Florida Gators star Trinity Thomas makes history at NCAA championship with 28th perfect 10

The Florida Gators are fighting for the NCAA gymnastics championship Saturday. Star Trinity Thomas is looking for something even more: perfection.

The fifth-year senior from York, Pennsylvania, came into Saturday's final with a perfect 10 in a routine 27 times throughout her storied career at UF. She picked up her 28th on the vault to tie the record.

Gators fans feared she might not have the chance after suffering a lower-leg injury during the regional round. But Thomas came back in Thursday's national semifinal, though she competed in only two of the four events.

Thomas was held to just the vault and the uneven bars in the semifinal round. Reports from Dickies Arena in Fort Worth indicate she will be held to those two events again in the final.

That would still give her a chance to break the all-time NCAA record; she stuck two perfect 10s at the SEC championships, after all.

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Watch Trinity Thomas tie NCAA record with 28 perfect 10 scores

Thomas competed in the vault and bars on Saturday, and with her first performance of the day, she made history with a 10.0 on the vault.

It's her fifth 10 on the vault, giving her a record fifth "gym slam."

Watch Trinity Thomas finish her Florida gymnastics career on uneven bars

Thomas ended her Gators career with a 9.9125 on the uneven bars. She had to gather herself on the landing, hugging her coach afterward and giving one last Gator Chomp to the crowd.

How many perfect 10 does Trinity Thomas have?

Thomas entered the NCAA championships with 27 perfect 10s in her career, tying her with Georgia's Hope Spivey, who put together 27 perfect marks from 1991-94.

Thomas came in one shy of the NCAA record of 28, set by Jenny Hansen with Kentucky from 1993-96 and Jamie Dantzscher of UCLA from 2001-04.

Why was Trinity Thomas not competing?

In the NCAA regional semifinal March 31, Thomas stopped her floor routine with a leg injury.

She was listed as day-to-day and did not compete in the regional final.

Two weeks later, Thomas was back on the mats in the NCAA semifinals, but competing only in the vault and bars. She notched a 9.95 on the bars — the best score in the session — in her first event back from the injury.

Thomas recorded a 9.90 on the vault, good for third in the session.

How many gym slams does Trinity Thomas have?

Thomas is the only NCAA gymnast to record a "gym slam" — a perfect 10 on the uneven bars, vault, balance beam and floor routine — four times. She entered the NCAA final with 12 career 10s on the floor, six on the beam, five on the bars and four on the vault.

Twitter reacts to Florida gymnastics star Trinity Thomas

There was plenty of buzz on social media after Thomas tied the NCAA record for perfect 10s. Here's a sampling:

Alas, the 29th perfect 10 was not to be. But it was still a stellar finish to Thomas' legendary career.