Since 1997, the Arizona men’s basketball team has not won a national championship and the Arizona gymnastics team has not been able to claim a victory in Corvallis, Ore.
At least one drought has come to its end, as the No. 14 Gymcats (3-7, 3-2 Pacific 10 Conference) beat the No. 19 Oregon State Beavers (9-4, 3-3) by a score of 195.400-194.925.
The Wildcats were led by consistent performances from all of their gymnasts. They scored a 48.625 or better in every event, including a 48.975 in the uneven bars and the floor exercises.
“”I am so proud of the team,”” Arizona head coach Bill Ryden said in a press release. “”This was not easy. I thought the scoring was very tight in spots. Our girls hung in there and kept fighting. This is a great away score, especially in this meet, where we always have troubles.””
Junior Aubrey Taylor won her second all-around championship this season, finishing with a score of 39.250.
The Ontario native has been dealing with many injuries this season but has not missed any meets this year.
“”Aubrey was simply unbelievable tonight,”” Ryden said. “”She hurt her shoulder on Wednesday and it was even questionable whether she would be able to compete tonight.””
Sophomores Karin Wurm and Danielle Hicks finished in third and fourth places with scores of 39.150 and 38.925 respectively.
Taylor once again matched her career high in the uneven bars with a 9.900 while career highs were set on the balance beam by junior Jamie Holton – with a score of 9.775 -ÿand senior Erin Muirhead – with a 9.675.
“”Oregon State is a great beam team and they always have been,”” Ryden said. “”Our girls went into that final rotation with the attitude of, ‘We’re going to match them.’ I didn’t even have to say anything. They were sort of angry and knew what they had to do. They wanted to win.””
The Gymcats put their three-meet win streak on the line Friday in Palo Alto, Calif., against No. 12 Stanford.
Information taken from a press release on www.arizonaathletics.com.