Arkansas Upsets Georgia Friday Night at BWA
The No. 10 Gymbacks returned to Bud Walton Arena on Friday night and pulled off an upset over No. 6 Georgia, 197.450-197.050.
Arkansas outscored Georgia on vault, bars and beam on the night and notched a season high of 49.450 on bars. It was Arkansas’ second straight win over Georgia in Fayetteville and the team’s ninth against the Bulldogs in Jordyn Wieber’s tenure.
The Gymbacks claimed the individual titles on each of those events as well: Lauren Williams on vault (9.925), Morgan Price on bars (9.950) and Joscelyn Roberson on beam (9.950).
Joscelyn Roberson made her return to the all-around for the first time since last season and registered a 39.550 to win the title, the third-highest all-around score of her collegiate career.
Arkansas had its second-highest attendance of the season with 6,839 fans at Bud Walton Arena to watch the big win.
Vault
Leah Smith started out vault with a 9.825 for her Yurchenko full, and Allison Cucci followed with a 9.900 in the two spot. Roberson got a 9.775 up third, and Hailey Klein earned a 9.800 up fourth to pace the rotation. Lauren Williams drilled a solid Yurchenko 1.5 that went 9.925 in the fifth spot, and Morgan Price anchored with a 9.825. Arkansas finished vault with a 49.275.
Bars
Arkansas had an outstanding bars rotation that featured six of six stuck dismounts, culminating in the team’s season event high of 49.450. Roberson began the lineup with a 9.900, her season high. Klein went second with a 9.875, and Smith kept up the consistency with a 9.900 midway through the rotation. Avalon Campbell got a 9.825 next, a new career high. Fellow rookie Allison Cucci scored 9.725 in in the fifth position, but Morgan Price put down a stellar set capped with the stick for a 9.950.
Beam
The Gymbacks’ beam scores continued to build as the rotation went on: Madison Gustitus with a 9.800, Hailey Klein with a 9.850 and Allison Cucci with a 9.875. Cami Weaver went fourth and got a 9.800, and Morgan Price earned a 9.875 in the fifth spot to bring Roberson up to anchor. She put on her typical performance on the event and was nearly flawless again, scoring her fourth 9.950 in five meets. Arkansas concluded beam with a 49.350 event score.
Floor
After an uncharacteristically low floor rotation last week, the Gymbacks bounced back wonderfully on Friday in front of their home crowd. Klein, Smith and Morgan Price went 9.800, 9.850 and 9.800, respectively, to get the rotation off to a solid start. Williams earned her second 9.925 of the night in the fourth spot with solid tumbling and high performance quality. Frankie Price put on a show next and went 9.875, and Roberson closed out the night with a 9.925 to match her season high. Arkansas posted a 49.375 total on floor.
Up Next
The Gymbacks have a quick turnaround as Friday’s SEC contest was just one meet of a double weekend for Arkansas. They’ll take on No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 31 Arizona and No. 45 TWU in Sunday’s Metroplex Challenge in Fort Worth at 2:15 p.m. Streaming is available via Meet Scores Online for a fee.
More Information
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