Florida gymnastics beats Alabama in historic meet as Trinity Thomas, Nya Reed combine for three 10s

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NCAA gymnastics history was made Sunday afternoon as the No. 2 Florida Gators and No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide battled at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in the first regular-season dual meet ever aired nationally on broadcast television. Despite trailing for nearly the entire meet, the Gators pulled off a thriller late, defeating the Tide 197.000-196.925 in Gainesville, Florida.

Florida trailed by 0.350 entering the final rotation but came up clutch when it mattered most. Senior Nya Reed scored her first career 10.0 on floor exercise to briefly push UF ahead 0.050, creating an opportunity for senior Trinity Thomas to close the door.

Thomas was the last gymnast to compete and needed a 9.950 to send the Gators to victory. One of the greatest performers in program history responded with a sterling 10.0 to lock up the win for the home team.

The perfect score was Thomas’ second of the afternoon. She also scored a 10.0 on vault in the opening rotation, her first career perfect score in that discipline.

Thomas became just the 12th athlete in NCAA history to achieve the “Gym Slam” by registering a 10.0 in all four disciplines across her career.

Not to be outdone, Reed was nearly perfect in her only other event, scoring a career-best 9.975 on vault. Less than 24 hours before the meet, Reed tweeted, “I want to be in 10.0 club so bad”, a distinction she earned with her aforementioned 10.0 on floor.

No other gymnasts on the roster posted better than 9.925 in any event during the meet. However, redshirt senior Megan Skaggs did win the all-around, scoring 39.525 with a 9.900 on floor to close the afternoon.

Florida not only opened SEC play with a victory on what was deemed Equality Night in Gainesville, it moved to 4-0 on the season. Next up is a trip to Georgia next Friday before returning home the following week for the 16th annual Link to Pink event vs. Arkansas on Jan. 28.