No. 2 Florida Gymnastics Meets No. 12 Kentucky for Senior Night
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - No. 2 Florida gymnastics Senior Night versus No. 12 Kentucky includes a trophy storyline - for both teams.
The meet starts at 5:45 p.m. in the sold-out Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Gates open at 4:30 p.m.
SEC Regular-Season Title Race
No. 2 Florida and No. 12 Kentucky are the only teams remaining with a single loss in Southeastern Conference action. Friday's meet closes SEC regular season action for Florida while Kentucky's league finale is a home meet versus No. 7 Auburn on March 3.
Trophy Scenarios
* Florida win Friday gives the Gators their fifth consecutive SEC regular-season title
* Kentucky win combined with a win over Auburn on March 3 gives the Wildcats sole possession of their first SEC title
* A Kentucky win versus UF and a loss versus Auburn could result in as many as three league teams sharing the SEC title
SEC Standings (as of Feb. 19, 2023) School SEC Record Overall
Florida 5-1 8-1
Kentucky 4-1 7-2
Alabama 3-2 6-3
LSU 3-3 3-5
Missouri 2-3 5-3
Auburn 2-3 4-5
Georgia 1-4 6-8
Arkansas 1-4 3-6
Senior Night
Friday is Gators Gymnastics Senior Night. It's an expanded class this year with Super Seniors Leah Clapper, Savannah Schoenherr, Halley Taylor and Trinity Thomas repeating the celebration in 2023. They join transfer Rachel Baumann and senior Payton Richards along with manager Shea Wheeler for the celebration of their Gator careers following Friday's competition.
Florida's Senior Class:
* Advanced to NCAA team final in 2021 (4th) and 2022 (2nd)
* Won 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2022 Southeastern Conference regular-season trophies.
* Swept 2022 SEC regular-season and Championship meet titles
* Earned 31 All-America honors & two All-SEC team members
* Four SEC event titles (2019 - Thomas -vault; 2022: Thomas - vault, floor, all-around) & three NCAA event titles (2022 - Thomas all-around, uneven bars & floor exercise)
* Each earned Academic All-Southeastern Conference honors every season of their collegiate careers Find Florida's Senior Night ceremony on SEC Network + from 7:30 - 8 p.m. Friday. Arrive Early to Cheer Your Gators Be in your Exactech Arena seat by 5:45 p.m. to take in the floor projection show which leads into the Gators entrance for the SEC opener. Get ready to raise your phone with orange-hued Gator Lights during the floor projection. Here's some tips to expedite your trip to the Exactech Arena Friday:
Getting TO the Arena:
* Season parking holders can enter the O'Connell Center lot off Lemerand Drive OR SW 2nd Avenue.
* A complimentary parking shuttle sponsored by Auto ER transports fans from which originates at Garage 109 (located at corner of Archer Road and Lemerand Drive to the O'Connell Center. The parking shuttle begins at 4 p.m. Parking map for Gator Gymnastics
* Check the Parking Lot Availability Tracker to see your options in real time.
* For 5-10 minutes following Gator gymnastics meets, Lemerand Drive will close for north and south bound traffic from University Avenue to Stadium Road to provide pedestrians a safe exit.
Getting IN the Arena:
* Tickets are sold out for Florida vs Kentucky meet. Check the Official Gator TicketExchange to purchase tickets other fans can't use Friday.
* Gates 1 and 2 will be open for each gymnastics meet. UF students should enter at Gate 3. To help zip through the entrance, be sure to add your tickets to your digital wallet in case of possible connectivity issues outside the gate. Then have tickets up on device to present for scanning.
* Bags are checked before entering the building. Everyone will go through the O'Connell Center metal detectors when entering. When using the metal detectors fans need to empty their pockets prior to screening, then walk through the detector. After that, tickets will be scanned and then you are ready to cheer your Gators!
Friday's Promotions:
* Senior Night - Stay post meet in order to recognize our Gators senior gymnasts after the awards ceremony.
* Student Tailgate - Arrive early at Gate 3 to enjoy an orange Gatorade and a Gators Gymnastics fanny pack (first 300 students)!
* Orange You Glad You Came Friday - Fan with seats in the lower sections receive an orange t-shirt on their seat!
* Kid's Corner - Located on the Practice Courts near Gate 4, kids can get free giveaways, temporary tattoos, play games, make posters, get a shot taken in the photo booth, meet the mascots & Dazzlers, and more!
* Meet Day Shuttle Offer presented by Auto ER - Auto ER picks a winner from the meet day shuttle riders. The winner receives a $25 Alumni Hall gift card and a free oil change courtesy of Auto ER. The winner is recognized on the competition floor pre-meet.
How to Follow the Gators:
* SEC Network - action called by Olympic medalists Bart Conner, Kathy Johnson-Clarke plus Taylor Davis
Find Florida's Senior Night ceremony on SEC Network + from 7:30 - 8 p.m. Friday
Last Week:
Florida was edged 198.10 - 197.975 at No. 8 Louisiana State last Friday in front of 11,887 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The 0.125 margin of victory was typical of recent UF-LSU meetings. It marked Florida's third straight trip to Maravich Assembly Center that 0.125 or less decided the competition. The Tigers ended Florida's Southeastern Conference unbeaten streak, which stood at a league record 26-0-1 heading into Friday's meet. It was Florida's first league loss since Feb. 22, 2019 versus Georgia.
Super Senior Trinity Thomas used the nation's No. 2 all-around total (39.85) to win her 29th career title. She won at least a share of three event titles, including earning her national leading fifth 10.0 of 2023, posting the mark on balance beam for the second consecutive meet. Thomas shared the beam title with Aleah Finnegan and also tied for the floor win at 9.95 with freshman Kayla DiCello and LSU's KJ Johnson. Thomas used her fourth near perfect 9.975 of the season to win the uneven bars.
Kentucky rallied on the final rotation last Friday to post a program record total to defeat No. 14 Arkansas 197.875 - 195.40. Raena Worley claimed her 18th all-around win - and fourth consecutive - versus the Gymbacks with a 39.575. UK opened SEC home action on Jan. 13 with a win versus LSU and then started league road action on Jan. 20 with a loss at Georgia. Since then, UK has ticked off wins versus Alabama, at Missouri and versus Arkansas.
Trio of SEC Weekly Honorees in Exactech Arena Friday Three of the latest SEC Weekly Award gymnasts compete in the Exactech Arena Friday.
Florida's Trinity Thomas and Kayla DiCello repeated as SEC Weekly recipients. Thomas picks up her second SEC Gymnast of the Week honor of 2023 and 18th of career. Thomas was the SEC Week 1 & 4 SEC Specialist of the Week. DiCello claims her fifth SEC Freshman of the Week honor. She's been honored six times in 2023, claiming Week 2 SEC Specialist Gymnast of the Week.
Kentucky's Arianna Patterson shared the SEC Specialist Gymnast of the Week honor after winning vault (9.95) and floor (9.975) vs Arkansas.
Last Meeting:
Florida rallied from a mid-meet deficit to take a 197.575 - 197.35 win at then No. 10 Kentucky to clinch at least a share of the 2022 Southeastern Conference regular-season title. The Gators held a slight 0.05 lead heading into the final rotation and a six-for-six balance beam set sealed the win for Florida's fourth consecutive SEC regular-season title. Trinity Thomas' fourth 10.0 of the season won the floor exercise. She also won balance beam with a near-perfect 9.975 and all-around (39.70).