TUCSON, Ariz. – The Arizona gymnastics team captured their second Pac-12 victory of the week after defeating Washington, 196.10-195.325.
“It was a great night, and we were so proud of the grit and confidence the team showed throughout the competition. Our staff along with our strength and conditioning coach, Rob Harris, has done an incredible job keeping our athletes strong, and their resiliency showed this week with the back-to-back competitions. We were excited about adding some difficulty into our line-ups and look forward to continuing to put in the work to peak at the end of the year.”
The Wildcats stole the lead in the first rotation after earning a 48.875 on vault. The team was led by freshman Lauryn Mattson, who earned a 9.825. Three 9.775's were posted by sophomore Maddy Cindric, senior Jessie Sisler and junior Gabby Laub. Senior Shelby Edwards and junior Selynna Felix-Terrazas rounded out the vault scores with two 9.725's.
In the second rotation, sophomore Kennady Schenider and freshman Dani Spencer set the pace with strong routines earning a 9.80 and 9.75. The Cats had a miss in the middle of the line-up, and sophomore Victoria Ortiz delivered a clutch performance to get things back on track with a 9.825. The momentum kept building with Laub and senior Lexi Mills closing out the rotation with scores of 9.85 and 9.825.
After capturing the uneven bars title, the Wildcats earned their highest event score of the night with a 49.20 on beam. Howard and Sisler led the team with a pair of 9.875's and Cindric finished just behind them with a 9.85. Mills earned her fifth score of 9.825 and above for the season, and Edwards contributed another consistent set for a 9.775.
On the floor, the team showed consistency throughout the line-up to earn a team score of 48.975. Schneider, a house favorite, earned the highest floor score for the Cats with a 9.85. Cindric received a season high on floor in the anchor position posting a 9.825. Felix-Terrazas and Howard earned a pair of 9.775's, and Mills and Sisler contributed two 9.75's.
The Wildcats saw six #ARIZONASTICKS Saturday evening- two from Howard (UB, BB), and one each from Ortiz (UB), Laub (UB), Mills (UB) and Cindric (BB).
Arizona will head to Norman, Okla., next week to take on the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners. The meet will be on Friday, March 4 at 5:45 p.m. MST. The meet will be aired on Fox College Sports/Fox Sports Oklahoma.
Fans can watch the GymCats one last time at home on March 11 at 6 p.m. MST on senior night. The meet will mark the end of regular season competition, as the Cats head to Seattle, Wash., the following week for the Pac-12 Championships.
