TUCSON, Ariz. — The GymCats are set to host No. 20 Arizona State on Saturday night. The meet is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. MST and will be streamed for free
here.
"We are looking forward to being at home this week and carrying the momentum from the last two meets," said head coach
John Court. "We are hoping for a great fan turnout and we need ZonaZoo to show up and help us red out McKale!"
"I'm excited to use our momentum from last weekend and continue to build on it going forward," said Deets. "I can't wait to show everyone what we're capable of and Bear Down."
The team posted a season high score of 196.050 against the Huskies last week, and the beam team posted an impressive 49.175. Overall this season, beam is the highest ranked event for the GymCats at No. 29 nationally.
"I was really proud of how the beam team ended the meet at Washington," said assistant coach
Taylor Spears. "I told them to be aggressive and that's exactly what they did. We have so much talent and depth on beam. I'm really excited to see them keep building and gaining confidence throughout the season."
A complete preview of Saturday's meet can be found below.
HOME AGAIN: Arizona returns home after a two-week road trip to UCLA and Wasington. The GymCats will host No. 20 Arizona State on Saturday night. Every week, the GymCats have earned a season high score on different events and are looking to put it all together and pick up a win against the Sun Devils.
LAST WEEK: The GymCats faced the Huskies and earned a season high team score of 196.050. Although Arizona put up its best score of the season, Washington edged out Arizona with a 196.250 to win the meet. Freshman
Alysen Fears shined in the all-around, earning a 39.225 and taking second place.
IN THE RANKINGS: Overall, Arizona is ranked No. 36 after the fifth week of competition.
- Vault: No. 44
- Uneven Bars: No. 42
- Balance Beam: No. 29
- Floor Exercise: No. 32
FABULOUS FRESHMEN: Freshmen
Alysen Fears and
Emily Mueller have made huge impacts in the lineups for the GymCats. Fears holds season highs 9.75 on vault and 9.85 on bars, beam, and floor, and 39.250 in the all-around. Mueller has hit every routine so far this season and holds season highs of 9.800 on vault, barsm and floor, 9.90 on beam, and 39.175 in the all-around.
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.
