Rachel Slocum wasted little time making an impression on Florida fans as the 2017 season opened. Slocum's first vault as a Gator was a massive 9.925--a score that didn't count toward Florida's team total of 49.450 in its opening meet of 2017 because she performed an exhibition.

Slocum finished the regular season ranked fourth in the country on vault. After her week one impression, the junior transfer competed on vault in each of the 13 meets that followed. She scored a 9.900 or better on 10 of those vaults, including a pair of 9.975s on Feb. 10 versus Georgia and Feb. 24 against Missouri.

Her front handspring front pike with a half twist, which starts out of a 10.0, was a unique vault in the NCAA. Most gymnasts stuck with Yurchenko-style vaults with more going for the Yurchenko 1 1/2 to get the 10.0 start value. Slocum had an uncanny ability to find her landing throughout the season too.



The vault, she said, is her favorite skill to perform in competition.

"This would be my vault--front handspring, front pike half--just because it's really unique and not a lot of people do it," she said.

I think I perform it very well and it's fun and people are like, 'Oh, that's something different.'

It wasn't just her skills on the competition floor that made an impression. Slocum's bubbly personality shone through almost immediately. She was frequently seen dancing on the sidelines in between rotations and keeping things light and positive. The junior transferred from Eastern Michigan ahead of the 2017 season and wasn't going to waste time gradually coming out of her shell to her new teammates.

"I told myself when I was transferring that I wasn't going to hold back because I only had two years left," Slocum said. "I didn't want to have a whole year trying to get to know everybody and breaking out of my shell. I just wanted to break out of my shell the first time I came here. I think everyone after awhile was just like, 'Oh, that's how she is.' I think that helped me transition better just because I wasn't going to hold back."

I was who I was the first time I met everyone.

Her outgoing personality also shines through during her fun, high-energy floor routine. Like vault, Slocum's first floor routine was the one that made an impression despite being another exhibition performance. She competed in all 13 meets after that floor exercise, and she tallied a 9.800 or better on all 13 routines.


Transferring into the Southeastern Conference brings its own transition. It is one of the premier gymnastics conferences in the contry. The SEC Network produced a weekly segment called "Friday Night Heights" throughout the season featuring a pair of SEC meets each week. Attendance is higher too. There are more eyes on the athletes.

For Slocum, it wasn't a challenge to transfer into a powerhouse gymnastics conference. After all, there was one thing that very much stayed the same.

"There's not that many challenges because it's just gymnastics wherever you go," Slocum said. "I'm doing the same routines I've been doing so that's not as much [the difference] as the atmosphere is so much different."

The crowds are bigger, the standards are higher, you have to hold yourself more accountable, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I feel like it's developed me more into a leader. I think that's really helping me with my personal growth.