Category: Gymnastics

Gators Gymnastics announce 2024 schedule

After coming so close to hoisting the national title, Florida Gators gymnastics is back and announced their 2024 schedule

The Florida Gators were a perfect landing away from hoisting the 2023 national championship, but now a new season is upon us.

Florida gymnastics announced its 2024 schedule for the redemption year, and the Gators will host three meets involving multiple teams. The Orange and Blue start the season with a quad meet on Jan. 12 against Fisk, George Washington, and Talladega.

The meet will also be themed as Equality Night, celebrating every member of the gymnastics team, staff, University, and Gainesville communities and fans.

The next home quad meet matches the Gators with Iowa State, Long Island, and North Carolina State to celebrate senior night on March 15. There will be a road trip quad meet before the last match of the season against Nebraska, Eastern Michigan, and Lindenwood on March 9.

Other major events include the Link to Pink night at the O’Dome against Arkansas on Feb. 9, raising breast cancer awareness across the SEC. Most of the conference teams participate in a “pink” meet every season.

The last dual home meet has the Gators facing off against LSU on Feb. 23 to celebrate Rowdy Reptiles night, encouraging the UF student body to fill Exactech Arena and cheer on the Orange and Blue.

Florida gymnastics will also celebrate Alumni Night against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Jan. 26.

Official times will be announced by the SEC later in the year.

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Trio of Gators stand out at U.S. Gymnastics Championships Day 1

The U.S. Gymnastics Championships are currently cooking in San Jose, California.

Three current members of the Florida gymnastics program are currently competing in the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in San Jose, California, which kicked off on Friday, Aug. 25.

Incoming signee [autotag]Skye Blakely[/autotag] and junior [autotag]Leanne Wong[/autotag] came in third and fourth, respectively, on Day 1 of the competition. Sophomore [autotag]Kayla DiCello[/autotag] also logged in the day’s fourth-highest floor exercise score (13.50) but struggled in some other events.

A part of the Team USA Champions Series, the U.S. Championships determines the women’s U.S. champions and U.S. National Team. Scores from Friday and Sunday’s competitions are combined to determine the U.S. Championships event champions. The women’s competition helps determine invitees to September’s Pan American Games/World Championships selection camp.

DiCello and Wong were among four in the U.S. Championships on Friday who also competed in the 2023 NCAA Championships — putting them among the 10 since 2000 who competed at the NCAA Championships and then the U.S. Championships in the same year.

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Auburn gymnastics reveals 2024 home schedule

It’s another loaded slate of home meets for Auburn in 2024.

Auburn gymnastics unveiled its home schedule for the 2024 season on Monday and there will be some great matchups on the Plains. The schedule includes meets against perennial powers, as well as the first quad meet in Neville Arena history.

“There’s no place like the Southeastern Conference where you can create a home schedule like this,” head coach [autotag]Jeff Graba[/autotag] said. “It will be a tremendous challenge and a lot of fun in 2024. On top of a great conference schedule, we’re excited to host the first regular season quad meet in Neville Arena history. So, fans need to renew their tickets soon!”

Auburn is entering a new era without superstars [autotag]Suni Lee[/autotag] or [autotag]Derrian Goubourne[/autotag] but is returning veterans [autotag]Cassie Stevens[/autotag], [autotag]Sophia Groth[/autotag] and [autotag]Aria Busch[/autotag]. Former five-star recruit [autotag]Olivia Greaves[/autotag] is also set to compete after missing last season with an injury.

While the road schedule has not been revealed, the Tigers will have five home meets during the season and here is a look at each matchup.

Anna Hill to join Auburn gymnastics via transfer portal

Hill becomes the third transfer to join the program ahead of the 2024 season.

[autotag]Anna Hill[/autotag] announced on social media that she would be transferring from Temple to Auburn.

Hill played a vital role in Temple’s lineup on floor and vault and posted career highs of 9.9 in both last season.

Hill committed after 2023 signee [autotag]Lyden Saltness[/autotag] announced that she would be joining the Illinois Fighting Illini instead.

Auburn’s signing class includes [autotag]Emma Grace Boyd [/autotag], [autotag]Julianne Huff[/autotag], and [autotag]Paige Zancan[/autotag]. The Tigers have also added former Georgia gymnast [autotag]Madelynn Crowe[/autotag] and former Kentucky gymnast [autotag]Lila Smith[/autotag].

Auburn lost gymnasts [autotag]Suni Lee[/autotag] and [autotag]Derrian Gobourne[/autotag] from last season’s roster but will return a plethora of talent in [autotag]Cassie Stevens[/autotag], [autotag]Aria Brusch[/autotag], [autotag]Olivia Hollingsworth[/autotag], [autotag]Sophia Groth[/autotag], and [autotag]Gabby McLaughlin[/autotag].

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LSU gymnastics adds US Champion Konnor McClain

Konnor McClain has competed on the U.S. National Team since 2019.

Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.

BATON ROUGE – The LSU Gymnastics program and head coach Jay Clark announce the addition of U.S. Champion Konnor McClain to the squad ahead of the 2024 season.

