GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – UPDATE, 2/24/2024: Fans of the University of Florida Women’s Gymnastics team are doing backflips after the No. 5 Lady Gators beat the No. 2 LSU Tigers Friday night in Gainesville.
It was a big win for Florida’s program in front of a sold-out crowd at Exactech Arena in Gainesville.
Sports analysts say the Gators are guaranteed at least a share of the 2024 Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular-season title which would make it Florida’s sixth consecutive SEC regular-season title.
Florida ended the evening scoring 198.15 upsetting LSU (197.95).
ORIGINAL, 2/23/2024: The Florida Gymnastics team will host the LSU Tigers for their Rowdy Reptiles meet Friday Night.
The team’s season has been going well as they boast a 9-1 record only suffering one loss to Alabama at the end of January. LSU is currently 7-2 overall with losses to Oklahoma and Missouri.
Florida’s Friday night meet is one you don’t want to miss considering they are currently ranked five and the Tigers are ranked two.
According to the program, it is the 12th consecutive season both teams are ranked top 10 going into their annual dual meet.
All SEC teams have two conference meets remaining and there are three 4-1 teams tied at the top, according to the program. Those teams are Florida, LSU, and Kentucky.
Head coach Jenny Rowland shared in with the media this week that her team is excited and prepared for Friday’s meet and knows what they need to do to secure the win.
“Looking forward to a great sellout competition, always an incredible Friday when the Gators are competing against any SEC team and especially the LSU Tigers, so looking forward to a really fun exciting Friday in the O’ Dome.” shared Rowland. “This team’s mindset, we’re really ambitious, why not an upset? We always love a good challenge and really the challenge is the Gators continuing to control our controllables and do what we’ve been doing.”
Rowland added their intention for the week is “ambitious” and says the team will be up for a battle. She described their rivalry with LSU as “intense” and says her gymnasts are excited to rise up to the occasion.
She added that it can be exciting and challenging to compete for the Gators, but veteran gymnast Payton Richards helps keep the team levelheaded.
Richards told the media this week that she encourages her fellow teammates to just be authentic and compete in their meets just as they do at practice.
She says they take things week by week and that her and her team aren’t too focused on their competition, but more so themselves and how they can improve.
“I think we’re just competing against the Gators, that’s the biggest thing each week is we haven’t really discussed who we’re competing against.” shared Richards. “We’re competing against ourselves and making sure that we’re getting better, and only focusing on what we can control.”
She added that LSU is one of her favorite rivalries and that the matchup holds a special place in her heart because during her freshman year, it was the first meet she participated in.
Both teams are coming off wins with Florida defeating Lindenwood last week and LSU securing a victory over Auburn.
They’ll be looking to capitalize off those wins in this highly anticipated meet which will start off at 6:45 p.m. If you weren’t able to secure a win, you can catch it on ESPN2.
Click here to view the Gators full schedule.