Finally, the wait is over. Ever since the No. 20 Arizona gymnastics team’s poor vault rotation in Saturday’s victory over Illinois-Chicago, UA head Coach Bill Ryden has been waiting for the next meet.
“”We were on a 196 pace,”” Ryden said of his team performance. “”Then we tightened up.””
That rematch is tonight, against Ryden’s alma mater, No. 17 ASU (1-5) at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The fact that it is ASU means very little to Ryden.
“”It used to mean more,”” he said. “”But now I’m looking at the bigger picture. This year’s team needs to develop more. This team can be every bit as good as ASU, and we haven’t had a real good meet yet and they’re not ranked that much more ahead of us.””
Last year, the Gymcats defeated ASU three times, and Ryden knows that ASU will be looking to exact revenge.
“”They’re very competitive, and they are a very well-coached team,”” Ryden said of ASU. “”They don’t like to lose, especially to us, so I’m sure it’s on their minds. And they haven’t had a meet (since Jan. 30), but we’re not going to worry about that, we’re just going to do our thing and let the scores fall.””
Only two members of the Gymcats are natives of Arizona, junior Beamer Bergeson of Gilbert and freshman Kristen Schmieder of Tucson, but that doesn’t mean the rivalry is lost amongst their teammates.
“”It’s obviously a big in-state rivalry,”” said senior Karin Wurm. “”We’re really excited and we know we can go up there and show them who’s boss.””
The biggest thing, Wurm said, is to have no falls and go 24-for-24. She said that the team has been working on the little things in practice and that the key is to “”go into the meet confident and not second guess ourselves.””
“”We’re definitely looking to kick their butts,”” said junior Bree
Workman. “”But we need to look beyond that and if we do all of our routines right, we will not only get the scores, but hopefully the win.””
Bergeson agreed with Wurm and Workman that the biggest thing is execution and to not get nervous, even against the school’s biggest rival.
“”Beating them is the obvious goal,”” she said. “”But it’s all about us right now, we can’t watch them or really care what they do. We just need to be calm and confident.””
Schmieder is really looking forward to competing against ASU.
“”I’ve known the rivalry ever since I was born,”” she said. “”I’m sure it’s big for the other girls too, but I’ve known the rivalry longer and I’m really excited. We feel that we haven’t competed as well as we can, so we’re just trying to put out our best gymnastics.””
