”Unfair to The Athletes”: NCAA Gymnastics Judging Gets An Awful Score By Ex-Florida Star

The NCAA Gymnastics postseason is about to start and a former Florida star is not at all happy with the judging. With the season shaping up, every team has tried to put their best foot forward. However, as it stands at the moment, the defending champions, Oklahoma, are enjoying the pole positions.

However, it is safe to say that they cannot relax as California and LSU are in hot pursuit ranked at 2 and 3, respectively. While there have been many breathtaking routines throughout the season, the 27-year-old elite gymnast is unhappy with the judging. The judging goes a long way in deciding which team will be crowned the NCAA champions. Unfortunately, the former NCAA athlete feels that the level of judging this year has been utterly disappointing. 

Ex-Florida gymnast considers NCAA judging as draconian and partial

Speaking to ESPN about everything NCAA gymnastics, Kennedy Baker opened up about her views on judging. The SEC specialist gymnast bashed several decisions and called the entire process “unfair,” for the athletes. Reflecting on the same, Baker said, “I would give the judging this year a 6. There are way too many deductions being overlooked, and it is unfair to the athletes. There are a lot of routines this year, and the last several years, that have been both under and over-scored, and it is time to take a look at our judging system as a whole.” 

She stated that a review of the entire judgment program was needed to ensure uniformity of decisions across all the conferences. According to Baker, the uneven manner of scoring has a huge impact on the overall decision of the championship. Playing for the Florida Gators, Baker had been one of the biggest names in the NCAA back in 2018. She recorded a perfect 10.0 three times in her career and also clinched a couple of floor titles. 

Baker also received the Academic Honor Roll from the Southeastern Conference to further justify her significance. However, setting aside the ordinary judging, Baker also doubled down on whom she thought would headline the top four spots this year. 

2024 Top 4 predictions courtesy Kennedy Baker

Speaking about the best four teams this season, Baker was quick to name them. The 27-year-old picked California, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Florida. While it was imperative that Oklahoma and California would be an automatic choice given their strong display, Baker decided to give an edge to her former team, Florida as well. She said, “Florida is still in the fight, consistently growing in scores and hit routines, and they cannot be counted out.”

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Echoing similar sentiments about Kentucky, Baker thinks the team has a great mix of seniors who can perform tough routines to perfection. Thus, her analysis stated that Kentucky deserved to be in the top 4 as well. With all the rumors, speculations, and hype building up, it will be interesting to see how the postseason turns out in reality. 

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