Arizona Gymnastics Meet Notes

What’s on Tap: The No. 17 Arizona women’s gymnastics team (10-5, 3-2) will travel to Los Angeles to compete in a tri-meet against No. 2 UCLA (8-2, 5-0) and No. 8 Georgia (8-4, 3-3). The meet is set to begin at 2 p.m. PST in Pauley Pavilion.

Last Time Out: The No. 18 Arizona women’s gymnastics team fell to No. 16 Oregon State 195.075-194.300 last Friday night in front of 1,083 fans at McKale Center. Arizona gymnast’s captured or shared the individual titles on all four events, but could not overcome three devastating falls in the second rotation on the uneven parallel bars.

The Wildcats came out hot on the vault in the first rotation, posting a season-best team total of 49.125. The Wildcats were led individually by senior Monica Bisordi’s 9.875 mark, which tied her with OSU’s Therese Videan for the individual title. Fellow seniors Katie Johnson and Jamie Schell each posted 9.850 scores. Freshman Karin Wurm set a new career best with a 9.800 score.

Arizona entered the second rotation with a 49.125-48.900 lead, but it would be the last time the Wildcats would control the meet. Two consecutive falls to start off the rotation and a third later would result in a season-low score (47.575) for the Wildcats on the uneven parallel bars. The three low scores overshadowed meet-best 9.800 performances by sophomore Aubrey Taylor and Schell. Bisordi also turned in a solid performance with a 9.775 score to place her third in the event.

The Wildcats bounced back in the third rotation with a season-best 49.000 team score on the balance beam. Bisordi and freshman Danielle Hicks turned in back-to-back 9.875 performances to share the individual title on the event. Hicks’ mark set a new career high on the beam. Johnson (9.825), senior Stevie Fanning (9.725) and Taylor (9.700) all placed in the Top 10.

Trailing 146.175- 145.700 heading into the final rotation, any hopes of a comeback were put to rest after the Wildcats tallied two low scores to begin the floor exercise. The Wildcats were again led by Bisordi, who claimed the individual title outright with a 9.900 mark. Johnson again turned in a solid floor performance with a 9.875 score. Taylor (9.850) tied her career best in the event and Wurm (9.825) set a career best as they finished third and fourth, respectively,in the event.

Schell, who made her second all-around appearance this season, finished with a total of 37.900. Bisordi, the only other gymnast to compete in the all-around, captured the all-around title with her total of 39.425. The score was a season best, and it marked the third consecutive week she has claimed an all-around title.

With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 10-5 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-10. The Beavers improved to 8-3 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-10.

The Rankings: The Wildcats jumped to No. 17 in this week’s GymInfo national rankings with an average team score 194.275 and a Regional Qualifying Score of 194.270. It is the highest ranking of the season since Arizona was voted No. 13 in the Preseason Coaches Poll. The Wildcats are also ranked nationally in all four individual events. The Wildcats are No. 19 in the floor exercise with an average of 48.775 and an RQS of 48.765. The Willdcats’ highest ranking in an event is on the balance beam. The No. 14 Wildcats hold a season average of 48.464 and an RQS of 48.510. Arizona is No. 18 on the uneven parallel bars, with a season average of 48.361 and an RQS of 48.410. The Wildcats come in at No. 21 on the vault with a team average of 48.675 and an RQS of 48.625. Senior Katie Johnson is currently tied for 23^rd nationally on the vault with an average score of 9.821 and an RQS of 9.840.

Complete Top 25:

Bold Indicates Arizona Opponents