Arizona gymnastics defeated the No. 18 Washington Huskies 196.050-195.950 on Saturday at the Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle, Wash. It was the road victory that the No. 22 Wildcats needed to jump-start their season, especially after already losing to a pair of top-25 teams on the road.
“It’s rare for visiting teams to come to Washington and win,” UA gymnastics coach Bill Ryden said in a press release. “They have a quality program, and they compete exceptionally well at home. For us to get a victory here is huge, and for us to get a 196 on the road this early in the season is huge. There was nothing that wasn’t successful for us tonight.”
The 196.050 mark is the highest score of the season for the Wildcats.
The GymCats began the meet strong on bars with a total team score of 49.025. Leading the Wildcats on bars was Allie Flores with a score of 9.850. Coming in next were Gabby Laub and Lexi Mills, who both scored a 9.825.
On vault, Flores produced the high number for the Wildcats with a score of 9.875. Shelby Edwards and Jessie Sisler followed, both scoring a 9.775. Overall, the GymCats combined for a 48.900 team score on vault.
Leading the Wildcats on floor was Sisler, who produced a career-high of 9.900. Flores added a score of 9.850, while Howard and Shay Fox each had scores of 9.800. The GymCats produced a total floor score of 49.075.
Finishing the meet on beam, Sisler had the high score for the Wildcats with a 9.875. Flores added a 9.850, and Edwards produced a 9.825.
“Congratulations to the whole beam team, and congratulations to assistant coach Meredith Paulicivic,” Ryden said. “Beam was our biggest struggle last year, but they’ve really made vast improvements this year.”
The whole meet was neck and neck between the Wildcats and the Huskies, but Arizona prevailed in the end by just one tenth of a point. Flores tied her career-high in the all-around competition with a score of 39.425.
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