No. 2 Florida gymnastics places second in 2022 NCAA Championships as Trinity Thomas claims All-Around

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Image Credit: GatorsGym / Twitter

No. 2 Florida Gators gymnastics’ quest to win its first national title since 2015 fell just short on Sunday as the program placed second in the 2022 NCAA Championships behind the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners. Despite being in contention throughout the final, the Gators were ultimately edged by the Sooners 198.2000-198.0875 as OU claimed its fifth national crown since 2014.

Florida, which was previously undefeated entering the NCAA Championships, advanced to the Four on the Floor for the second straight year and competed in that or the Super Six for the 14th time across the last 16 championships. While UF was again strong across all four disciplines as it had been all season, it did not do enough across the first three rotations to put itself in position to win the championship despite an incredible closing meet-best performance on floor exercise.

After scoring 9.9125 or higher three times on uneven parallel bars, the Gators jumped into second place after the second rotation; however, they trailed by 0.200 entering the final rotation and were unable to narrow the gap with the Sooners, ultimately falling by 0.1225.

Oklahoma was dominant down the stretch after stumbling on floor with its lowest score this season to open the event. The Sooners closed with a 49.6250 on balance beam to lead all four teams, also topping out in vault (49.6625) and bars (49.7250). The Gators won floor (49.7125) but finished third among the four finalists in bars (49.5250), beam (49.5000) and vault (49.3500). A better finish in any of their first three events may have put them in position for the title.

Senior Trinity Thomas — who during semifinal action Thursday claimed individual NCAA Championships in the All-Around (39.8125), floor (10.0) and bars (9.9750) — matched her scores on floor and bars in the final while also posting a fantastic 9.9875 on vault. She finished first in all three events at the final and again won All-Around (39.8625), posting the second-best total score ever at an NCAA final.

Thomas’ incredible dual 10s on floor at the NCAA championships were simply unmatched.

Graduate student Alyssa Baumann and freshman Leanne Wong joined Thomas will stellar outings on floor, posting matching 9.9500s. Senior Leah Clapper topped Florida on beam with 9.9250, while senior Savannah Schoenherr finished second to Thomas on Bars with the same score. Wong (9.9125) was the only gymnast other than Thomas to post a 9.9 or better on the opening vault rotation, which is one reason why the Gators were in a whole to start the event.

In addition to Thomas’ individual accolades, Florida as a team Thursday earned a program-high 16 All-America honors.