Florida at Georgia

Recap

The Big Storyline: Alyssa and the Gators won the fourth and final “Battle of the Baumanns,” but younger sister Rachel snagged a perfect 10 on floor (the first for either Baumann). 

Implications: Florida continued to test its depth with varying success, posting season lows on vault, beam and floor but a season high on bars. While they should maintain the top spot in the SEC, the Gators’ sub-197 performance will allow No. 4 Oklahoma to overtake them in the national rankings. Sophomore Ellie Lazzari and senior Halley Taylor also suffered significant injuries during the meet. Lazzari’s is a confirmed Achilles tear.

Meanwhile, the hits just keep coming for Georgia. The Gymdogs came out strong after a two-week hiatus, posting 49-plus scores on vault and bars before a disastrous sub-47 beam rotation. Even an impressive 49.525 on floor—capped off by Rachel Baumann’s 10 and a 9.975 from junior Soraya Hawthorne—couldn’t salvage the meet for Georgia, who posted its second-consecutive score under 195.   

Records: In addition to Rachel Baumann, Hawthorne scored a career high on floor. Florida’s Nya Reed, who snagged her own first career 10 last week on floor, earned her 16th-consecutive mark of 9.925-plus on floor. 

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 3 Florida at No. 29 Georgia

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: The last regular season battle between the Baumann sisters is sure to be a good one. Alyssa Baumann will be looking for redemption after uncharacteristic errors on beam and floor against Alabama. Rachel Baumann was limited to one event in Georgia’s season debut due to an elbow sprain but has been training upgrades on all four events. These two programs have a rich history of national championships and need to vastly improve on early season performances to have a chance at achieving that accomplishment once again. 

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: Megan Skaggs has quietly become a consistent and steady all-around performer for the Gators that is often overshadowed by teammates Trinity Thomas. Her floor routine has intricate exquisite dance moves, and her beam performances have been precise. Megan Roberts for Georgia was the stick queen of week one, and her Yurchenko one and a half on vault improves every single time she competes it.