Thursday's Semifinal Post-Meet Wrap-Up
FORT WORTH, Texas — They have heard the expression so many times that they can't keep count. The Gators are not alone. If you have read about this Gators gymnastics team or perhaps watched an interview with head coach Jenny Rowland, you have undoubtedly been exposed to Rowland's constant message.
Control the controllables.
The meaning is simple: focus on what you can control, and don't get distracted by what you can't. Parents, teachers and coaches have stressed this message since, well, parents, teachers and coaches could communicate.
Still, it takes practice and skill to lock in the way the Gators did Thursday night in the NCAA Championships.
"We can only control what we do in the gym,'' said junior Leanne Wong shortly after becoming co-national champion on uneven bars. "When we come out on the competition floor and there are three other teams, you can't worry about what they're doing."
The Gators have passed the test many times this season, but none with the magnitude of what transpired Thursday night at Dickies Arena with two berths in Saturday's NCAA Finals on the line. The No. 4-seed Gators competed in the second semifinal, and the consensus among fans and media was that Florida, No. 5 Utah and No. 8 Alabama were vying for a single spot.
That was because No. 1-ranked Oklahoma, the two-time reigning national champion and record-setting group that dominated the regular season, was about as certain to advance as Taylor Swift's new album going multi-platinum.
Then, the meet started with the Sooners on vault. The shocking result changed the tone of the evening.
The Sooners finished with a 48.325 in the opening rotation and trailed every other team by more than a point. Faith Torrez opened with a fall, scoring a 9.325. The trend continued with Katherine LeVasseur (9.375) and Jordan Bowers (9.45) posting low scores due to technical difficulties.
Suddenly, the door was wide open for the rest of the field.
"The Sooners are human," Oklahoma coach K.J. Kindler told reporters. "We have certainly worked for it, but on any given day, anything can happen. We haven't counted a fall all year. We counted three today, or we basically counted three, so that was kind of the wall falling down."
Meanwhile, the Gators opened on floor with a 49.450, good for third after the first rotation. They moved up to second after Alabama fell four times on beam during the second rotation. From there, Wong and her teammates pushed away potential pitfalls as the Gators finished runner-up to Utah, 197.9375-197.8750, to advance to Saturday's national championship. Florida, which edged Utah two weeks ago for the NCAA Gainesville Regional title, joins the Utes, No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Cal in the finals.
Asked how aware the Gators were of Oklahoma's disastrous start, Rowland offered a realist take.
"Yes, it is known, not known, and at the same time, I have to practice what I preach,'' she said. "Stay invested in the Gators. Keep our energy and all our focus on the Gators. And do the best we can do. Be the best us."
Freshman Anya Pilgrim had no problem staying focused on one of the biggest stages she has ever performed.
"Personally, that's none of my business, so I can only really control what I can do,'' she said. "This was like my Olympics. I loved it."
Wong did her part to ensure the Gators never wavered, sharing the all-around title (39.7000) with Oregon State star and Olympian Jade Carey, who competed as an individual. Wong capped Florida's floor routine with a 9.9125, followed that with a 9.9375 on vault, a 9.9625 on uneven bars, and a 9.8875 on beam. Wong shared the individual national title on the uneven bars with Oklahoma's Audrey Davis.
Wong said there was a buzz on the competition floor about Oklahoma's uncharacteristic mistakes but that the Gators showed up on a mission. They want to continue on the journey that has them on the verge of the program's first national championship since 2015.
"I feel like we just came in here and used all of our experience and time throughout the season in the gym," she said. "Leaving it all there and doing the best we could to move on to Day 2. I'm just really happy the Florida Gators are moving on. I think we're just fired up. All season, we've been building from the bottom to where we are now, and we're in an amazing place."
The Gators arrived in Texas after a season-best performance in the regional championship. Rowland stuck with what got the Gators here, using essentially the same lineup on Thursday.
This is a team that is peaking at the right time. The Gators were not spectacular on Thursday but avoided the costly mistakes that dash dreams at the NCAA Championships.
Oklahoma can attest to that. As usual, Rowland left the arena focused on how the Gators took advantage of their opportunities and how far they have come.
"I couldn't be more proud of this team. Truly, this team has grown up in front of our eyes this season,'' she said. "It's been a dream come true as a coach.
And she's not ready to wake up.
Print Friendly Version
