Tag: Riley McCusker

Oklahoma edges out Florida for NCAA Gymnastics Championship

Florida came up just 0.112 points away from a fourth national championship. It finished in second place behind Oklahoma.

Oklahoma ignited a furious rally in the second and third rotation after emerging in last place after the first rotation to grab the NCAA title. Florida almost overcame a two-tenths deficit in the final rotation, using a senior [autotag]Trinity Thomas[/autotag] 10 and four other scores 9.9s or better but still fell just 0.112 short. The Sooners defeated the Gators, Utah and Auburn for the 2022 NCAA gymnastics championships on Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas.

Florida dug itself a hole on Friday after struggling on the vault during the semifinals. The Gators’ adventure forced them to emerge from the first rotation dead last. On Saturday, they fared a little bit better.

Head coach [autotag]Jenny Rowland[/autotag] and her team recorded a score of 49.35, putting itself in third place recorded a team score of 49.35, putting itself in third place ahead of Oklahoma but behind first-place Utah and second-place Auburn. The Gators also only found themselves 0.163 behind the Utes.

Thomas and freshman [autotag]Leanne Wong[/autotag] both delivered scores greater than 9.9s.

The Gators had a fall on the uneven bars just like they did during the semifinals. Freshman [autotag]Riley McCusker[/autotag] sailed through her routine but fell on the dismount, putting Florida in immediate danger of being eliminated if it suffered another fall on bars. But once again, the rest of the Gators lineup came to her rescue.

Thomas just missed perfection with a 9.975 while senior [autotag]Savannah Schoenherr[/autotag] scored a 9.925 and super senior [autotag]Megan Skaggs[/autotag] recorded a 9.9125. However, they still trailed Utah by a measly tenth, heading into the final two rotations.

Oklahoma made some serious ground up after struggling on the floor to start the meet. The Sooners used five scores of 9.9 or greater to take a two-tenths lead over the second-place Gators.

Florida wasn’t too shabby in the third rotation, either. Skaggs, Thomas, super senior [autotag]Alyssa Baumann[/autotag] and senior Leah Clapper all recorded scores of 9.9 or better.

The Gators then headed to the floor exercise, arguably their best rotation. Florida posted all 9.9s or better, including a 10 from Thomas but Oklahoma’s massive comeback in the second and third rotations helped them edge the Gators 198.2 to 198.0875.

Rowland and Co. will have to say goodbye to Skaggs and Baumann, but Clapper, Reed, Schoenherr, Thomas, seniors Halley Taylor and Sydney Johnson-Scharpf could all elect to return for a fifth year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Florida gymnastics has a signee and commit make Team USA

Florida’s Trinity Thomas announced that she wouldn’t compete for a spot on Team USA. But these two UF signees and commit did this weekend, with a pair earning a trip to Tokyo.

USA Gymnastics star Simone Biles hauls in most of the attention and headlines for good reason. She’s one of the best gymnasts the world has ever seen. But Florida also made noise at the U.S. Gymnastics Olympics Trials this weekend.

The Gators had two signees and one commit vying for a spot to represent the Red, White and Blue at the Tokyo Olympics. When they announced the roster for this year’s games, Florida signee Leanne Wong and commit Kayla DiCello made the Team USA roster as alternates. Riley McCusker, another UF signee, competed Saturday and Sunday only on the uneven bars, but she did not make the team or the roster as an alternate.

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Alternates travel with the team to Tokyo and fill in for any gymnast that can’t compete.

Wong competed in the all-around competition where she finished eighth. DiCello is a rising senior from Maryland and tallied a sixth-place finish in the all-around.

Gators fans can watch these future Florida gymnasts attempt to secure another gold medal for Team USA. Their journey to Tokyo starts July 25 with the women’s qualification.

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