No. 7 in Florida, which was crushed by a tenth at no. 2 LSU

On By Littum

BATON ROUGE, La. – Only a tenth of a point gave no. 2 LSU’s win over no. 7 in Florida gymnastics in Friday’s Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

LSU won at 197.55, while Florida posted a season-best 197.45. In the last 35 meetings, half a point or less decided 23 contests. Friday’s event was the ninth of the last 27 where a tenth or less was the winning margin.

This is the seventh straight season that the Florida-LSU dual is the nation’s top weekend meet. Including Friday’s meeting, 10 of the 13 meetings since 2013 stood as the country’s best dual at the weekend.

A Gator won a share of three of Friday’s event titles. Senior Sloane Blakely‘s floor exercise routine scored a 10.0 in the eyes of a judge. Her final floor score of 9.95 shared the victory. On the next and last rotation, Sloane Blakely matched her collegiate best of 9.95 to tie for the balance beam win. Junior transfer Selena Harris-Miranda tied for victory at 39.50 in her first all-around performance as a Gator.

Winners of the event:

Aleah Finnegan, LSU 9.95 Vault
Konnor McClain, LSU 9.925 Uneven bars
Sloane BlakelyUF 9.95 Balance Beam

Haleigh Bryant , LSU 9.95 Balance Beam
Sloane BlakelyUF 9.95 Floor exercise

Aleah Finnegan, LSU 9.95 Floor Exercise
Selena Harris-MirandaUF 39.50 All-Around

Aleah Finnegan, LSU 39.50 All-Around

MEET TONIGHT
Some uneven bars handstand issues and step on landings put Florida’s stamp on its opening event. Leanne Wong led with a 9.85 followed by a 9.825 from Anya Pilgrim and Selena Harris-Miranda. Skye Blakely also reached her season-best 9.775 in her second performance since tearing her Achilles tendon at the 2024 US Olympic Trials practice day.


Season-high vault marks from five Gators cut into the Tigers lead as UF trailed .175 at the midway point. Pilgrim started the lineup at 9.925, a mark Wong equaled as both tied for second overall in the final vault standings. Harris-Miranda (9.90) was also among the evening’s five gymnasts with a vault of 9.9 or better.

 

Sloane Blakey’s 9.95 led the Gators on floor exercise. She was one of three Gators to raise or tie their season best, coming in Victoria Nguyen (9,9) and Taylor Clark (9,875). Two Gators made their 2025 floor debut with Danny Ferris earned a 9.875 and Harris-Miranda scored a 9.90 in her first UF floor performance. Florida improved significantly on its Jan. 10 event total, tallying the nation’s fifth-highest floor total at 49.50 on Friday.

Sloane Blakely tied her collegiate best with her second 9.95 tonight to share the balance beam victory. 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.

Event Winners:

Aleah Finnegan, LSU 9.95 Vault
Konnor McClain, LSU 9.925 Uneven bars
Sloane BlakelyUF 9.95 Balance Beam

Haleigh Bryant , LSU 9.95 Balance Beam
Sloane BlakelyUF 9.95 Floor exercise

Aleah Finnegan, LSU 9.95 Floor Exercise
Selena Harris-MirandaUF 39.50 All-Around

Aleah Finnegan, LSU 39.50 All-Around

GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES:

  • Florida’s 197.45 betters its season best this young season. It is the country’s seventh top total in 2025.

  • Two season-best event totals for the Gators Friday: vault (49.45) and floor exercise (49.50).

  • Sloane Blakely raised her career event title total to 15 by winning her fifth beam title and fourth on floor.

  • The beam mark of 9.95 corresponded to Sloane Blakely collegiate best for the sixth time. She finished 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 his Gator all-around debut. The All-American transferred to UF this summer after competing for UCLA as a freshman and sophomore. The win is 45th the event title of her collegiate career and the 13thth all round victory.

  • The evening’s attendance of 13,515 is no. 3 among the Pete Maravich Assembly Center gymnasts.

  • Three Gators tied for 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 out a little conservative, a little hesitant on our first event, but really on second, third, fourth rotation they just kept doing what they do in the gym day after day.


“Really proud of their strength, their courage and their commitment to keep fighting all the way through the competition. I love finishing on beam here and I love seeing this team just rise to the occasion and fight. Couldn’t have been more proud of that Rays team tonight for their fight and courage. They’ll be ready to do it all 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 RANGE:

Florida – no. 7 i 13 January The road to National’s position

LSU – no. 2



UP NEXT:
Florida returns home next Friday to face No. 15 in 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.



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

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

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

TV: SEC network

Current: SEC network

Tickets: $15-$30

 








no. 7 Florida at no. 2 LSU

Final team totals
January 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