University of Arizona
Michigan State, Eastern Michigan
Arizona Takes First in Quad Meet
03/07/2015 | Gymnastics
LANSING, Mich. – When the Arizona Gymnastics left Tucson Thursday morning they thought they would be competing against Michigan State University and Eastern Michigan University. However, due to weather complications, the three teams were joined by Bowling Green State University. The competition changes did not seem to faze the GymCats, however. The team took first place after scoring a 195.450 at Friday evening's meet.
“Tonight's meet showed the heart and the competitive spirit of the team,” said head coach Bill Ryden. “I'm very proud of them tonight. We didn't have the best start but they were able to come back and beat three teams, all of which performed exceptionally well tonight. Their heart was one hundred percent on display and I commend them for that.”
The Wildcats took on the uneven bars for the first rotation and scored a 48.275.
“It was great to see the whole team come together,” said Ryden. “Having two falls on bars doesn't make it easy for the rest of the routines but they really fought hard after the first rotation.”
Sophomores Krysten Howard and Selynna Felix-Terrazas led the team in the lineup and on the scoreboard after both received 9.825's. Senior Allie Flores followed with a 9.775. Junior Lexi Mills posted a 9.750. Sophomore Gabby Laub and freshman Victoria Ortiz each unfortunately fell on their releases and received scores of 9.100 and 8.900, respectively.
Although the performance on the uneven bars wasn't the best the coaching staff has seen from the team this season, the Wildcats began making a comeback after the second rotation. The six beam competitors earned a team score of 49.025.
“Beam was a critical point,” said Ryden. “If we didn't come back on beam it was going to be tough trying to pull ahead. I give credit to the team for really hanging in there and turning things around.”
On beam, the Wildcats were led by Flores, Cindric and Edwards who all contributed scores of 9.825. Senior Shay Fox earned a 9.800 and Mills was right behind with a 9.750. Sisler unfortunately fell halfway through her routine and scored a 9.125. Senior Amber Wobma made her season appearance Friday evening with an exhibition routine and earned a 9.050 on beam.
The momentum continued to build for the Wildcats after the third rotation when they scored a 49.125 on floor.
“We had some great routines on floor,” said Ryden. “We were able to keep pushing forward and didn't stop. Our lowest score was a 9.775 so those floor routines helped us a lot.”
Sisler and Flores each earned 9.850's, the highest score for the floor team. Felix-Terrazas contributed a score of 9.825. Schneider and Mills earned a pair of 9.800's. Rounding out the floor rotation was Cindric with a score of 9.775.
Fortunately, the six vault competitors were able to finish strong and allowed the Wildcats to finish ahead of the three teams. The team finished the fourth rotation with a score of 49.025.
“I wasn't nervous having vault as our final event,” said Ryden. “I was confident that the six girls would show up and compete hard. I wasn't watching the scores during the last rotation; I just wanted to watch one pass at a time. Shelby (Edwards) had a great vault and that certainly helped us a lot.”
Edwards performed her best vault of the season earning her a 9.900. Laub followed with another fantastic vault scoring a 9.800. Sisler, Flores and Cindric each scored 9.775. Felix-Terrazas rounded out the vault lineup with a 9.725.
As a team, Arizona scored the highest on vault. Edwards' season high earned her second place on the event. Cindric, Edwards and Flores tied for second place on the balance beam. Sisler and Flores tied for third on floor. Flores finished the night at first place in the all-around competition with a score of 39.225.
“This meet certainly got our attention,” said Ryden. “We will take this meet and move forward going into Sunday's meet. We will take it one routine at a time like we always do, but since we are moving right into another meet we just need to learn from our performances tonight.”
The weekend isn't over for Arizona gymnastics. Tomorrow the team will fly to Texas for a meet against Texas Woman's University in Denton, Tex. The meet will be on Sunday at 11 a.m. MST. The meet will not be televised but it will be on live stream and live stats will be available. Information on the live stream and stats will be available via Twitter and Facebook.
For continued coverage of Arizona Gymnastics, follow the team at facebook.com/ArizonaGymnastics and on Twitter @AZGymnastics.
