No. 7 Florida Nipped by a Tenth at No. 2 LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. –Just a tenth of a point gave No. 2 LSU the win over No. 7 Florida gymnastics in Friday’s Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
 
LSU won at 197.55 while Florida turned in a season-best 197.45. In the last 35 meetings, a half a point or less decided 23 contests. Friday’s meet was the ninth of the last 27 that a tenth or less was the winning difference.
 
This is the seventh consecutive season that the Florida-LSU dual is the nation’s top meet of weekend. Including Friday’s meet, 10 of the 13 meetings since 2013 stood as the nation’s top dual of the weekend.
 
A Gator won a share of three of Friday’s event titles. Senior Sloane Blakely‘s floor exercise routine earned a 10.0 in one judge’s eyes. Her final floor score of 9.95 shared the win. On the next and final rotation, Sloane Blakely matched her collegiate best of 9.95 to tie for the balance beam win. Junior transfer Selena Harris-Miranda tied for win at 39.50 in her first all-around performance as a Gator.
 

SLOANE WITH A 9.950

https://t.co/DuaHNe6KER pic.twitter.com/Cf6iU7sHOx

— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) January 18, 2025

 
Event winners:
Aleah Finnegan, LSU         9.95        Vault
Konnor McClain, LSU         9.925      Uneven Bars
Sloane Blakely, UF             9.95        Balance Beam
Haleigh Bryant , LSU          9.95        Balance Beam
Sloane Blakely, UF             9.95        Floor Exercise
Aleah Finnegan, LSU          9.95        Floor Exercise
Selena Harris-Miranda, UF 39.50      All-Around
Aleah Finnegan, LSU          39.50      All-Around

TONIGHT’S MEET

Some uneven bars handstand issues and steps on landings dinged Florida’s marks on its opening event. Leanne Wong led with a 9.85 followed by 9.825 from Anya Pilgrim and Selena Harris-Miranda. Skye Blakely also edged her season best up to 9.775 in her second performance since tearing her Achilles tendon at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials training day.

 

Season-high vault marks from five Gators cut into the Tigers lead, as UF trailed by 0.175 at the midway point. Pilgrim got the lineup started off at 9.925, a mark Wong equaled as both shared second overall in the final vault standings. Harris-Miranda (9.90) also was among evening’s five gymnasts with a vault of 9.9 or better.

 

https://t.co/DuaHNe6KER pic.twitter.com/3vgwhooDNK

— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) January 18, 2025

. @leannewong03 9.925 vault

https://t.co/DuaHNe6KER pic.twitter.com/Pryt7P8aIh

— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) January 18, 2025

 
Sloane Blakey’s 9.95 led the Gators on floor exercise. She was one of three Gators who raised or equaled their season floor bests, joining Victoria Nguyen (9.9) and Taylor Clark (9.875). Two Gators made their 2025 floor debuts, with Danie Ferris earning 9.875 and Harris-Miranda posting a 9.90 in her first UF floor performance. Florida greatly improved on its Jan. 10 event total, tallying the nation’s fifth-highest floor total of 49.50 Friday.
 
Sloane Blakely equaled her collegiate best with her second 9.95 of the evening to share the balance beam win. Her performance was followed by a pair of 9.9s by Pilgrim and Nguyen. The Gators cut the Tigers two-tenths three-event lead in half in the final rotation.
 

@sloaneeblakely ties her collegiate best with a 9.950

https://t.co/DuaHNe6KER pic.twitter.com/dSzoZWmsmJ

— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) January 18, 2025

 
Event winners:
Aleah Finnegan, LSU         9.95        Vault
Konnor McClain, LSU         9.925      Uneven Bars
Sloane Blakely, UF             9.95        Balance Beam
Haleigh Bryant , LSU          9.95        Balance Beam
Sloane Blakely, UF             9.95        Floor Exercise
Aleah Finnegan, LSU          9.95        Floor Exercise
Selena Harris-Miranda, UF 39.50      All-Around
Aleah Finnegan, LSU          39.50      All-Around
 
GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES:

• Florida’s 197.45 improves its season best team total of this young season. It is the nation’s seventh high total of 2025.
• Two season-best event totals for the Gators Friday: vault (49.45) and floor exercise (49.50).
• Sloane Blakely upped her career event titles total to 15 in winning her fifth beam title and fourth for floor.
• The 9.95 beam mark equaled Sloane Blakely’s collegiate best for the sixth time. She closed the 2024 season with a 9.95 on beam in the NCAA Team Final.
• Selena Harris-Miranda won a share of the meet title in her Gator all-around debut. The All-American transferred to UF this summer after competing for UCLA as a freshman and sophomore. The win is the 45^th event title of her collegiate career and the 13^th all-around win.
• Tonight’s attendance of 13,515 is No. 3 among Pete Maravich Assembly Center gymnastics crowds.

• Three Gators equaled or set collegiate bests Friday:
  

 

FLORIDA COACH JENNY ROWLAND SAID:

“It’s always a battle when we come to LSU. So much fun, so much adrenaline and excitement. Really proud of the Gators for their performance tonight. We started off a little conservative, a little hesitant on our first event, but truly on the second, third, fourth rotations, they just kept doing what they do in the gym day after day.

 

“Really proud of their strength, their courage and their commitment to continue fighting all the way through the competition. I love finishing on beam here and I love to see this team just rise to the occasion and fight. Couldn’t have been more proud of that beam team tonight for their fight and courage. They’ll be ready to do it all over again next Friday.” – Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland

RECORDS:

Florida (3-1, 0-1 SEC)

LSU (4-1, 1-0 SEC)

 

THE SERIES:

Florida leads LSU 78-47

 

NATIONAL RANK:

Florida – No. 7 in the Jan. 13 Road to Nationals standings

LSU – No. 2

 

UP NEXT:

Florida returns home next Friday to face No. 15 Georgia for the Ninth Annual Alumni Night presented by Publix.

 

Georgia (3-1, 0-0 SEC) defeated Boise State 196.825 – 193.60 tonight in Athens, Ga.

 

Meet:                    No. 7 Florida vs. No. 15 Georgia

When:                   Friday, Jan. 24 at 6:15 p.m. ET

Venue:                  Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center

TV:                        SEC Network

Stream:                SEC Network

Tickets:                 $15-$30  

 

No. 7 Florida at No. 2 LSU Final Team Totals
Jan. 17, 2025 ● Pete Maravich Assembly Center (13,515)
Team	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
LSU	49.350	49.300	49.525	49.375	197.550
Florida	49.450	49.025	49.475	49.500	197.450