Arkansas Places Second at TWU Quad with Second-Best Score of 2024
In the second of two meets in three days, the No. 16 Gymbacks had a great showing as they posted their second-best score of the season, 197.375, and finished second among No. 10 Alabama (197.625), No. 19 Arizona (196.950) and host TWU (195.725).
Arkansas did not score lower than 49.200 in any of its rotations on the day and had a monster outing on floor with a 49.575, which matches the Hogs’ season best and the second-best score in program history.
Freshman Hailey Klein claimed her first-ever event title with a 9.925 score on beam, a new career high. The dynamic duo of Lauren Williams and Frankie Price delivered another two stellar floor routines that scored a matching 9.950 each in a three-way tie for first on the event. It was the second title of the weekend for both, as Price also won floor at Saturday’s Metroplex Challenge and Williams took home the vault gold.
The team score of 197.375 is also the fifth-best ever, and the program’s top five scores have now come in the last four seasons under head coach Jordyn Wieber.
Bars
For the second meet in a row Arkansas started its day on bars and had a great rotation that saw no routines under 9.825 counted. Sophomore Jaime Pratt paced Arkansas in the second spot with a solid routine that scored 9.875, complete with a stick. Pratt’s classmate Reese Drotar then earned her second 9.900 in as many meets up third. Senior veteran Jensen Scalzo got a 9.825 in fourth, and Priscilla Park and Maddie Jones closed the rotation with matching 9.850s. The Gymbacks posted a final score of 49.300 on bars.
Beam
After a shaky outing on Saturday, Arkansas recovered well on beam Monday. Lead-off junior Kalyxta Gamiao set the tone with an excellent routine, finished with a stuck dismount, for a 9.900 score. Sophomores Cally Swaney and Lauren Williams were up next and scored 9.800 and 9.725, respectively. Following a fall, Klein came in clutch in the fifth spot and was rock solid with a 9.925, a new career high. Grad transfer Sirena Linton kept the momentum going and earned a 9.850 to close the rotation for an event mark of 49.200 for Arkansas.
Floor
As always, the Arkansas floor rotation did not disappoint and did not count a score lower than 9.875. After an opening 9.850 from Gamiao, Klein continued her hot streak of a day and matched her personal best of 9.875 in the second spot. Jones had another solid showing on floor for a 9.925 midway through the lineup, which brought up the huge trio of Smith, Williams, and Price. Smith earned a 9.875, while Williams and Price delivered huge routines with all the stage presence for matching marks of 9.950, which brought the total to 49.575.
Vault
The first half of the Arkansas vault lineup got better as it went, with scores of 9.825 for Cami Weaver, 9.850 for Park and 9.875 for Smith. Freshman Dakota Essenpries earned a 9.825 for her Yurchenko 1.5, and Klein and Williams racked up 9.875s to finish the rotation, and the day, strong. The Gymbacks posted a final score of 49.300 on vault.
Up Next
The Gymbacks finally return home for an SEC dual meet against Kentucky on Friday, Feb. 23. The Equality Night action begins at 7:15 p.m. CT at Barnhill Arena, and the meet will be broadcast live on SEC Network.
More Information
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