“We are thrilled that Konnor has decided to become a Tiger now and join this special group of young women. She brings an incredible wealth of talent and experience to our team,” said head coach Jay Clark.

“She’s joining a team that has had tremendous culture and love for one another, and I believe that culture played in her decision to get here a year earlier than originally planned.”

A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, McClain is a decorated all-around gymnast who has experience on the national and international levels.

McClain has been a member of the U.S. National Team since making her debut at the City of Jesolo Trophy competition in 2019, where she helped Team USA win silver. Individually, she earned gold in the all-around, gold on vault, bronze on the uneven bars and bronze on floor.

She also represented Team USA at the 2021 World Championships and was a part of the national team who took home gold at the City of Jesolo competition in 2022.

McClain has won multiple medals across various competitions including the U.S. Classic, U.S. National Championships, City of Jesolo Trophy, International Gymnix, Winter Cup and DTB Pokal Team Challenge. In total, she owns 22 gold medals, nine silver medals and seven bronze medals.

Last year, McClain was named the 2022 Winter Cup all-around and balance beam champion and earned a bronze medal on floor to earn her spot in the championships.

She climbed her way to the top of the podium at the 2022 U.S. Gymnastics Championships in August to earn national champion status. Her combined eight-rotation score (prelims and finals) of 112.750 in the all-around and 28.900 on beam earned her gold at the competition in Tampa, Florida.

The Vegas native trains at Gymcats under Cassie Rice and Jill Preston in Henderson, Nevada, and is ready to bring her gymnastics experience to the collegiate level as she joins the Tigers this upcoming fall.

“I chose LSU because the team is amazing and the culture is unmatched. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” said McClain. “I’m so excited to be a part of this team and I can’t wait to make history with them!”

McClain plans to major in psychology. She is one of four children by her mom, Lorinda, and has two brothers, Cole and Marc, and a sister Olivia, who plays college softball at West Virginia State University.

Follow the Tigers on the team’s social media channels @LSUgym on Instagram and Twitter and  Facebook.

Meta announces NIL incubator for female college athletes

Female athletes ranging from D1-NAIA divisions are eligible to apply and the applications close July 23rd, 2023.

Meta announced its NIL Empower 3.0: “an incubator program aimed to empower female college athletes to maximize NIL opportunities and prepare for life after sports.” This comes on the heels of LSU’s Livvy Dunne announcing her own foundation to help LSU female college athletes excel in Name, Image, and Likeness opportunities.

Instagram is looking for 30 female athletes to go through this five-month program. The selected athletes will “work with the Meta Sports Partnerships team, industry leaders, and some of the biggest brands in the world to gain education, mentorship, and opportunities aimed to help them succeed in the NIL Era.”

The program is threefold:

Education

“Learn what it takes to build a brand, grow an audience and monetize in the NIL era by participating in five educational workshops led by the Meta sports partnerships team and industry professionals.”

Incentives

“Athletes will receive gifting, unlock opportunities to receive at least one NIL deal, be prioritized for Meta incentive programs, and receive amplification opportunities with Meta partners.”

Career Development

“Build your network, connect with fellow female athletes, and prepare for life after sports by hearing from inspirational guest speakers and having the opportunity to be considered for micro-internships.”

Female athletes ranging from D1-NAIA divisions are eligible to apply and the applications close July 23rd, 2023. There are eligibility requirements including:

  • Have at least one (1) semester of eligibility remaining during the 2023-2024 academic year;
  • Excited about the NIL era and eager to learn more about how Facebook and Instagram can help you build and monetize your personal brand;
  • Willingness to collaborate with the Empower cohort on content opportunities;
  • Bonus: ambitious, engaged, entrepreneurial, willing to hustle!

Even if an athlete is not selected, by simply applying they will receive educational NIL resources and be invited to join an informational webinar designed to provide resources, connections, and opportunities for female college athletes.

Gators gymnast Trinity Thomas earns SEC Athlete of the Year award

Florida gymnastics star student-athlete Trinity Thomas is the 2022-23 Roy F. Kramer Southeastern Conference Female Athlete of the Year.

Florida gymnastics star student-athlete [autotag]Trinity Thomas[/autotag] is the 2022-23 Roy F. Kramer Southeastern Conference Female Athlete of the Year, as announced by the league office on Thursday.

The graduate student, along with LSU Tigers baseball standout Dylan Crews, were selected by a vote of the league’s athletics directors for the female and male categories, respectively. Her most recent accolade makes her the 15th Gator to earn the distinction which leads the conference all-time.

Thomas is the seventh SEC Female Athlete of the Year recipient and the first since gymnast Bridget Sloan and UF softball players Lauren Haeger (2015) and Hannah Rogers (2014) won in consecutive seasons. Florida’s last two SEC Male Athlete of the Year awards came in back-to-back seasons from swimmer Caeleb Dressel (2018) and track and field standout Grant Holloway (2019), according to FloridaGators.com.

Prior to the announcement, the now-volunteer assistant coach with the team made known her intention to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics. She will continue to work out with the team as she earns her second master’s degree so it looks like Florida’s greatest gymnast will be sticking around in Gainesville for a few more years.

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