The No. 14 Wildcats gymnastics team fell to No. 8 Nebraska on Saturday, despite winning two out of the four events.
Dressed in pink uniforms to honor breast cancer awareness, the Gymcats took victories in the vault and floor events. Those wins weren’t enough though, as the final score was just short of Nebraska’s, 195.4 – 195.625.
The Cats started the meet strong on vault, posting a score of 48.975. Junior Shana Sangston opened the event with a score of 9.725. Sophomores Amber Wobma and Kristin Klarenbach tied for second in the even with scores of 9.825. In her career debut on the event, sophomore Danielle Buchanan tied for third with senior Aubree Cristello with scores of 9.8.
“We had a lot of new comers really rise to the occasion,” head coach Bill Ryden said. “The team really did what I asked. They dug down deep. This is going to be a stepping stone for the rest of the season.”
Injuries plagued the team, resulting in several changes in the line-up. Junior Jordan Williams came off a one meet hiatus with a knee injury to compete in the bars and floor events.
“We only have 6 bar routines on the team, and if she didn’t go we would’ve really been hurting. So she really took one for the team on hat,” Ryden said. “Normally she does four events, but for her to come out and give those two events really helped.”
The bars and beam events were a struggle for the Cats. Wobma did impress though on the beam, tying her career high of 9.8 which was good for third place. Cristello took third overall on the bars with a score of 9.775.
The UA dominated on the floor routine, taking the first, second and third spots. Sangston started the event strong with a 9.775. With a taped-up leg, Williams delivered an impressive performance with a score of 9.825, who placed third. Klarenbach and Cristello tied for second with scores of 9.875. Cristello also placed second in the all-around with a score of 39.175.
The highlight of the event was for freshman Jessie Sisler whose career-high score of 9.925 was good for first place. The final score for that event was 49.275.
The adversity that shook the Wildcats most this meet were injuries, which forced different players to step up, and fight hard. Coach Ryden said he was pleased with their performance against a No. 8 team.
“We definitely think we can compete in the top 10 in the country,” Ryden said. “If we could quit getting these stupid, ticky-tack injuries that keep forcing some people out and others in, if we could be consistent and healthy for a while, we could really do amazing stuff. Injury is a part of our sport so we just have to deal with it like everything else.”
