Florida at Kentucky

Recap

The Big Storyline: Florida edged out an upstart Kentucky team to clinch its fourth consecutive SEC regular season title. Kentucky turned in a dynamic performance, leading the meet through the first two rotations. Beam has been something of a bugaboo for the Wildcats. They survived that rotation with no falls and finished strong on floor, but simply couldn’t keep pace with the Gators on their two best events.  

Implications: Florida is still the team to beat in the SEC, but don’t sleep on Kentucky! The Wildcats have earned three 197-plus scores this season and could realistically challenge for a spot in the evening session at SECs. 

Records: Beam lead-off Megan Skaggs tied her career high 9.950 while Trinity Thomas earned her 12th career perfect 10 and 20th career all-around title. Kentucky notched eight career high scores, most notably Arianna Patterson whose career high 9.950 also earned her her first vault title since 2020. 

Controversies: While Florida is undoubtedly one of the top teams in the country, more than a few college gym fans have expressed frustration that the Gators are benefiting from generous judging and in turn have questioned the validity of them being named 2022 regular season champions. 

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 2 Florida at No. 10 Kentucky 

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: When Kentucky hits, it can go toe to toe with the top teams in the country, including Florida. However, the Wildcats lost key contributors Bailey Bunn and Kaitlin DeGuzman last week to knee injuries. They have a deep but largely untested roster; somebody’s going to have to step up in a big way (particularly on floor) if they want to keep pace with the Gators.  

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: Raena Worley has always been a standout all-arounder, but she’s truly come into her own this season. Her lowest score on any event this season is a 9.875, and she hasn’t dipped below a 39.600 in the all-around. She’s great on all four events, but you definitely don’t want to miss her on floor, where she’s already gone 9.975 twice this season.