Arizona gymnastics suffered its first loss of the season on Sunday, to Pac-12 rival Stanford, but beat Sacramento State in their first triangular meet.

The No. 19 Gymcats (2-1, 0-1 Pac-12) lost 195.925-195.850 to the No. 12 Cardinal, the host of the meet, but beat the Hornets, who finished with a score of 192.450.
Arizona head coach Bill Ryden said he was happy with the score, but thinks the Gymcats can do better.

“Even though we scored 195.850, which is a score that we can use, we didn’t do everything we expected of ourselves,” Ryden said in a press release. “I’m proud of the girls for how hard they fought. We came into a hostile environment and we did a great job; it just wasn’t great enough. We had three strong events.”

Sophomore Shelby Edwards and junior Kristin Klarenbach both posted a career high on the vault, 9.900. They tied Stanford freshman Danielle McNair for first.

“They had fantastic vaults,” Ryden said. “They’re both elite gymnasts and their abilities show. A score of 9.900 doesn’t surprise me. … I’m proud of them because they both gave incredible efforts, and it’s nice when the judges thank you for it.”

For the second straight meet, senior Jordan Williams was the only Gymcat to compete in the all-around. She scored a 39.225, which was good enough for second, behind Stanford junior Kristina Vaculik.

“Jordan had another great all-around meet,” Ryden said. “Again, she is continuing to lead her team and provide us with scores when we need them.”

Arizona won the uneven bars with a score of 49.150. Four Gymcats: Edwards, Williams, freshman Gabby Laub and freshman Krysten Howard each earned 9.850. Sophomore Lexi Mills received a 9.750.

“We had a good performance on bars,” Ryden said. “We let one score get away on bars, but overall the girls did pretty well. Obviously, any time you can go 49.150 on any event, you’re doing something right.”

Arizona finished second in the floor exercise, earning a score of 48.875. Klarenbach recorded her second score of 9.900 in as many meets, tying for second with Stanford freshman Rachel Daum.

Williams received a score of 9.825, senior Shana Sangston and sophomore Jessie Sisler scored a 9.775 and junior Amber Wobma had a 9.600.

“They did amazing floor,” Ryden said.

The Gymcats finished second to the Cardinal on the vault with a 49.150. Williams posted a 9.850 and freshman Selynna Felix-Terrazas got a 9.750, which was matched by freshman Mackenzie Valentin.

“We had a slow start on vault,” Ryden said, “but we continuously built off of each score. It ended up being an outstanding vault effort by each of them. I’m very proud of our effort tonight.”

The Gymcats return to action Saturday for their home opener against No. 1 Oklahoma.

Follow James Kelley @jameskelley520