It turns out there was a major upset at the NCAA gymnastics North Central Regional; it just wasn’t the upset the No. 3 seed Arizona gymnastics team was looking for.

The Gymcats placed a distant fourth with 194.275 points, behind No. 1 Utah (196.950), No. 2 Arkansas (196.125), and the host No. 6 Minnesota (195.275). No. 5 Southern Utah and No. 4 Iowa placed fifth and sixth, respectively.

“”It’s unfortunate the season ended like this,”” said UA head coach Bill Ryden. “”But in no way does this take away from anything that the girls have accomplished this year.””

Arizona started the night on vault and scored a 48.775, tying its third-lowest score of the year. Senior Karin Wurm and sophomore Miranda Russell led the Gymcats with a 9.825 and 9.8, respectively, good enough for 11th and 14th.

After a bye, the Gymcats moved to bars where their struggles continued. They only managed a 48.5, which was their fourth-lowest score of the season. Wurm led Arizona again with a 9.8 – good enough for an eighth-place tie overall.

“”We just weren’t sharp on bars,”” Ryden said. “”We had some injuries and had a kind of makeshift lineup.””

The beam, which had been a menace throughout the season, was once again an Arizona stumbling block, as only two UA gymnasts – junior Beamer Bergeson (9.775) and senior Danielle Hicks (9.875) – posted scores over 9.55. A knee injury to junior
Alexis Greene and a wrist injury to Wurm contributed to the team score of 47.8, its third-lowest of the season.

After its second bye of the night, Arizona’s performance on the floor was just another example of its resiliency. With little to compete for other than personal pride, the Gymcats posted a 49.2, their fourth-highest score of the season. Every gymnast scored at least a 9.8, and they were led by junior Bree Workman’s 9.875 – good enough for fourth overall. Junior Sarah Specht and Wurm tied for sixth with a 9.850.

“”Before the floor, Bill told us to bring the house down,”” Workman said. “”We didn’t want to leave anything on the floor and we gave it our best effort.””

In the all-around, Wurm placed 11th with an uncharacteristic 38.800, her second-lowest score of the season, and failed to qualify for nationals as an individual where she earned All-American honors last season.

“”It’s unfortunate, but if she hadn’t fallen on the beam she would’ve qualified,”” Ryden said. “”It’s very disappointing that she didn’t qualify as an individual, but she and all the seniors had great careers.

“”It’s a shame it ended a meet too early.””