Five seniors competed for the final time in McKale Center Friday night as the Arizona gymnastics team cruised to victory over BYU 196.850-195.400 on Senior Night. The score marks the highest of the season for the Wildcats.
The seniors competing for the final time included Shelby Edwards, Jessie Sisler, Lexi Mills, Kristin Klarenbach and Danielle Buchanan.
“What a beautiful night and a beautiful way to send out our senior class,” Arizona head coach Tabitha Yim said. “They are just incredible young women and I feel lucky and grateful that I have had the opportunity to work with them. They have truly left a legacy here so to be able to go out on a high like this on this night and to watch them perform they way they did, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
The Wildcats started off on vault, notching four scores in a row of a 9.850 and a combined season-high 49.175 . Lauryn Mattson, Jessie Sisler, Shelby Edwards and Madison Cindric all managed the high scores.
Next up on bars, the GymCats tallied a combined total score of 49.100. Gabby Laub and Mills held the high scores for Arizona with a 9.875. Following suit were Selynna Felix-Terrazas and Dani Spencer, who both scored a 9.800.
On the balance beam, Arizona combined for a 49.200. Mills led the way for Arizona with a score of 9.875, followed closely by Krysten Howard and Madison Cindric with 9.850’s.
The GymCats concluded the meet on floor with a team score of 49.325. Headlining the rotation was Sisler and Howard, who both nailed their routines with scores of 9.900.
Kennady Schneider concluded the meet with a “dab on ‘em” and a score of 9.875. Schneider began her floor routine with the famous dance move at the first meet of the season.
“There’s just a magic in McKale every time we compete in here, so just to be here with my team one last time … it was so fun,” Sisler said. “It’s indescribable.”
After the meet, coaches and families paid tribute to the five seniors and the legacy they have left on the Arizona program.
“I feel like they taught me just as much as I taught them,” Yim said. “Just the way they embrace everything that’s been thrown their way and who they are as people, even more so than gymnastics, I have no doubt that they are going to go out and conquer the world. We are all so lucky to have been able to work with them and I can’t wait to see what they do. I hope they come back; they are family and they always will be.”
Up next, Arizona will head to Seattle to compete in the Pac-12 Championships.
“That’s what we’ve been planning is to peak at the end of the year,” Yim said. “I think that gives us a lot of confidence going into our postseason meets. I’m very excited heading into the postseason, I think we can do big things.”
