TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona Gymnastics earned the No. 25 ranking in the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) preseason poll, released by the association on Friday.
This is the second year that the GymCats have been picked in the Top 25 of the WCGA preseason poll under head coach
John Court.
"It's always great when coaches around the country respect our program, our results from last year, our coaches, and roster of athletes," Court said. "Being ranked 25th nationally is a competitive starting point and one of our team goals is to improve the ranking by the end of the season."
The GymCats are returning 16 letterwinners from last season's team that finished the year ranked No. 26 by Road to Nationals, their highest end of season ranking since closing out the 2016-17 campaign ranked No. 26. The Wildcats ended last season ranked No. 25 on beam.
Among the 16 returners are seniors
Malia Hargrove and
Sirena Linton, two standouts who competed in all 13 meets last year. Linton was named second team All-American on the balance beam after earning a 9.9125 at the NCAA Championships as an individual competitor. Sophomores
Alysen Fears and
Emily Mueller also return for Arizona following breakout freshman campaigns.
The Wildcats are welcoming five freshman to the squad,
Gianna Lenczner,
Indigo Morgan,
Jordan Schultz,
Sophia Stephens, and
Emma Strom.
Arizona hosts the GymCat Showcase on Saturday, December 10 at 2 p.m. MST. The 2023 regular season will kick off at Ohio State on Sunday, January 8.
