No. 18 Arizona to Host No. 5 Utah
No. 18 Arizona vs. No. 5 Utah
Saturday, Jan. 31 // 4 p.m. (MST)
Tucson, Ariz.
Video Streaming: HERE
Live Stats: HERE
TUCSON, Ariz. – The No. 18 Arizona women’s gymnastics team will return home this weekend for a meet Saturday, Jan. 31 at 4 p.m. MST to take on the University of Utah Utes.
Arizona is coming off a win with a score of 196.050 over Pac-12 rival Washington. The GymCats posted a season high score, outscoring their last team total at UCLA of 195.300.
Saturday’s meet will be streamed live online. Live updates will also be available the day of the competition. For continued updates on the team follow on Facebook.com/ArizonaGymnastics and on Twitter @AZGymnastics.
Scouting the Opposition:
The University of Utah is currently ranked No. 5 in the nation. They are coming off a 196.725 win over UCLA last week. Last season, the Utes finished with an overall record of 24-6. The team has nine returners on the team, six of which are All-American gymnasts. The team is led by seniors Georgia Dabritz, Corrie Lothrop, Becky Tutka and Tory Wilson. The Utes welcomed four newcomers to this season’s roster.
2014 Arizona Review:
The Wildcats advanced to their 28th consecutive NCAA Regional Championships. Finishing sixth in the competition, the Wildcats received a final score of 194.825. Arizona finished the season ranked No. 21 in the nation.
Arizona was led by junior Allie Flores who was the lone all-around competitor at the NCAA Regional competition. Flores earned a score of 39.200 at Regionals. Last season, she competed in nine all-around competitions making it her first year as an all-around competitor. She also was named First Team All-Conference.
Flores was joined by current junior Shelby Edwards as Pac-12 Vault Co-Champions. Edwards placed fourth on vault at the NCAA Regional Competition. Current senior, Kristin Klarenbach placed fifth on floor at Regionals as well and named All-America.
Look Out for New GymCats:
The Wildcats added three new faces to the team this season including Tucson native, Victoria Ortiz. Alongside Ortiz is Madison Cindric who comes from Lantana, Tex., and Kennady Schneider from Henderson, Nev. Ryden anticipates all three gymnasts to make immediate impacts on the lineups this season. Their debut at Alabama shows a promising future as they demonstrated to be confident and composed at their first meet. Cindric scored a 9.750 on bars, 9.675 on beam and 9.725 on floor. Schneider earned a score of 9.725 on beam and 9.675 on floor. Ortiz had a strong performance on bars earning a score of 9.775.
Pre-season Rankings:
The Arizona gymnastics team will begin the season ranked No. 21 in the 2015 Women’s Pre-Season Coaches Poll. The Wildcats are one of seven Pac-12 teams to be ranked in the top 25 including No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 Utah, No. 10 Stanford, No. 11 Oregon State and No. 14 California. After Arizona’s opening meet score of 194.375, the team moved up to No. 18.
Ryden’s Record:
Head coach Bill Ryden finished out the 2014 season with an overall record of 202-204-3.
Coming up:
The Wildcats will return home after this week’s meet to face the Utah Utes. The meet will be held on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 4 p.m. MST. The meet will be available on live stream and live stats for the meet will also be available.
For continued coverage of Arizona Gymnastics, follow the team at facebook.com/ArizonaGymnastics and on Twitter @AZGymnastics.