The Wildcats traveled to Corvallis, Ore., for a tri-meet show against the Beavers and Seattle Pacific this weekend, earning a second-place finish to OSU, scoring 194.900 points.
To put it simply, Oregon State was on, scoring 196.825, Arizona was off and Seattle wasn’t even close, with 191.400.
No. 15 Arizona started off the night decent on bars and performed poorly on beam, but when it finally started to come together in its last two events, it was too late. Oregon State’s lowest posting was 49.025 on beam, which was Arizona’s second-highest score of the meet.
The Wildcats posted a 48.800 and Oregon State scored 49.250. Arizona’s Jordan Williams tied for third, earning a career-high of 9.85. Freshman Lexi Mills helped Arizona by coming through with a career-high 9.825.
Beam is where Arizona fell apart momentarily, scoring a 48.800 to Oregon State’s 49.250. Its highest scores were from Shelby Edwards and Aubree Cristello with 9.75. Oregon State dominated, taking the top five spots.
One Wildcat Arizona could have benefited from on this event tonight was senior Molly Quirk, who was out of the competition after having surgery for unknown reasons last Monday.
“[Beam is where] the wheels fell off for us,” Arizona head coach Bill Ryden said. “It was just uncharacteristically problematic. It just wasn’t our night on beam at all, not even a little bit.”
Despite the weak start, the Wildcats finished strong. Even with Allison Flores out of floor, they managed to pull off a 49.025. Flores, who usually posts all around scores for the Wildcats, sustained an injury two weeks ago in Chicago and has yet to return.
Arizona’s Kristin Klarenbach took third with her routine. Cristello tied for fourth with 9.85.
Arizona’s only all-around gymnast for the meet, Cristello, placed third overall.
Ryden is hoping the team will rebound strong next Saturday against ASU at 3 p.m. The Sun Devils are not ranked.
“If anything, this was a wake-up call,” Ryden said. “We’ve been fighting. We have had one of the most roller coaster injury-plagued seasons, but it’s time for the team to put that aside and not care anymore. No more excuses. It’s time to get a fire in our belly and attack with a vengeance.”
