The Arizona gymnastics team suffered a tough loss against No. 11 Oregon State, 197.300 to 145.325, on Saturday, Feb. 17, in Corvallis, Oregon. This was the GymCats’ worst loss of the  season due to only having five competitors on bars, two on vault, three on floor and six on the balance beam. All four events normally consist of six competitors on each event, which leads to 24 routines in all. During the meet against the Beavers, the GymCats only performed 16. 

The loss resulted from the suspensions of four current gymnasts: Christina Berg (sophomore), Maddi Leydin (sophomore), Courtney Cowles (sophomore) and Adra Parks (freshman). The four GymCats were suspended for the meet due to violation of team rules.

“We are tough at Arizona, and we do things the right way,” Arizona head coach John Court said in a Pac-12 interview. “I know that starts with me because I am in charge of the team, and I know this was a very hard decision. We have 144 days to compete and do gymnastics. We’ve done some fantastic things, and they have been in the top 25 all year.”

The Wildcats have been in the top 25 all season and were ranked No. 24 going into the meet against Oregon. The loss dropped them down to No. 71 in the nation, and it will be a challenge to claw their way to the top.

It is still unknown what rules the GymCats violated, but Court and the rest of the team are preparing to move forward. Fans should expect to see the four gymnasts return during the meet against in-state rival ASU on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 4 p.m. in Tempe, Arizona. 

“We will prepare well,” Court said. “You could do it [suspension] over a course of time, or you can do it all at once. It was better to do it all at once and preserve the five meets of the rest of the season.”

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