3 NCAA Championships ● 11 SEC Championships ● 9 with 20 NCAA Individual Titles MEET INFORMATION MEET 7 GAINESVILLE, FLA. Date: Friday, Feb. 21 / 5:45 p.m. ET No. 2 Florida Gators No. 8 Alabama Site: Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. Head Coach: Jenny Rowland Head Coach: Dana Duckworth O’Connell Center (9,166) Career (5th season): 62-12 Career: 112-51-1 / sixth season Television: SEC Network At UF: same At UA: same Video: SEC Network Live Stats: FloridaGators.com 2020: 7-0 / 5-0 SEC 2020: 4-3-1 / 3-1 SEC Tickets: Reserved - $8; General admission - $5 / children 12 & under $1 What’s Happening? UF Students with Gator1 admitted free. The 14th Annual Gators Link to Pink sponsored by UF Health is an event to show support for the fight against breast Contact UF Ticket Office at 352-375-4683 cancer. for more information Series History Alabama leads UF 74-46-2. Last meeting: This year’s edition also has Southeastern Conference title implications. (all-time): UF was second in 2019 SEC Championships (197.75) and Alabama The Gators are undefeated in SEC action (5-0) and Alabama is the only remaining team with a single league loss. A win Friday guarantees Florida its second consecutive SEC regular-season title as the team would have one remaining league was third (197.35). meet (Feb. 28 at Georgia). Promotions: Pink T-Shirt - First 3,000 fans get a Link to Pink t-shirt; Link to Pink poster - Gators The Florida-UA dual airs live on SEC Network. Gator Great Bridget Sloan and John Roethlisberger call the action Friday Link to Pink poster available to first 1,000 beginning at 6 p.m. ET. Alabama is the Gators’ third top-10 opponent this season. GATOR SOCIAL Florida set its season-high road score with a 197.875-194.75 Valentine’s Day win at then No. 17 Auburn. The total equals Florida’s second-highest of season and ties for the nation’s No. 6 total of 2020. Another 10.0 on balance beam highlighted Florida Gators Gymnastics an evening of spectacular performances by Florida sophomore Trinity Thomas. Along with her beam win, Thomas Florida Gators posted marks of 9.95 to win uneven bars and floor exercise plus equaled her collegiate best of 39.775 – the nation’s third- highest total of 2020 - to claim her fifth all-around win. Freshman Payton Richards set her collegiate vault best of 9.95 to @GatorsGym complete Florida’s event titles sweep. It was her second vault win of the last three meets. Richards also took second in @FloridaGators all-around after matching her career high of 39.50. @JennyRowlandUF Several strong scores helped boost the Gators’ team total at Auburn. Sophomore Savannah Schoenherr anchored the gatorsgym bars lineup with a 9.90. Both senior Amelia Hundley and sophomore Sydney Johnson-Scharpf turned in a 9.90 on floridagators floor. Florida finished the meet on beam, with senior Rachel Gowey earning a 9.95 and junior Alyssa Baumann a 9.925. Two Gators equaled their collegiate bests of 9.875 Friday - senior Sierra Alexander (vault) and sophomore Leah Clapper (beam). Florida Communications Contact: After her performance on the Plains, Thomas claims her fourth consecutive SEC Gymnast of the Week honor. It is her Mary Howard fifth such honor of 2020 and eighth of her Gator career. Phone: 352-375-4683 x6100 Alabama is 4-3-1 in 2020 and is coming off a two-meet homestand where the Tide registered wins over then No. 21 Email: [email protected] Missouri (197.55-196.85) and vs then No. 14 Arkansas (196.625-196.10). The 197.55 versus Mizzou on Feb. 7 is the Tide’s season high. Junior Lexi Graber’s winning total vs Missouri (39.65) leads UA 2020 all-arounders. DID YOU KNOW? Florida plays host to its 14th annual Gator Link to Pink presented Florida Head Coach Jenny Rowland is in her fifth season with the Gators in 2020. In her first four seasons, the Gators by UF Health meet on Friday, Feb. 21. won the 2016 Southeastern Conference Championships and the 2019 SEC regular-season titles. The team reached the NCAA team final in her first three season, finishing fourth (2016) and third (2017 & 2018). Eleven Gators collected 40 All- America honors in NCAA competition in the last four years, including winning seven NCAA event titles (Bridget Sloan: Events aimed to raise awareness about breast cancer prevention 2016 all-around, uneven bars, balance beam; Alex McMurtry: 2017 all-around, uneven bars; 2018 vault; Alicia Boren: and treatment will be included at Friday’s meet. These meets are 2019 floor exercise). part of a Southeastern Conference initiative and most of the league’s teams will participate in a “pink” meet this season. Team The Gators missed advancing to the 2019 NCAA Championships after taking third in the NCAA Corvallis