Gymbacks Prepare for 2021 Season Opener at LSU
FAYETTEVILLE – The University of Arkansas Gymnastics team is nearly 24 hours away from its 2021 debut in Baton Rouge. The Gymbacks will face the No.5 LSU Tigers on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. CT inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center., Friday’s meet will be aired live on the SEC Network.
The season opener kicks off an eight meet SEC schedule. Introductions for the meet will begin at 7:15 p.m. CT with first vault on the SEC Network at 7:35 p.m. John Roethlisberger and Alicia Sacramone Quinn will be calling the meet from home.
Links | SEC Network | Live Scoring
Returning Razorback Stars
Senior Sophia Carter and junior Kennedy Hambrick will be back in the lineup this season, returning to the gym as 2020 Regular Season All-Americans. The duo also earned All-SEC honors, in addition to redshirt-sophomore Bailey Lovett who was named to the 2020 All-SEC Freshman team. Hambrick finished the 2020 regular season ranked 16th in the country in the All-Around with a team-best NQS of 39.385. Carter finished the regular season ranked 11th in the country in the Floor Exercise with an NQS of 9.925 and average of 9.907 and ranked sixth among SEC gymnasts. With Carter and Hambrick both being named to the All-SEC team, it makes the third consecutive season that multiple Razorbacks have been honored. Their awards bring Arkansas’ total to 40 All-SEC honors in program history.
Wieber Adds Depth to the Roster with Transfers
Fayetteville welcomed graduate transfer Maggie O’Hara (Michigan) and junior transfer Abby Johnston (Nebraska) over the summer. O’Hara brings four decorated years for Michigan gym. She finished her career for the Wolverines with 9.875s as career highs on both the uneven bars and balance beam, both achieved during the 2020 campaign. O’Hara competed in eights meets in 2020, making four appearances on the bars and seven appearances on the beam. Johnston comes to Fayetteville after two seasons at Nebraska where she primarily competed on bars and floor. In 2020, she had a career-high score of 9.875 on the floor at the Big 5’s Elevate the State (Feb. 21). Three of her four appearances this spring scored a 9.800 or higher. Wieber expects Johnston will add depth to both the bars and floor lineups at Arkansas as well.
On the Home Front
The Gymbacks will host four meets in Fayetteville this year, beginning Jan. 15 against the LSU Tigers. The squad will also host Florida on Jan. 22, Missouri on Feb. 19, and Alabama on Feb. 26. Gymback fans can purchase season tickets online by visiting this link, or by calling the Razorback Ticket Center at 800-982-HOGS. All season tickets are $25 each and include a socially distanced reserve seat inside historic Barnhill Arena.
Can’t make it to Fayetteville this winter to see the Gymbacks in action?
Head coach Jordyn Wieber and the GymBacks want to see you in the stands in Barnhill Arena this season! With attendance being limited in person, fans will have the opportunity to purchase a personalized cutout of themselves to be installed in the stands at all Gymnastics meets this season. Cutouts start at just $50 and VIP cutouts can be purchased for $100. VIP cutouts will be placed in the front row of the arena and will be signed by Coach Wieber at the end of the season.
Use THIS LINK to purchase yours today!
Visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com for the latest information on all things Arkansas Gymnastics. You can also find the Hogs on social media by liking us on Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Gymnastics) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@RazorbackGym).
