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An era comes to an end Friday night for Florida gymnastics vs. No. 10 Kentucky.
It is senior night for the third-ranked Gators, and the final home meet for four seniors and two graduate students – Sloane Blakely, Bri Edwards, Ellie Lazzari, Riley McCusker, Victoria Nguyen and Leanne Wong.
Gymnasts like Blakely, Nguyen and especially Wong have left massive imprints on the program.
Their journey, though, will be far from over. Even though Friday night is their last home meet. These Gators have high expectations and are on the rise.
Florida (9-3, 4-3 SEC) finally orchestrated an excellent road meet last Friday in Tuscaloosa. The Gators scored the nation’s second highest road score of 2025 – 198.025 – in a thrilling win over the Tide. Leanne Wong scored a 9.975 on vault and won another all-around title (39.725).
The victory, combined with UF’s then-nation high score vs. Missouri on February 28, have lifted Florida from No. 5, to 4, to now 3.
Assistant coach Owen Field said the performance reminded everyone what the team is capable of.
“We experiment with lineups a lot during season and just knowing that if we keep focusing on the details and really trying to minimize the deductions that we see in the gym on a daily basis, regardless of what scores we get week to week, that it will position us,” Field said.
The Wildcats (6-5, 3-4 SEC) are coming off their highest score of the season – a 197.925 in a win over then-No. 16 Arkansas. The win ended a streak of three straight SEC losses for UK.
The meet between Florida and Missouri will begin at 7 p.m. ET from the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C O'Connell Center in Gainesville (capacity: 9,251).
The meet will air live on the SEC Network Plus and stream on WatchESPN.com. Kyle Crooks and Stacey Abbott Gleim will be on the call.
Tickets can be purchased here, from $15-$30. Fans can enter through Gates 1 and 2. Students can use Gate 3. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. on today?
You can follow live stats here, and you can follow Gainesville Sun Sports Reporter Noah Ram for updates @Noah_ram1 on X (formerly known as Twitter). You can also check out Gainesville.com/sports/college for a story after the meet.
The Gators are a remarkable 96-2 all-time vs. the Wildcats. Florida has lost just once in the regular season to Big Blue Nation. That came all the way back in 1998 in Lexington. The second loss came last season at the SEC Tournament when UK scored a 197.600 to UF's 197.300.
That ended Florida's 53 meet win streak. The last victory came last March, when Florida put up a program record 198.225 road score to the Wildcats 198.10 in Lexington.
Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at [email protected] and follow him @Noah_ram1 on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: No. 3 Florida gymnastics vs No. 10 Kentucky: How to watch, follow live updates
Continue reading...
It is senior night for the third-ranked Gators, and the final home meet for four seniors and two graduate students – Sloane Blakely, Bri Edwards, Ellie Lazzari, Riley McCusker, Victoria Nguyen and Leanne Wong.
Gymnasts like Blakely, Nguyen and especially Wong have left massive imprints on the program.
Their journey, though, will be far from over. Even though Friday night is their last home meet. These Gators have high expectations and are on the rise.
Florida (9-3, 4-3 SEC) finally orchestrated an excellent road meet last Friday in Tuscaloosa. The Gators scored the nation’s second highest road score of 2025 – 198.025 – in a thrilling win over the Tide. Leanne Wong scored a 9.975 on vault and won another all-around title (39.725).
The victory, combined with UF’s then-nation high score vs. Missouri on February 28, have lifted Florida from No. 5, to 4, to now 3.
Assistant coach Owen Field said the performance reminded everyone what the team is capable of.
“We experiment with lineups a lot during season and just knowing that if we keep focusing on the details and really trying to minimize the deductions that we see in the gym on a daily basis, regardless of what scores we get week to week, that it will position us,” Field said.
The Wildcats (6-5, 3-4 SEC) are coming off their highest score of the season – a 197.925 in a win over then-No. 16 Arkansas. The win ended a streak of three straight SEC losses for UK.
Florida gymnastics vs. Kentucky start time
The meet between Florida and Missouri will begin at 7 p.m. ET from the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C O'Connell Center in Gainesville (capacity: 9,251).
What channel is Florida gymnastics vs. Kentucky
The meet will air live on the SEC Network Plus and stream on WatchESPN.com. Kyle Crooks and Stacey Abbott Gleim will be on the call.
How to get tickets for Florida gymnastics vs. Kentucky?
Tickets can be purchased here, from $15-$30. Fans can enter through Gates 1 and 2. Students can use Gate 3. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. on today?
How to follow Florida gymnastics vs. Kentucky?
You can follow live stats here, and you can follow Gainesville Sun Sports Reporter Noah Ram for updates @Noah_ram1 on X (formerly known as Twitter). You can also check out Gainesville.com/sports/college for a story after the meet.
Florida gymnastics vs. Kentucky history
The Gators are a remarkable 96-2 all-time vs. the Wildcats. Florida has lost just once in the regular season to Big Blue Nation. That came all the way back in 1998 in Lexington. The second loss came last season at the SEC Tournament when UK scored a 197.600 to UF's 197.300.
That ended Florida's 53 meet win streak. The last victory came last March, when Florida put up a program record 198.225 road score to the Wildcats 198.10 in Lexington.
Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at [email protected] and follow him @Noah_ram1 on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: No. 3 Florida gymnastics vs No. 10 Kentucky: How to watch, follow live updates
Continue reading...
