The Arizona women’s gymnastics team recognized the heroes of our country at Saturday night’s meet against the No. 14 Oregon State Beavers in McKale Center.

The GymCats battled for four rotations but fell short of the Beavers losing 196.200-195.375.

Vault (48.875):

The GymCats kicked off the heroes meet on vault with senior Gabrielle Laub ending with a hop on the landing earning her a 9.750, followed by sophomore Lauryn Mattson getting high off the vault with a step back on her landing earning a 9.725. Sophomore Skyler Sheppard had height off the vault followed by an Arizona Stick earning her a 9.875. The Wildcats finished the rotation trailing the Beavers.

Uneven Bars (49.275):

The crowd was loud, stomping their feet and punching their hands into the air yelling, “that’s an Arizona Stick” throughout the second rotation on the uneven bars. The GymCats brought the heat on their most powerful event leading off with senior Krysten Howard with a high dismount and solid landing earning an Arizona Stick and the score of 9.825. Laub kept the momentum going as she earned a 9.850 followed by freshman Christina Berg earning a 9.825.

It was a season high for junior Victoria Ortiz who performed a solid bar routine with a high Tkatchev combination ending with an Arizona Stick tying her career high of 9.900. Sophomore Danielle Spencer kept the crowd cheering ending her bar routine with an Arizona Stick earning a score of 9.875.

“Before my routine I remember thinking to myself that I have no reason to be nervous and to just go hard,” Ortiz said. “After I stuck my dismount I was just overwhelmed with excitement because I know I did exactly what I have been training in practice so it was nice to prove that I’m capable of 9.9 routine.”

Beam (48.250):

The GymCats were off balance on the beam but showed a fight to come back strong with solid landings. Junior Kennady Schneider started off the third rotation on beam with earning a 9.775 ending with an Arizona Stick. Freshman Courtney Cowles performed a front aerial series ending with another Arizona Stick earning a high of 9.800.

Howard had a slight wobble on her layout series but came back strong in her landing with an Arizona Stick with a 9.775.

“We had a great start on vault and bars,” said Arizona head coach Tabitha Yim, “but we have to continue to figure out beam. We are right there we just need to continue pushing forward so we can reach our full potential by the end of the year.”

Floor (48.975):

Arizona brought all they had to the fourth rotation on floor with Mattson to start off with a double pike followed by a double back tuck earning a 9.825.

The crowd cheered with excitement after Howard performed a perfect routine with a double back tuck and a double pike earning her a career high of 9.900. Schneider showed off her dance moves along with tumbling passes earning a 9.875 helping the ‘Cats finishing the rotation with a 48.975.

The GymCats fell short to the Beavers who earned an overall score of 196.200 taking home first at the meet.

“Going into floor I knew we needed to put in some good work,” Howard said. “I trusted my team and I knew they trusted me. We do it together as a family and that makes stepping out on that floor so special. After I competed I was honestly ecstatic. There’s nothing like hitting a routine and then turning around to find everyone jumping around being just as excited as you. They were just as much a part of that moment as I was and to be able to share such an exciting moment with them is something truly special.”

What’s next?

The GymCats will be at McKale Center for their next meet against the California Bears on Friday, February 10 at 7 p.m. and will be on the Pac-12 Networks.

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