GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Talk about going out on top.
Rhonda Faehn, who last weekend led the Florida gymnastics team to a third straight NCAA title, is leaving her post as Gators head coach to become senior vice president of USA Gymnastics.
Faehn, 43, informed UF administrators of her decision to move on Thursday and told her team in an emotional meeting Friday after the squad posed for a national championship team photo.
"It was incredibly hard," Faehn said. "I absolutely love Florida and what the University of Florida stands for. At the same time, I really feel there is another plan for me. I'm still going to be doing what I love and hopefully making an impact on the lives of a lot of athletes who will be representing our country."
Faehn was an assistant at Nebraska when tabbed as UF's head coach in 2002 and over the next 13 seasons led the Gators to four Southeastern Conference titles, 10 Super Six berths, 10 top-five finishes and, of course, those NCAA championships of 2013, '14 and '15, the only NCAA crowns in Florida's 43-year gymnastics history.
The latter came just last Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas, where junior Bridget Sloan and freshman Alex McMurtry anchored the uneven bars lineup with 9.95 scores to edge Utah 197.85 to 197.80.
Now at USA Gymnastics, Faehn will have a voice in the nation's international competition on the Elite level, where she once starred. Faehn trained under famed coach Bela Karolyi, capturing the national title in the vault in 1987 and 1988. She competed for the USA at the 1987 World Championships and was an alternate on the 1988 Olympic squad.
What she accomplished at Florida -- just the second coach in school history to win three straight NCAA titles -- will never be forgotten.
"I have such mixed emotions right now," UF athletics director Jeremy Foley said. "I'm happy for this wonderful opportunity for Rhonda. She will continue to make a difference in young athletes' lives with USA gymnastics, just like she's done at Florida. But also there is sadness. Rhonda came here 13 years ago, sharing our vision that Florida could be a national contender. She went to work and made that vision a reality."
The Gators reached the Super Six for the first time in five years during Faehn's second season, and then began building a foundation for consistency and marquee success -- all in the nation's toughest conference, no less.
Over the course of the last six seasons, Faehn signed the nation's No. 1 recruiting class five times, with athletes like Sloan and Kytra Hunter -- both winners of the prestigious Honda Award as the nation's top gymnast -- accounting for 142 All-America honors in NCAA competition.
But now, it's time to move on.
Faehn and her family (husband and former UF assistant tennis coach Jeremy Bayon, plus sons Noah and Isaiah) will head to Indianapolis, home base for USA Gymnastics.
"My time at Florida has been wonderful. It has been a dream come true," Faehn said. "But I've always had a passion for Elite gymnastics and being involved with all of gymnastics. This is the right time for me and my family."
