Gymnastics

No. 17 Gymnastics Opens 2017 At No. 4 UCLA

January 5, 2017

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Legendary head coach John Wooden wrote the book, “Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success: Building Blocks for a Better Life,” consisting of 15 building blocks for success.

Success, Wooden wrote, is built block by block and those individual blocks together form the structure of the pyramid of success. Entering its 15th year as a program, the Arkansas gymnastics team has adopted that very same philosophy for this upcoming season.

Fittingly, Wooden was the head men’s basketball coach at UCLA for three decades and roamed the sidelines of Pauley Pavilion, the same venue where the 17th-ranked Razorbacks will begin their 2017 season by facing the fourth-ranked UCLA Bruins on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT on Pac-12 Los Angeles.

“This is not a sprint; it’s a marathon,” head coach Mark Cook said. “Every year, we have one of the hardest schedules in the country. We have faced hard teams in the past in the first meet of the season. We have faced LSU in Cancun, Mexico, and the list goes on and on.”

Saturday’s meet is also a homecoming for Cook, who began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach at UCLA from 1995-97, helping lead the Bruins to two Pac-10 titles, three NCAA Regional championships and their first NCAA Championship in 1997. He came to Arkansas in May 2001 to build the Razorback program from scratch and he’s now entering his 15th season at the helm.

“The team wants to go out there and represent ourselves well, be competitive and really put the pressure on them as much as possible,” Cook said. “We have beaten them before several times. We knocked them out of NCAA Nationals right here in Barnhill Arena several years ago. We’re excited to go out there. We’re just going to go out there and compete hard.”

Arkansas, picked No. 17 in the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC/W) preseason coaches’ poll released in December, returns eight gymnasts from last year’s team that went 12-12, including 4-3 in Southeastern Conference action.

The Razorbacks were sixth at the SEC Championship and finished third at the NCAA Iowa City Regional. The season was highlighted by several program records and top-10 wins over No. 4 Alabama and No. 9 Auburn.

This year’s team is led by a trio of seniors who have each earned All-SEC honors: Heather Elswick, Samantha Nelson and Amanda Wellick, who is also a two-time All-American and qualified for the NCAA Championships as an individual in 2014 and 2016.

Notable

  • Arkansas is 3-11 all-time against UCLA but won three straight earlier in the series, knocking the Bruins out of a place in NCAA Nationals in 2006 and finishing ahead of them in NCAA Nationals in 2009.
  • Arkansas will face nine squads ranked in the top 30 nationally, including six in the top 10 and four in the top five, beginning with No. 4 UCLA.
  • Arkansas has made 13 consecutive trips to NCAA Regionals, which includes two NCAA Regional titles and two NCAA Super Six appearances.
  • Arkansas will host an NCAA Regional in 2017 for the first time since 2014 and for the fifth time in program history.

Quotable – Coach Mark Cook on Amanda Wellick

“It’s important and it’s a necessity to have someone that has that understanding and knows what’s expected. Most of the team watched Amanda compete at nationals last year, so they had a chance to see what that’s about. They want to go to nationals as a team. When you have an All-American that has that experience, they know how to handle the pressure and they know the expectations so they can calm down their teammates and instill in them that confidence, and that transcends throughout the team.”

Looking Ahead

No. 17 Arkansas returns home for its home and SEC opener against No. 19 Missouri on Friday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. CT in Barnhill Arena. The Razorbacks will also host to No. 3 Alabama (Jan. 27), No. 2 LSU (Feb. 10), No. 5 Florida (Feb. 17), and San Jose State and Centenary for Senior Night on March 10.

Season ticket packages for all five regular-season home meets start at $25 for general admission. Fans can also purchase reserved season tickets for $40. Single-meet and NCAA Regional tickets are also now on sale.

Fans can purchase tickets by calling the Razorback Ticket Center at 800-982-HOGS or 479-575-5151. Additional ticketing information can also be found online.

— ArkansasRazorbacks.com || On Twitter @ArkRazorbacks || Facebook.com/ArkansasRazorbacks –

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