Regional final. It colors are set aside as the teams wear pink to show their support was the second time in the NCAA Championships’ 38-year history Florida didn’t advance to the. Boren claimed a share of for the breast cancer fight. the NCAA floor title, becoming the third Gator to win the floor crown. NCAA Championships. Four Gators advanced as individual competitors to the 2019 NCAA Championships, with Boren and then freshmen Savannah Schoenherr and Trinity Thomas earning All-America honors. UF returns six with 17 All-America honors - Alyssa Baumann, Rachel Gowey, Amelia Hundley, Savannah Schoenherr, Megan Skaggs and Trinity Thomas. Twenty Gator routines return from the 2019 NCAA Regional final. For the third time in the program’s 48-year history, just one freshman joins the Gator roster for the 2020 season (also one freshman in 1984 and 1990). Payton Richards of Mokena, Ill., shared the 2017 Junior Olympic Level 10 Senior A beam title and was runner-up in all-around and bars. She recorded three top-four individual finishes in 2018 JO Senior D competition - floor exercise (tied for third), all-around (4th) and uneven bars (T4th). MEET COACH ROWLAND 2020 GATOR GYMNASTICS ROSTER Jenny Rowland, one of the nation’s rising coaching talents, is in her fifth season as NAME EVTS HT CL HOMETOWN (CLUB) University of Florida’s head gymnastics coach. Sierra Alexander V, FX 5-7 SR Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (West Broward Rowland is the seventh head coach for the Gymnastics Academy) Gator program, which is in its 48th season in Alyssa Baumann AA 5-1 JR Dallas, Texas (WOGA) 2020. Maegan Chant AA 5-3 SR Waterdown, Ontario (World Class Gymnastics) Leah Clapper AA 4-11 SO Ann Arbor, Mich. (Gym America) She shared the 2016 Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year Jazmyn Foberg AA 5-2 JR Bayville, N.J. (MG Elite) honor with Arkansas’ Mark Cook. She joins volleyball’s Mary Wise Rachel Gowey AA 5-1 SR Urbandale, Iowa (Chow’s Gymnastics) (1991) as a Gator coach who claimed SEC Coach of the Year Amelia Hundley AA 5-5 SR Hamilton, Ohio (Cincinnati Gymnastics) honors in their first season at UF. Sydney Johnson-Scharpf V, BB, 4-11 SO Clermont, Fla. (Brandy Johnson's Global FX Gymnastics) Nya Reed AA 5-3 SO Landover, Md. (Capital Gymnastics NTC) Rowland’s experiences from the sport’s highest level are the same Payton Richards AA 5-1 FR Mokena, Ill. (Aerials Gymnastics) as many current Gators. She is a former U.S. National Team Savannah Schoenherr AA 5-3 SO Columbus, Ga. (Georgia Elite) member, a collegiate All-American and was named a 2015 National Megan Skaggs AA 5-3 JR Marietta, Ga. (Gymnastics Academy of Collegiate Assistant of the Year. Atlanta) Halley Taylor AA 5-2 SO Tampa, Fla. (LaFleur’s Gymnastics Tampa) Rowland is a Category 3 International Brevet level judge. She Trinity Thomas AA 5-3 SO York, Pa. (Prestige Gymnastics) served on the judging panel for the 2008, 2012 and 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. Staff: Pronunciation Guide: Head Coach: Jenny Rowland Sierra Alexander – see-er-uh In the fall of 2019, Rowland was appointed to the NCAA Women's Assistant Coaches: Adrian Burde & Owen Field Alyssa Baumann – Baugh-man Gymnastics Committee. Her term runs through the 2023 season. Volunteer Coach: Jeremy Miranda Jazmyn Foberg – FOE-berg Assistant to the Head Coach: Brittany Arlington Amelia Hundley – Hund-lee Managers: Tory Cohen & Rachel Slocum Sydney Johnson-Scharpf - shärpf Rowland’s Coaching Career: Athletic Trainer: Janet Taylor Nya Reed – nī-uh At Florida: Payton Richards – Peyton Florida reached the NCAA Super Six team final in each of Savannah Schoenherr – Shane-hair Rowland’s first three seasons with the Gators, taking fourth in 2016 Halley Taylor – hAE-lee (rhymes with valley) and third in 2017 & 2018. Rowland was named the 2016 Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year after the Gators won Jenny Rowland – ROE-lund that season’s team title. Florida won the 2019 SEC regular-season Adrian Burde - bur-DAY title with a 6-1 record Returning All-Americans: Six with 17 honors Gators won NCAA individual event titles in each of the last four Alyssa Baumann 2019 – beam; 2018 – beam, floor seasons. Bridget Sloan won the 2016 NCAA all-around and shared Rachel Gowey 2018 bars, beam (NCAA & regular season that season’s uneven bars and balance beam titles. Alex McMurtry won the 2017 NCAA all-around champion and shared that season’s Amelia Hundley 2018 bars; 2017 all-around (NCAA & regular season), bars uneven bars crown. She finished her career by claiming a share of the 2018 vault title. In 2019, Alicia Boren claimed a share of the Savannah 2019 vault Schoenherr NCAA floor title.