Season-Best Gives No. 2 Florida Win versus No. 17 Georgia

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 2 Florida gymnastics used its season-best to defeat No. 17 Georgia in front of another sold out Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center crowd.
 
Florida’s 197.90 stands as the nation’s fourth-highest of the season’s first month. Georgia’s 196.85 is its second-highest total of 2023.
 
Boosting the Gators’ team total was a Trinity Thomas 10.0, a pair of near perfect uneven bars marks by Thomas and Leanne Wong and season-high event totals for vault and balance beam.
 
The result moves Florida to the top of the Southeastern Conference regular-season unbeaten record. More on that streak below:
 

Southeastern Conference regular-season unbeaten streak record 💪#GoGators | #WeChomp pic.twitter.com/BWM0Kya2D4

— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) January 28, 2023

 
FLORIDA SETS SEC REGULAR-SEASON UNBEATEN RECORD
All Southeastern Conference teams began facing each league team in regular-season action in 1992.
 
With its win tonight versus the last team to defeat UF in regular-season action (UGA win on Feb. 22, 2019), Florida now owns the Southeastern Conference regular-season unbeaten streak record.
 

Streak	School	Started	Ended
24-0-1	Florida	3/1/19 @ Arkansas	current
24-0	Georgia	1/19/92 vs LSU	3/1/96 @ Alabama
23-0-1	Georgia	1/20/06 vs Arkansas	1/15/10 @ Alabama
19-0-1	Georgia	1/19/97 vs Florida	3/4/00 @ Alabama
19-0	Georgia	1/25/02 @Auburn	2/4/05 vs Florida
17-0	LSU	2/19/16 vs Auburn	1/11/19 @ Auburn

 
TONIGHT’S MEET
Thomas opened her evening with her third 10.0 of the season, this time on vault. It gives Thomas her fourth career Gym Slam, as she is the only collegiate gymnast ever with at least four 10.0s on each apparatus. Wong and freshman Kayla DiCello shared second at 9.875 with Georgia’s Naya Howard. Florida’s 49.425 ups its season vault best by more than a tenth.
 

TRINITY THOMAS 23RD PERFECT 1️⃣0️⃣ @GatorsGym pic.twitter.com/H1j6tteJFd

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 27, 2023

 
A near-perfect uneven bars mark of 9.975 was posted first by Thomas and then by Wong in the anchor position. Sophomore Sloane Blakely set her collegiate bars best of 9.925 to complete the Gator sweep of the event.
 
Wong anchored UF’s beam set with her winning mark of 9.925. Blakely led off the lineup with a season-best beam mark of 9.9, sharing second with DiCello, UGA’s Haley de Jong and Vanessa Deniz. Florida’s 49.475 equals its season high.  
 
Junior transfer Victoria Nguyen, who competed for Georgia in her first two seasons, set her collegiate floor exercise high of 9.925 to share the event title with Thomas.
 
Wong took the all-around win at 39.65 – her second win of 2023 and fifth of her career.
 
X4 CAREER GYM SLAM
With her 10.0 on vault, Trinity Thomas now has at least four 10.0s on each apparatus. She is the only gymnast in NCAA history with enough career 10s for four Gym Slams.
 
Of the 12 gymnasts with a Gym Slam, Thomas is one of three with enough 10.0s in each apparatus to register multiple Gym Slams:

• Trinity Thomas – Florida (4)
• Kyla Ross – UCLA (2)
• Maggie Nichols – Oklahoma (2)

 

Gym Slam Gymnasts
Name	School	Career	V	UB	BB	FX	T
Trinity Thomas	Florida	2019-present	4	4	4	11	23
Kyla Ross	UCLA	2017-20	5	11	4	2	22
Maggie Nichols	Oklahoma	2017-20	9	4	7	2	22
Karin Lichey	Georgia	1996-99	9	8	1	3	21
Kristen Kenoyer	Utah	1990-93	3	1	3	4	11
Alex McMurtry	Florida	2015-18	3	4	1	1	9
Heather Stepp	Georgia	1990-93	3	1	1	4	9
Bridget Sloan	Florida	2013-16	1	2	3	2	8
Courtney Kupets	Georgia	2006-09	2	3	2	1	8
Ashley Kelly	Arizona State	2003-06	3	1	3	1	8
Missy Marlowe	Utah	1989-92	1	3	2	1	7
Kristen Maloney	UCLA	2001-05	1	1	1	2	5

 
GATOR PERFORMANCE NOTES:

• Florida’s 197.90 is the nation’s fourth-highest of the first month of the season.
• Florida sold out 13 of the last 16 meets and the last seven consecutive. Tonight’s crowd of 9,586 is No. 6 since the Exactech Arena reopened in 2017 after an O’Connell Center renovation.
• In the last eight meets she competed, Thomas earned nine 10.0s – 2022 NCAA Regional Second Round (UB, FX),…