Razorbacks Take On Two Sets of Tigers in Sunday Tri-Meet
It’s Gymbacks versus Tigers times two as the No. 16 Arkansas gymnastics team heads to Columbia, Mo. for a tri-meet against No. 11 Missouri and No. 5 LSU at noon on Sunday.
Originally set as a Friday dual meet between Arkansas and Missouri, LSU joins the competition after its conference contests against both the Mizzou Tigers and Hogs were previously postponed. The meet will now be Arkansas’ second of four on a Sunday this season, and just the second away contest so far for the Gymbacks.
Both Arkansas and Mizzou are 0-3 in conference action while LSU is 2-1. The Tigers from Baton Rouge have the highest average scores on all events and overall up against the other Tigers and Razorbacks. Arkansas has a slight edge on Missouri on vault with a 49.105 average to the Tigers’ 49.070.
Sunday’s meeting will be the 29th between Arkansas and Mizzou, and in that span, the Gymbacks have a 17-11 series lead. Just three of those victories have come in Columbia, with the last in 2020. The Hogs had a historic home meet against the Tigers last season, in which they recorded the second-highest program (197.350) and floor (49.575) scores of all time, and Kennedy Hambrick set a new all-around record of 39.750.
Arkansas’ all-time series against LSU will move to 48 contests on Sunday, which ties for the second-longest in program history (along with Alabama). The Gymbacks have come out victorious against the Tigers just five times, and one of the team’s five ties ever came against LSU.All of Arkansas’ victories over LSU happened between 2009 and 2012, and three of five were neutral site wins.
Missouri fell to No. 7 Auburn last week with a score of 196.275, while LSU had a close battle with No. 2 Florida that ended in a 197.825-198.150 loss.
Sunday’s tri-meet is set for a noon CT start and will be streamed live on SEC Network+, with live stats provided by Missouri.
Last Time Out
Arkansas hosted its third-annual Women’s Empowerment Night on Friday, Feb. 11 and saw its second-biggest crowd of the season, but the Gymbacks came up short to the Kentucky Wildcats by a final margin of 195.675-196.700. Freshman Maddie Jones competed on two events and matched her career high on bars with a 9.850 and set a new one on floor with a mark of 9.900 for the event title, the first in her career as a Hog. Fellow rookies Makenzie Sedlacek and Leah Smith also posted scores of 9.8+ on vault, and Kalyxta Gamiao made her Arkansas debut on beam and earned a 9.825. Graduate student and All-American Maggie O’Hara bounced back in a big way after falls on bars in the last two weeks and put up a 9.925 for her second event title of the season. Senior Bailey Lovett shined again as the floor anchor and posted a 9.900 to cap the meet and share first place on the event with Jones.
Up Next
Following the road trip to Columbia, the Gymbacks then return home on Friday, Feb. 25, when they host Georgia for Senior Night at 7:45 p.m. The meet is set to be broadcast live on SEC Network.
More Information
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