Gymbacks Headed for SEC Championships in Birmingham
The Arkansas gymnastics team starts its postseason journey this weekend with the SEC Championships in Birmingham, Ala. on Saturday.
The Hogs have been seeded seventh and will compete against No. 5 Kentucky, No. 6 Missouri and No. 8 Georgia in the afternoon session of the championships at 2:30 p.m. CT. No. 1 Florida, No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Auburn and No. 4 Alabama are set for the championship’s evening session at 7:00.
As conference championships get underway this weekend, five SEC teams are ranked in the top 10, seven are in the top 20 (including Arkansas at No. 17), and all eight are ranked among the top 25 in the country.
“I think both sessions will be competitive and will help prepare us for regionals. My goal for the team is to go out there and dominate the afternoon session. If we can win that, I would say that’s a really good sign,” head coach Jordyn Wieber said. “I love the competitiveness of our conference but it doesn’t get any easier … I think it’s great for our sport, it’s great for our fanbase, and it’s great that no matter what team you’re competing against in the SEC, it’s gonna be a great competition.”
The Hogs will look to rebound after a seventh-place finish at the 2021 SEC Championships. Arkansas takes a 196.820 NQS into the competition and has the second-highest beam NQS of 49.275 among the afternoon session’s competitors.
In Arkansas’ SEC Championships history, the Gymbacks are a combined 19-24 against Georgia, Kentucky and Missouri. The Razorbacks have met the Bulldogs 17 times, the Wildcats 18 times and the Tigers eight times at the event, and their best record is a 6-2 advantage over Missouri. Arkansas has not gotten a win over any of the three teams at SECs since the 2019 contest.
Arkansas has been on an upswing in its last two meets, and earned important 196.800 and 196.975 road scores, which will be key for regional considerations. The team’s 196.975 at the Denver Quad Meet on Sunday was its highest road mark. The Gymbacks won the meet, their first away victory since 2021, and also set a new program record on vault with a score of 49.500.
“It kind of feels like we’re getting back in our rhythm, with all of the COVID and inconsistencies in the beginning of the season, it really took us out of the rhythm that we were in,” Wieber said. “They’ve always meshed in the gym, but they’re really meshing when it comes to competition now, which I think is allowing them to go out and just hit. After Denver with exhibitions included, I think we had 26-for-26 hit routines, which is a huge confidence booster … I’m really glad because this feels like the perfect time to do that.”
Both sessions of the SEC Championships will be broadcast live on SEC Network, and live stats will be provided. There will also be individual event streams available via SECN+. Arkansas will start the day on floor and will then rotate to vault and bars, and will conclude the session on beam. Awards will be given at the conclusion of both sessions.
Last Time Out
In third place after three events, the Gymbacks stepped up to the vault runway for a monster final rotation and put a bow on March 6’s quad meet in Denver with a win to end to the regular season. The Hogs posted a final mark of 49.500 on vault, a program high on the event. Arkansas’ big win pushed the team to an overall record of 6-9, and its final score of 196.975 was the third-highest on the season. The Gymbacks defeated Denver (196.800) for the first time since 2018, Nebraska (195.750) for the first time since 2016 and Oregon State (196.875) for the first time since 2013.
Up Next
The team will learn their regional destination during the NCAA Selection Show on Tuesday, March 22. Regionals will run from March 30-April 2. Regional semifinals will take place on Thursday, March 31 with the top two teams from each of two four-team sessions advancing to Saturday’s regional final. Auburn, Oklahoma, NC State and Washington will all serve as regional hosts. The Gymbacks have appeared in 17-straight regionals and have only missed twice in program history: in the team’’s inaugural 2003 season and when the event was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19 protocols.
More Information
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