Gymbacks Take on Mountaineers for Equality Night Friday
For the first time in nearly a month, the No. 13 Arkansas gymnastics team will take the floor at Barnhill Arena for a dual meet with the No. 29 West Virginia Mountaineers on Friday.
The Gymbacks’ last home meet was the first–ever in Bud Walton Arena on Jan. 14 and the team was on the road last week, but finally returns to its home base.
“I think it’s going to be a great feeling, being back in Barnhill,” head coach Jordyn Wieber said. “It’s obviously really familiar and really homey for us, and I know the team is excited. I’m really hopeful that after having such great attendance in Bud Walton that we gathered a few more fans.”
Arkansas and West Virginia haven’t met for a meet since 2015, and this week’s will be the first regular season action between the two teams since 2012. The Hogs currently hold a 5-3 all-time advantage in the series.
While the Gymbacks rank higher overall and on vault, bars and beam, the Mountaineers enter Friday’s competition ranked No. 8 in the country on floor exercise with an impressive season average score of 49.308. Arkansas is currently No. 15 on floor with an average of 49.200.
Arkansas’ best event so far this season is balance beam, in which the team is currently ranked No. 9 with a 49.275 average score. The Gymbacks scored a program-high 49.475 on beam at Florida last week, which helped them to keep climbing the top 10.
Friday’s meet will also serve as Equality Night for Arkansas, an evening celebrating fans of all races, abilities, genders, and sexual orientations, as well as an expression of commitment to the equal treatment and inclusion of all.
The meet is the first of its kind for the program. The team has been reflecting on how inclusivity, antiracism and diversity are displayed in Fayetteville by visiting local murals that evoke these values, along with having team meetings on the subjects.
“We really want to take this opportunity to use our platform and use our home competition as an opportunity to stand up for a cause and have it be about more than gymnastics,” Wieber said. “Just like we do with our Women’s Empowerment Meet, which we’re having next week, we wanted to highlight what our team wants to represent about equality.”
In-meet elements for Equality Night include special t-shirts worn by the team and an opportunity for fans to write down and display what equality means to them.
The meet will be streamed live on SEC Network+ and live stats will be provided.
Last Time Out
The Gymbacks took Gainesville for the team’s first road meet of the season last week. While Arkansas got off to a shaky start, the team improved as the night wore on. The last two rotations were huge for the visiting team, and Arkansas posted a 49.200, its second-best floor score of the season, to help make a push late. It was the 35th consecutive meet in which the Razorbacks have scored a 49+ on floor. The Gymbacks then took balance beam for the final rotation, and posted four scores of 9.9 or above, including three 9.925s from seniors Bailey Lovett, Kennedy Hambrick and Amanda Elswick en route to a program-high 49.475. While the Hogs ultimately fell to the Gators 196.485-198.250, they didn’t go down without a fight and made history along the way.
Up Next
Arkansas has back-to-back home meets as the Gymbacks host the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats on Feb. 11. The meet is the third annual Women’s Empowerment Night, a tradition that begin in Wieber’s first season in 2020. Action starts at 6:45 p.m. and the meet will be streamed via SEC Network+.
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