No.15 Razorbacks Prep for No.13 Kentucky on Friday

FAYETTEVILLE – The University of Arkansas gymnastics squad is prepping for its third meet in the last week, looking ahead to no.13 Kentucky as the Cats come to Fayetteville for a Friday evening meet in Barnhill Arena. Friday’s meet will be televised on the SEC Network, slated to begin at 6:00 p.m. (CT).

The Gymbacks return to their home arena after falling to no.1 Oklahoma in the Lloyd Noble Center, 198.175 – 196.550. Arkansas’ 196.550 is the highest score for the Razorbacks in Norman since 2009. Junior Sydney Laird earned a 9.900 on the bars for the second meet in a row and junior Sophia Carter continued to anchor the Gymbacks on the floor with a 9.900. Redshirt-freshman Bailey Lovett earned the first 9.900 on the balance beam for Arkansas helping the Hogs to their highest beam performance of the season with 49.025 points.

After a road loss at Florida in week one, Arkansas dropped out of the top 25 as ranked by Road to Nationals. The Gymbacks bounced back and rose to no.19 after their season-high 196.825 against Denver. They continued their success at Oklahoma and with another 196+ in the books, moved up to no.15 in the daily polls as of Jan.22.

Currently ranked third in the SEC, the Cats come to Fayetteville with a 4-1 overall record. Their 1-0 mark in conference came with a 196.525-195.500 win over no.8 Missouri on Jan.10. Kentucky most recently took first in a quad meet with NC State, North Carolina and Lindenwood with a score of 196.375. The Wildcats earned event titles on vault, beam, floor and all-around.

Kentucky’s Raena Worley was named the back-to-back Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week on Tuesday. She performed a 9.925 floor routine, tying two others for the best mark on the apparatus. Worley tied for fifth on vault (9.825) and bars (9.825) and seventh on beam (9.800) for a second-place all-around finish (39.350). The freshman tied or surpassed season highs in all five categories.

Arkansas holds a 24-10 series advantage over Kentucky, but the Razorbacks will be looking for their first dual-meet victory since 2016. The Gymbacks did score higher than the Cats at the 2019 SEC championships, finishing ahead of Kentucky, 196.475-196.225.

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