Gymbacks Finish Seventh at NCAAs, Drotar Gets Top 10 Finish
One of the best seasons in program history came to an end for the Gymbacks on Thursday as they finished fourth in the NCAA Championships afternoon semifinal and seventh overall.
The seventh place finish for Arkansas is the highest for the team since 2012, in which the Gymbacks came in sixth at the NCAA final. It’s the best season end rank in head coach Jordyn Wieber’s tenure, and in the new championship format with eight teams instead of 12.
The Hogs scored a 196.475 on the day, the second-highest NCAA Championships team score for the program ever. They came in fourth behind Stanford (197.075), No. 3 Cal (197.7125) and No. 2 LSU (198.1125), with Cal and LSU advancing to Saturday’s national championship.
A highlight of the day came in Arkansas’ final rotation, as sophomore Reese Drotar scored a 9.925, which matched the program NCAA Championships bars record set by Maggie O’Hara in 2021. It was the top score of the session and held to be the sixth-highest score of the day, good for a podium finish and First Team All-America honors.
The Gymbacks also had two top 15 finishes on vault in Cami Weaver and Leah Smith, who both earned marks of 9.8875. It was good for a tie for sixth place in the session and 13th overall, which garners Second Team All-America recognition.
Beam
Lead-off Kalyxta Gamiao provided her typical calm and consistency to start on beam and earned a 9.850, and Maddie Jones followed with a solid 9.8125. Cally Swaney got another 9.850 midway through the lineup, but things took a turn from there. Cami Weaver and Hailey Klein both had balance checks and got scores of 9.6625 and 9.6375, respectively, which brought up Sirena Linton to anchor. She had a foot slip during her routine and finished with a 9.4625. Arkansas closed beam with a score of 48.8125.
Floor
The Gymbacks headed to their best event in the second rotation with floor, and saw three solid routines to open the lineup: A 9.825 for Gamiao, 9.800 for Klein and 9.8125 from Jones. Smith started strong but stepped out of bounds on one of her tumbling passes, which put her score at 9.625. Lauren Williams was up fifth and got a 9.8125, and Frankie Price anchored well as usual with a 9.8875. The Gymbacks finished the rotation with a 49.1375.
Vault
Arkansas’ strongest rotation of the day ended up being on vault, as Weaver and Smith set the tone well with stuck Yurchenko fulls in the one and two spots for matching 9.8875s. Price had a nearly identical vault but took just a small step on the landing for a 9.875. Freshman Dakota Essenpries got a 9.7625 for her Yurchenko 1.5 in the fourth spot, and her fellow rookie Klein also did a 1.5 for a 9.850 score. In her second-ever appearance on vault in Dickies Arena, Williams closed the rotation with a 9.825. The Gymbacks posted a total of 49.325 on vault.
Bars
Bars was the last event of the day for the Hogs, and Swaney paced them well with a 9.8125 in the lead-off spot. Her fellow sophomore Jaime Pratt recorded a 9.7875 next, which brought up Drotar at third. She absolutely nailed her routine and just nearly missed the stuck landing, finishing with a 9.925. Freshman Priscilla Park scored a 9.800 in her first NCAA Championships routine, while senior Jensen Scalzo closed her Arkansas career on a high note with a 9.875. Jones was the anchor of the rotation and got a 9.7875 for a final mark of 49.200 on bars for the Hogs.
More Information
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