The Arizona GymCats fell in its first meet of Pac-12 action to the Oregon State Beavers 196.400 to 196.150.
In the first rotation, Arizona was on the vault with Oregon State on the uneven bars. After strong performances from Malia Hargrove and Maddi Leydin, Arizona came away with the 49.100-49.075 lead. In the second rotation, the GymCats were on the uneven bars and the Beavers were on the vault. After Christina Berg scored 9.9 and Heather Swanson scored a 9.8 on their routines, the Wildcats were able to hold a 98.150- 98.050 lead over the Beavers.
In the third rotation, Arizona was on the balance beam and Oregon State was on its floor routines. Arizona’s highest scorers in the event were Malia Hargrove with 9.85 and Zaza Brovedani and Jenny Leung both tied with a score of 9.825. Oregon State’s Kaitlyn Yanish and Madi Dagen both coming in with a score of 9.8 was enough to give the Beavers a 147.3- 146.875 heading into the fourth rotation.
Oregon State was on the balance beam for the final rotation while Arizona moved onto its floor routines. Arizona’s Maddi Leydin and Malia Hargrove both received a score of 9.875 while Isis Lowery and Madi Dagen both scoring 9.825 for OSU.
The gymnasts’ efforts weren’t enough, as Oregon State came out victorious over Arizona with a score of 196.400-196.150. The athletes of the meet were Malia Hargrove for Arizona and Isis Lowery for Oregon State.
After the meet, head coach John Court shared his thoughts.
“We knew it was going to come down to the wire,” Court said. “I always say, if you’re going to lose, lose with a 196. We’ll see them again some time this year and I think it was the most competitive we’ve been with Oregon State in years.”
The Arizona GymCats will be back in action next weekend on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020 in McKale Center vs. Utah.
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