GymCats Competing in NCAA Regional Semifinal Tonight
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — The Arizona GymCats will compete in the Salt Lake NCAA Regional Semifinal on Friday evening against LSU, Kentucky, and Utah State. The second of two semifinal quad meets will begin at 6:00 p.m. MST and is slated for a broadcast on ESPN3.
Arizona advanced to the semifinal round following Temple's withdrawal from their Thursday play-in meet due to COVID-19 protocols within the Owls program.
The GymCats will be competing for one of the top two spots in tonight's quad meet to earn a place in Friday night's Regional Final competition.
A complete preview of Friday's meet can be found below.
Arizona Tentative Lineups
| Vault | Uneven Bars | Balance Beam | Floor Exercise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caroline Herry | Sirena Linton | Avery Stauffacher | Laura Leigh Horton |
| Danielle Nosek | MacKinzie Kane | Caroline Herry | Danielle Nosek |
| Payton Bellows | Malia Hargrove | Malia Hargrove | Elena Deets |
| Zaza Brovedani | Zaza Brovedani | Elena Deets | Libby Orman |
| Jessica Castles | Bailey McCabe | Jessica Castles | Jessica Castles |
| Malia Hargrove | Elena Deets | Sirena Linton | Malia Hargrove |
STARTING A STREAK: This weekend's action marks the second consecutive competition in an NCAA Regional for the GymCats. Arizona last competed in a regional in 2019, dropping their round one dual meet to Iowa 194.550-195.850 in Corvallis, Oregon. Three GymCats then went on to compete individually in the second round, all of whom have since graduated.
FRESH FACES: The only active GymCat who has previously competed in an NCAA Regional is junior MacKinzie Kane. She performed on vault in the 2019 Corvallis Regional and scored a 9.625 from the anchor spot in the GymCats vault lineup.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: The GymCats roster is loaded with young underclass talent in 2021, with 15-of-19 players being freshmen or sophomores. Arizona has relied heavily on these underclassmen in 2021, using them for 184-of-215 (86%) routines thus far.
FINISHING STRONG: Arizona closed out the regular season on an upward trend, posting their two best scores of the year in their final two meets. The GymCats 196.075 at Arizona State on March 6 was their high-water mark for the year, while their 196.000 in a March 13 home tri meet was their second-best showing of the year. The trend continued into the Pac-12 Championships on March 20, where they logged their fourth-best mark of the season, a 195.400.
COMEBACK CATS: Arizona excelled in the back half of meets this year, routinely posting strong performances on beam and floor. The GymCats enter this week's regional ranked No. 32 in the country in both events.
COACH COURT EXTENDED: Arizona Gymnastics head coach John Court has agreed to a three-year contract extension that will see him lead the GymCats through the 2024 season. In his two-plus decades in Tucson, coach Court's overall body or work includes developing multiple All-Americans, helping extend the GymCats NCAA Regional appearance streak to 31 seasons, overseeing unprecedented success in the classroom, and much more.
NOT FINISHED YET: The GymCats advancement to today's NCAA Regional Semifinal marks the farthest the program has advanced in the postseason since the current format was put in place.