and bring so much value to this team in whatever role they will be in. Taking it one day at a time with them and meeting them at where they are to ensure they feel comfortable and confident in everything they do.”
Y’all are the only coaching staff in the SEC that wears team swag as opposed to formal dress at meets. Why?
“Not all of my staff wears team swag, per say. I want everyone to feel comfortable in what they wear. I personally choose casual team gear because 1. I love the Gators! And 2. I feel like myself and how I dress on a daily basis: a coach. I am not worried anymore about thinking: “am I going to trip over my heels, step on the foot of one of my athletes with my heels, thinking my feet are killing me right now.” Those are all thoughts I felt needed to take a back seat so that I could focus more on my team and enjoying all of the moments.”
About #2 LSU:
LSU ranks #2 on vault [49.400], tied for #2 with Georgia on bars [49.350], tied for #7 with Cal on beam [49.213] and #1 on floor [49.513]. Haleigh Bryant appears available on beam and floor tonight, so that’s good. Alexis Jeffrey misses the last meet out of caution for her back, so it’s likely she’ll be back in on bars.
I’m going to be honest, LSU is the better team coming in and they should win this if they look like the team they have the first two meets. Florida is one meet behind LSU in their development, and that’s why it’s such a shame that this meet isn’t later in the season when both teams are hitting their stride. Florida’s always capable of winning this meet, but the most likely way that happens is if LSU screws things up. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that they don’t. Hopefully this will be a good time in a raucous venue worthy of the Deaf Dome moniker.