TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona is set to take on No. 24 UCLA for their first Pac-12 road trip of the season. The meet is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. MST and will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
The GymCats were scheduled to face the Bruins in the Collegiate Challenge to open the 2022 season, but the meet was canceled due to COVID protocols in other competing programs.
Last week, freshmen
Alysen Fears and
Emily Mueller made their all-around debuts. The duo has impressed in their first two meets as GymCats, each boasting season best scores of 9.750 or better on all events.
A complete preview of Sunday's meet can be found below.
PAC-12 ROAD OPENER: Arizona is looking to bounce back as they face No. 24 UCLA for their first Pac-12 road competition of the 2022 season. This will be the GymCats' first meet of the season televised on Pac-12 Networks. JaNay Honest and Jim Watson will be on the call.
LAST WEEK: The GymCats hosted Oklahoma, Stanford, and Utah State in their home opener. The Sooners took home first place, followed by Utah State in second, and Stanford in third. Arizona posted a season high team beam score of 49.225, led by
Sirena Linton with a career high 9.925 in the anchor position. Freshmen
Alysen Fears and
Emily Mueller made their all-around debuts in their second meet as GymCats.
IN THE RANKINGS: Overall, Arizona is ranked No. 33 after the third week of competition.
- Vault: No. 31
- Uneven Bars: No. 51
- Balance Beam: No. 22
- Floor Exercise: No. 30
FRESH FACES: The GymCats welcomed four newcomers to the team this season.
Alysen Fears,
Elizabeth LaRusso, and
Emily Mueller are all freshmen.
Lara Burhans transferred to the program from Utah State.
FAMILIAR FACES: Arizona returns 13 gymnasts from last season.
MacKinzie Kane enters her senior year and helped the GymCats finish the 2021 season ranked No. 35 on the uneven bars. Six juniors and seven sophomores will return for the Cats.
Malia Hargrove enters her junior season following her individual appearance on floor at the NCAA Championships.
G-PAC: Malia Hargrove and
Sirena Linton will represent Arizona in the student-athlete driven organzation "Gymnasts for Peace, Action, and Change." G-PAC's mission is to foster diversity and inclusion. Linton was a member of G-PAC during the 2021 season.
COACHING STAFF: The GymCats have a very accomplished coaching staff.
John Court enters his fourth year as head coach and 24th year on staff in Tucson.
Taylor Spears, the 2014 NCAA individual beam champion, is in her fourth season as assistant coach and has helped the beam team improve every year.
Peter Jansson enters his second season as an assistant with the GymCats, bringing his nearly 30 years of coaching experience.
PRESEASON POLLS: Arizona was picked to finish sixth in the preseason Pac-12 coaches poll. In the WGCA preseason poll, the GymCats were picked to finish 27th.
