The second-ranked Florida gymnastics team continued its postseason run on Friday with a win in the semifinal round at Pittsburgh’s Petersen Events Center to advance to the Regional Finals on Sunday. They join the Arizona State Sun Devils, California Bears and Michigan State Spartans in a battle to whittle the region down to just two programs in the bracket that will go on to compete in the 2023 NCAA women’s gymnastics championships held at Dickies Arena in Ft. Worth, Texas.
Unfortunately, the Orange and Blue lost its top athlete, [autotag]Trinity Thomas[/autotag], on Friday to a right lower leg injury, which prevented her from competing in the final three events. There have yet to be any further updates on her condition as of the time of publication, however, that did not dampen the moment for the team too much.
“The Gators get to dance again,” head coach Jenny Rowland offered after the win. “The Gators get to do gymnastics again. The Gators have another opportunity to compete for each other again. That is something we were focusing on today. Control what we can control and I think the Gators did a great job. There was a little adversity tonight. However, I told them they handled it very gracefully, with calmness and confidence. I’m proud of all of them.”
The Gators return to the floor inside the Petersen Events Center on Sunday and can be watched on the ESPN+ streaming service starting at 5 p.m. EDT.
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