Gymbacks Ranked 11th in WCGA Preseason Poll
The Arkansas gymnastics program has been ranked No. 11 heading into the 2022 slate in the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) preseason poll, the organization announced on Tuesday.
The Gymbacks have fallen in the Top 20 in the preseason poll for the last 16 years and move up four spots from last season’s No. 15 rank. The climb speaks to the success of head coach Jordyn Wieber, who has taken the team from a No. 19 preseason rank in 2019 to No. 11 in 2021.
The team was ranked as high as No. 4 overall last year and was the second-best team in the nation on floor exercise in four weeks over the season. Arkansas set a new program record score of 197.350 against Missouri only to break it two meets later with a 197.425 at Auburn. The team scored a 197.250 in the first round of its 17th-straight regional appearance, the highest-ever in regional competition.
Arkansas is boosted this year by a strong contingent of returners and a talented freshman class. Four-time All-American Kennedy Hambrick enters her senior year fresh off an NCAA Championships appearance and as the new Arkansas all-around record holder with a score of 39.750. Maggie O’Hara is back for her final season as well. O’Hara became Arkansas’ first-ever bars regular season All-American with a national qualifying score of 9.925 and advanced the NCAA Championships, where she finished in fourth place for another set of All-American honors. Bailey Lovett and Sarah Shaffer also return and can contribute solidly throughout Arkansas’ lineups.
Leah Smith, the 2021 Nastia Liukin Cup winner, 2021 national floor champion, and five-time Texas state champion, is expected to make an immediate impact for Arkansas, and fellow rookies Makie Sedlacek and Cami Weaver could also be big players in their rookie seasons.
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