GymCats Head to No. 9 California on Monday
TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona will head to No. 9 California for a Monday afternoon matchup. The meet is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. MST on Monday, February 21 and will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
"We are looking forward to heading out to Cal," said head coach John Court. "It's another chance for our team to improve on the season and give us an increased NQS."
The GymCats earned their highest team score with a 196.400 last week against Arizona State. Arizona impressed on bars, beam, and floor, earning scores of 49.00 and above on the three events. The floor team earned a season high 49.350, beating the team's previous season high on floor by 0.250 points. Arizona is ranked in the top 30 on two events this season; No. 25 on beam and No. 26 on floor.
"Our team confidence has increased since we've been climbing up into the 196s," said junior Sirena Linton. "I want to see us continue to push for 49.00 and above on each event and finally break that barrier for vault as well. We need to hit the mark and get a high score on the road. I hope we can put everything together at Cal and get the job done."
"I'm looking forward to being on the Pac-12 Networks and competing against another Pac-12 team," said junior Danielle Nosek. "I'm excited t osee our team do what we do in practice and keep improving!"
A complete preview of Monday's meet can be found below.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The GymCats hit the road to take on No. 9 California for a Monday afternoon matchup. Arizona is fresh off its highest team score of the season and is looking to continue climbing on all events. Arizona's beam and floor teams have pushed the GymCats to rankings of No. 25 on beam and No. 26 on floor.
LAST WEEK: Arizona earned its highest team score of the season with a 196.400 against rival Arizona State. Freshman Alysen Fears continued to impress when she won the all-around with a career high 39.350 and earned a career high of 9.875 as the anchor on bars. The GymCats earned their best floor score of the season with a 49.350, counting scores of 9.825 and above.
IN THE RANKINGS: Overall, Arizona is ranked No. 34 after the sixth week of competition.
- Vault: No. 45
- Uneven Bars: No. 42
- Balance Beam: No. 25
- Floor Exercise: No. 26
FABULOUS FRESHMEN: Freshmen Alysen Fears and Emily Mueller have made huge impacts in the lineups for the GymCats. Fears holds season highs 9.75 on vault and 9.875 on bars, 9.85 on beam, 9.90 floor, and 39.350 in the all-around. Mueller has hit every routine so far this season and holds season highs of 9.800 on vault and bars, 9.85 on floor, 9.90 on beam, and 39.200 in the all-around.
FRESH FACES: The GymCats welcomed four newcomers to the team this season. Alysen Fears, Elizabeth LaRusso, and Emily Mueller are all freshmen. Lara Burhans transferred to the program from Utah State.
FAMILIAR FACES: Arizona returns 13 gymnasts from last season. MacKinzie Kane enters her senior year and helped the GymCats finish the 2021 season ranked No. 35 on the uneven bars. Six juniors and seven sophomores will return for the Cats. Malia Hargrove enters her junior season following her individual appearance on floor at the NCAA Championships.
G-PAC: Malia Hargrove and Sirena Linton will represent Arizona in the student-athlete driven organzation "Gymnasts for Peace, Action, and Change." G-PAC's mission is to foster diversity and inclusion. Linton was a member of G-PAC during the 2021 season.
COACHING STAFF: The GymCats have a very accomplished coaching staff. John Court enters his fourth year as head coach and 24th year on staff in Tucson. Taylor Spears, the 2014 NCAA individual beam champion, is in her fourth season as assistant coach and has helped the beam team improve every year. Peter Jansson enters his second season as an assistant with the GymCats, bringing his nearly 30 years of coaching experience.
PRESEASON POLLS: Arizona was picked to finish sixth in the preseason Pac-12 coaches poll. In the WGCA preseason poll, the GymCats were picked to finish 27th.