TUCSON, Ariz. – The Arizona Wildcats held their annual Think Pink Meet to support and honor breast cancer survivors Saturday evening. On top of the team's win there was much more to celebrate including having first year assistant coach Meredith Paulicivic's mother, who is a three and a half year breast cancer survivor, in the crowd.

“I'm really proud that I didn't tear up,” said assistant coach Meredith Paulicivic. “It was a devastating day when we found out my mother had cancer but luckily everything went well and it's been three and a half years that she's been cancer free. It's huge to have something that big strike our family and be able to overcome it. Having my mom and family here tonight was great.”

To begin the night the GymCats hit the vault and received a team score of 48.950. The Golden Bears finished just ahead of the Wildcats after the first rotation with a 49.075.

“It wasn't a bad start to the meet but it wasn't the sharpest start,” said head coach Bill Ryden. “We didn't do poorly but I know they can better in the future. They looked fantastic during warmups and performed well during the meet. However, we still have work to do and landings to stick.”

Juniors Shelby Edwards and Jessie Sisler and senior Allie Flores led the team receiving three scores of 9.825. Freshman Madison Cindric posted a score of 9.750, the second highest for the vault lineup. Sophomore Gabby Laub contributed a score of 9.725 and sophomore Selynna Felix-Terrazas scored a 9.700.

The momentum picked up for the Wildcats in the second rotation giving them a score of 49.125 on the uneven bars. The team's score allowed them to jump ahead of California with running totals of 98.075-97.975.

“I'm proud of our bar team,” said Ryden. “Lexi (Mills) had a perfect routine until she fell so it was unfortunate she fell. She had such a great routine going for her and I know she was working hard for a perfect routine. This team competes so well though, I'm so proud of this team and they're such a fun team to coach. They never get intimidated or nervous after mistakes and I'm just so proud of that.”

Freshman Victoria Ortiz scored her second 9.900 of her career and Laub joined her with a career high of 9.900 as well. Sophomore Krysten Howard had a beautiful routine giving her a 9.875. Felix-Terrazas, Flores and junior Lexi Mills contributed scores of 9.800, 9.650 and 9.300, respectively.

The Wildcats held onto their lead after the third rotation on beam scoring a 49.050. The Golden Bears trailed 147.125-147.000.

“Shelby (Edwards) had another great routine tonight,” said Ryden. “The beam team did a great job. It wasn't the cleanest I've seen but they really fought hard. They didn't let little mistakes turn into big mistakes and they were able to hold onto the lead.”

Edwards scored a season high of 9.850. Mills shortly followed with another 9.850. Cindric had contributed another strong routine receiving a score of 9.825. Anchoring the beam lineup was Flores who scored a 9.775. Junior Shay Fox scored a 9.750 and Sisler received a 9.700.

The Wildcats were able to hold onto their lead after the fourth rotation. After earning a 49.350 on floor, the Wildcats won the meet by a .375 margin.

“The team really finished strong tonight,” said Ryden. “Aside from Madison's (Cindric) score our lowest score was 9.825 which is a great number. I wasn't upset with her after her fall but at that point I knew it was crunch time. However, I had no doubt that the team could pull through. Lexi (Mills) had such an amazing routine tonight, I knew it was going to produce a good score.”

Mills had the performance of her career and posted a score of 9.925. Sisler earned her second 9.900 on floor of her career. Freshman Kennady Schneider and Flores both earned high scores of 9.850. Flores was the last routine of the night and her score allowed Arizona to finish on top. Felix-Terrazas contributed a 9.825. Cindric had a strong performance but unfortunately fell on her last pass giving her a score of 8.975.

The team proved they could perform under pressure and scored well on all four events. On vault Sisler, Flores and Edwards tied for third place. Arizona swept the competition on bars with two first place finishes by Ortiz and Laub, and a third place finish by Howard. On beam Edwards and Mills tied for second place. Sweeping on yet another event were Mills with a first place finish on floor, Sisler coming in second and Schneider and Flores tying for third. Flores finished third in the all-around competition behind California's Toni Ann Williams and Charlie Owens.

Next weekend the GymCats will hit the road for the final time in the regular 2015 season. The weekend will prove to be a busy one as the team will have two meets to compete. First the Wildcats will head to Michigan for a meet against Michigan State and Eastern Michigan. The meet will take place on Friday, March 6 at 4 p.m. MST. Shortly following the meet, the team will travel to Denton, Tex., for a meet on Sunday, March 8 at 11 a.m., against Texas Women's University. The final meet of the season, against Denver, will be on Saturday, March. 14 at 4 p.m. MST. The meet will also be Senior Night and will be streamed online and live stats will be available.

“We have to be smart and stay focused,” said Ryden. “Going into next week we have to be efficient with our time. It's going to be a test for us but if there's a team that is up to the task I have no doubt that this team can do it.”

For continued coverage of Arizona Gymnastics, follow the team at facebook.com/ArizonaGymnastics and on Twitter @AZGymnastics.