Shaffer, Hambrick Post Top 25 Performances at NCAA Championships
Among the country’s toughest competition on Thursday, Gymbacks Sarah Shaffer and Kennedy Hambrick represented Arkansas nicely at NCAA Gymnastics Championships.
Shaffer, an individual bars qualifier, tied for 24th overall and 12th in the afternoon session in her final routine at Arkansas. Hambrick added top-25 performances on vault (T24, 9.8625) and all-around (39.325), in which she tied for 17th overall. In the afternoon session, all but one of her routines came in the top 15 and her vault score tied for 10th.
For the second consecutive year, Hambrick was named an all-around All-American and earned her spot on the second team after finishing in the top eight of her session. She has now earned five All-American honors in her career and adds the 52nd in program history.
Shaffer got to work early and was first up on bars with Alabama. The Crimson Tide set the pace well and finished off their rotation with a 9.875, the highest among the team’s competitors. The energy proved to be contagious as Shaffer delivered an excellent routine complete with a stuck dismount to match the high score of 9.875. She saved some of her best for last as the routine marked the end of her six-year run with the Gymbacks.
As Shaffer finished up on bars, Hambrick took the floor for her first routine of the day with Utah. She earned a 9.7125 to kick things off, and then moved over to vault. She executed a clean Yurchenko 1.5 with a nearly-stuck landing for a 9.825.
On bars, Hambrick matched her score in the previous rotation and capped off a solid routine with a stuck full twisting double back dismount. She kept the momentum up from there as she rotated to beam for her last routine of the day. She floated through each of her acro skills and stuck the gainer full dismount for her highest mark of the day, 9.8875. Her all-around total for the day came in at 39.325, sixth place in the afternoon session.
More Information
Visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com for the latest information on all things Arkansas Gymnastics. You can also find the Razorbacks on social media by liking us on Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Gymnastics) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@RazorbackGym).
