Gymbacks Set New Program Score Record, Tie Crimson Tide
Friday’s top five match-up between the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide and No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks had no shortage of excitement as the two teams went toe-to-toe in Tuscaloosa and while the final scores ended in a tie, Arkansas set a new program high of 197.525.
The Hogs did not score lower than 49.300 in any of the four events and registered seven scores of 9.900 or higher on the night. Alabama bested Arkansas in just one area on the night: bars, also the event that the Tide are currently ranked No. 1 in the country on.
Leah Smith and Lauren Williams came in a three-way tie for first on vault with 9.925 marks, and five other Gymbacks posted top three finishes: Priscilla Park on bars (9.925), Kalyxta Gamiao (9.925) and Sirena Linton (9.900) on beam and Leah Smith (9.925) and Maddie Jones (9.900) on floor.
Park made her Arkansas all-around debut on Friday and finished the night with a 38.525, posing 9.800+ scores on three events.
Bars
Arkansas got off to a solid start with back-to-back big routines from sophomores Cally Swaney and Reese Drotar, who scored 9.850 and 9.875, respectively, and both with stuck dismounts. Jaime Pratt and Jensen Scalzo went in the third and fourth spots and scored matching 9.825s, which brought up Priscilla Park in fifth. The freshman sailed through her routine and sealed it with a stick for a big 9.925 score to get her night going in the all-around. Maddie Jones closed things out with another 9.825 and Arkansas posted a 49.300 total on bars.
Vault
Cami Weaver earned a 9.875 to get vault going for the Gymbacks, and Leah Smith came through with a huge 9.925 for her Yurchenko full with a stick up third. Makie Sedlacek and Frankie Price earned a pair of matching 9.850s in the fourth and fifth spots, which brought Lauren Williams up to anchor. She delivered a clean Yurchenko 1.5 and matched Smith’s score of 9.925, wrapping up the 49.425 rotation for the Hogs.
Floor
The 1-2 freshman duo of Hailey Klein and Park went 9.850 and 9.825 on floor to set Arkansas up on a high note. Jones and Smith then delivered huge routines with stellar tumbling and choreography and earned scores of 9.900 and 9.925, respectively. Williams went up 9.875 and continued to shine on the event, earning a 9.875. Price closed out the rotation and brought all the energy as always for a score of 9.850, which brought Arkansas’ total to 49.400 on floor.
Beam
Junior Kalyxta Gamiao continued to prove her worth as a beam lead-off and put down a calm, cool and collected routine, complete with a stick, for a 9.925 score, which matched her personal best. Jones kept up her consistency after a 9.900 last week and earned a 9.875 up second. Williams was up third and matched the score, and Weaver went up fourth and scored a 9.825. Graduate transfer Sirena Linton got redemption after a fall in her first beam appearance for Arkansas in the season opener and showed tremendous poise for a 9.900 score, which secured Arkansas’ event total of 49.400 and sealed the new program team high.
Up Next
Arkansas returns home for an SEC dual against Auburn on Friday, Jan. 26. The meet will begin at 6:45 p.m. CT at Barnhill Arena and will be streamed live on SEC Network+. The contest is the first-ever Compete for a Cause Meet for Arkansas, in which the team and fans are encouraged to come dressed in colors that show support for or recognize causes close to their hearts.
More Information
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