2013 NCAA Season

#19 Arkansas TIE #4 Alabama

#19 Arkansas TIE #4 Alabama

Feb 22, 2013 by Jennifer Teitell
 #19 Arkansas TIE  #4 Alabama


 Seniors All-Americans Kelci Lewis and Amy Borsellino take event titles as the No. 19 University of Arkansas gymnastics team (1-5-1, 0-4-1 SEC) picks up its third highest score in program history in a tie with No. 4  University of Alabama Crimson Tide (4-2-1, 4-2-1 SEC) 197.100-197.100.

Junior Katherine Grable led the vault rotation to the third best score in program history posting a 49.425 with a 9.95 to share a piece of the event title. Freshman Erin Freier recorded a season high and a share of the beam title with a 9.90. While seniors Lewis and Borsellino collected outright floor and all-around titles, respectively.

“We really put four events together tonight,” co-head coach René Lyst said. “We started out on vault and we were outstanding, then we went over to bars and kept our focus to score some really good routines where we hit our handstands better and stuck our landings. Then we went to beam and had a few things we need to work on there, but we just kept working hard and did not have to count them. We finished on floor and we were really aggressive and went after our landings and had a lot of energy to finish the meet.”

In rotation one, the Razorbacks vaulted their way to the third best score in program history, on the event with a 49.425 and the early lead over Alabama. Grable led the way with a 9.95, followed by Lewis who picked up a career best mark of 9.925. The season bests would not stop there, freshman Heather Elswick posted a 9.90 and Borsellino added a 9.875, both of which were season bests.

Alabama would score a 49.175, led by a trio of Crimson Tide each with a 9.825.

On the bars, Arkansas recorded a 49.175 for the event, led by a pair of Razorbacks who tied for the event title in juniors Shelby Salmon and Grable each with a 9.875. Borsellino added a 9.85, while freshman Keara Glover scored a 9.80 for the event.

Alabama scored a 49.425, to match Arkansas on the vault, led by senior Marissa Gutierrez with a 9.95.

On the beam, the Razorbacks picked up a 49.150 led by freshman Freier with a 9.90. Grable added a 9.875 followed by freshman Glover with a 9.825 and Sydnie Dillard with a 9.80.

Alabama would take the lead by five-hundredths of a point to go into the final rotation after a 49.200 on the floor to lead Arkansas 147.800-147.750.

On the floor, Arkansas recorded a 49.350 to tie for the ninth best rotation score in program history. The Razorbacks were led by seniors Lewis and Borsellino with a 9.925 and 9.90 respectively. Junior Bailee Zumwalde added a season high 9.875, followed by Dillard with 9.85 and Elswick with a 9.80.

Alabama scored a 49.30 on the beam to finish out the meet and end up with a tie of 197.100-197.100 with the Razorbacks.

“To tie with Alabama and finish with a 197.10 is really important for our team right now,” Lyst said. “We have the rest of our season with one meet left at home and three away meets to pick up some more good scores and this meet really boost our confidence looking on down the road. I am really proud of our seniors tonight, they had an excellent competition. They are beginning to see the end of their careers and they just keep attacking it and are really finishing strong. 

The Razorbacks will return to competition next Friday, Feb. 29 in Barnhill Arena against Missouri, Centenary and Lindenwood.
 

                                Vault                     Bars                       Beam                    Floor                     Total

Alabama              49.425                   49.175                   49.300                   49.200                   197.100

Arkansas              49.425                   49.175                   49.150                   49.350                   197.100


(c) GymShark

“I’m so pleased with how our ladies stepped up tonight,” UA head coach Sarah Patterson said. “It was our second highest score of the season and our second 197 in a row. I definitely think we’re moving in the right direction. “

Despite the 197-plus score, the Tide experienced some adversity at the end of its floor exercise rotation when senior Marissa Gutierrez had an awkward landing on her first tumbling pass and had to be carried off the floor.

“We’ll have our doctor’s evaluate Marissa’s injury when we get home,” Patterson said. “We certainly appreciate Arkansas having a physician here. It was a bad landing and her foot was a little turned. We held Diandra (Milliner) out of the floor lineup because of a strained muscle in her hip. At the end of the day, I control the things what I can control. I never would have guessed that Marissa would have had a landing like that.”

Her injury came on the heels of another 9.95 by the Houston, Texas native on the vault. “This is definitely an opportunity for some of our young people to step forward and step up,” Patterson said.

Arkansas
Alabama