The Florida Gators women's gymnastics team represents the University of Florida in the sport of gymnastics. The team competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gators host their home matches in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, and are currently led by head coach Jenny Rowland. The Gators women's gymnastics program has won nine SEC championships, and four national championships: the 1982 AIAW national tournament and the 2013, 2014, and 2015 NCAA championships.
Video Florida Gators women's gymnastics
History
The University of Florida first fielded a women's varsity gymnastics team in the fall of 1973. Gymnastics was one of the first women's sports added at the University of Florida and achieved early success by winning the 1982 Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) championship (the AIAW was the governing body for women's college sports from 1971 to 1982). Since the NCAA assumed sponsorship for women's sports championships in 1982, Florida has advanced to the NCAA championships (top twelve) every year but one. The Gators have advanced to the "Super Six" finals of the NCAA championships nineteen times. Florida has finished twice as runner-up (1998 and 2012) and won NCAA championships in 2013, 2014, and 2015.
Ernestine Weaver was the head coach of the Gators gymnastics program from 1980 to 1992 and was responsible for much of the team's early success in AIAW, NCAA, and SEC competition. Under Weaver, the Gators won five SEC championships, the AIAW national championship in 1982, and appeared in thirteen consecutive NCAA championships; Gators gymnasts won five AIAW and NCAA individual national championships. Judi Markell succeeded Weaver as head coach in 1993 and her teams qualified for nine NCAA championships in ten seasons, including three Super Six appearances and a second-place finish in 1998; Markell's Gators won three individual national championships.
The Gators were coached by Rhonda Faehn from 2003-2015; they won four SEC championships and appeared in the NCAA championships every year, including ten Super Six appearances, a national runner-up performance in 2012, and three straight national championships from 2013-2015. The 2014 NCAA championship team scored the highest total ever at an NCAA championship with a 198.175. Faehn's Gators won nine individual national championships. Marissa King won the vault title in 2011, Kytra Hunter won the all-around and vault title in 2012 and the all-around and floor titles in 2015, Alaina Johnson won the uneven bars title in 2013, and Bridget Sloan won the all-around and balance beam titles in 2013 and the uneven bars title in 2014.
After Faehn's resignation following the 2015 national championship, Florida hired Auburn assistant Jenny Rowland to be the new head coach. In Jenny's first year as head coach she led the Gators to their 10th SEC title and fourth in seven years.
Maps Florida Gators women's gymnastics
Individual national champions
Ten Florida Gators gymnasts have won a total of twenty-two individual national college championships, including Ann Woods (1982 AIAW all-around, floor exercise, uneven bars), Lynn McDonnell (1982 AIAW balance beam), Maria Anz (1984 NCAA floor exercise), Susan Hines (1997 NCAA vault; 1998 NCAA vault), Betsy Hamm (1998 NCAA balance beam), Marissa King (2011 NCAA vault), and Kytra Hunter (2012 NCAA all-around and vault title, 2015 all-around and floor title), Alaina Johnson (2013 NCAA Bars), Bridget Sloan (2013 NCAA all-around, beam; 2014 NCAA Bars; 2016 NCAA All-Around, Bars, and Beam), Alex McMurtry (2017 NCAA all-around and bars)
2018 Roster
Below is a roster of gymnasts on the team for the 2018 season.
- Head Coach: Jenny Rowland
- Assistant Coach: Adrian Burde
- Assistant Coach: Owen Field
- Volunteer Assistant Coach: Jeremy Miranda
- Assistant to Head Coach: Ashley Kerr
- Athletic Trainer: Kelly Flemming
Future recruits
Below are gymnasts who have committed to Florida.
2018-19 Commits
- Sydney Johnson-Scharpf - 2018 - Brandy Johnson's - 2013, 2014, 2015 P&G National Championships competitor, 2015 US team
- Leah Clapper - 2018 - Gym America - 2016 Secret US Classic qualifier
- Savannah Schoenherr - 2018 - Oconee Gymnastics Center - 2015 JO National bars champion
2019-20 Commits
- Morgan Hurd - 2019 - First State Gymnastics - 2014, 2015, 2016 US Nationals qualifier, 2016 US team, 2017 World Champion
- Riley McCusker - 2019 - MG Elite - 2016 US National silver medalist, 2017 National Uneven bar champion, Balance Beam silver medalist, & All-Around bronze medalist
- Payton Richards - 2019 - Aerial Gymnastics Club - 2017 JO National beam champion
2020-21 Commits
- Jessica Hutchinson - 2020 - Sylvia's Gymnastics LLC - Bulgarian national team member
- Shilese Jones - 2020 - Buckeye Gymnastics - 2014, 2015, 2016 US National qualifier
- Carina Jordan - 2020 - Prattville YMCA
2021-22 Commits
- Sloane Blakely - 2021 - WOGA - 2016 US Nationals qualifier
- Gabrielle Gallentine - 2021 - Everest Gymnastics - 2017 Nastia Liukin Cup qualifier
- Anna Huber - 2021 - Rochester Gymnastics Academy - 2015 Secret US Classic qualifier
- Eliana Lazzari - 2021 - Gym Nasti - 2016 Secret US Classic qualifier
All-American selections
All-American selections through the 2012 season.
Second-team All-American honors are designated with an asterisk (*).
Team Records
See also
- Florida Gators
- History of the University of Florida
- List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members
- List of University of Florida Olympians
- University Athletic Association
References
External links
- Official website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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