TUCSON, Ariz. — With 20 of their routines coming from underclassmen, the Arizona GymCats posted a final score of 195.075 on Sunday afternoon at the McKale Center. The visiting UCLA Bruins secured the victory with a final team score of 196.750.
Arizona showed improvement on both vault and floor, posting a 48.975 and a 49.175 in those events respectively and besting their marks from a week ago in Salt Lake City.
Freshman
Jessica Castles earned her second Gymnast of the Meet honor in as many weeks, taking home the crown on Sunday afternoon after posting three scores above a 9.800. Castles made her collegiate debut on vault in the first rotation and notched an impressive 9.825. She followed that with a 9.875 on beam and another 9.875 on floor to close out the meet. So far in her brief collegiate career, Castles has performed five routines and never scored below a 9.750.
Vault
The GymCats opened the afternoon on vault and impressed with a 48.975, a week-by-week improvement of .200 over their season-opening score. The final three Arizona gymnasts all vaulted over a 9.800, with
Malia Hargrove leading the way at 9.875 for a career-high. The Wildcats finished the first rotation tied with UCLA.
Uneven Bars
Arizona moved to bars for the second rotation and posted a 48.850. Freshman
Elena Deets paced the GymCats on bars with a 9.800.
Balance Beam
The GymCats third rotation sent them to beam, where they posted a collective 48.850. Four gymnasts posted a beam score above 9.800, including a career-high 9.800 from Deets and a team-best 9.875 from Castles.
Floor Exercise
It was a strong finish for the GymCats on floor, with five consecutive routines above a 9.800 and a team score of 49.175. Castles (9.875), Deets (9.800), and
Danielle Nosek (9.800) all set career-highs in the event. Hargrove led the charge for the GymCats, anchoring the rotation with a 9.900 to tie her career-high.
Season Highs
Jessica Castles — VT (9.825); FX (9.875)
Elena Deets — BB (9.800); FX (9.800)
Malia Hargrove — VT (9.875); FX (9.900)
MacKinzie Kane — UB (9.700)
Danielle Nosek — VT (9.775); FX (9.800)
Career Highs
Jessica Castles — FX (9.875)
Elena Deets — BB (9.800); FX (9.800)
Malia Hargrove — VT (9.875)
Danielle Nosek — VT (9.775); FX (9.800)
Up Next
Arizona remains in Tucson for a home meet against California on Saturday, Feb. 6 at the McKale Center. The meet is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. MST with a free live stream available.
