Jan. 9, 2010

Complete Results (PDF)

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The No. 20 Arizona Women's Gymnastics team lost to host No. 8 Arkansas in its first meet of the season 195.4 to 192.65. Even with the loss, the young Gymcats showed promise and talent despite the loss of three top athletes lost to injuries in the pre-season.

“We went into today's meet with a lot of unanswered questions,” coach Bill Ryden said, “However, overall there were several bright spots in how we competed.”

As always, Arizona proved to be a stronghold on vault, beating Arkansas 48.5 to 48.475. Returners Colleen Fisher and Deanna Graham were leaders on the event, scoring a 9.7 and a 9.675. Newcomers Aubree Cristello and Molly Quirk also stepped up and performed earning a 9.7 and a 9.65.

“Overall, I am pretty pleased with vault. Deanna has picked right back up where she left off last season, and should become one of the nation's best vaulters.” Coach Ryden said.

On beam, Britnie Jones proved to be a shining light for the Gymcats, scoring a 9.85 and tying for first place on the event.

“It was amazing to see Britnie go out and perform so well this meet after almost two months off due to a stress fracture,” Coach Ryden said, “It really speaks to her potential for this season.”

Sarah Tomcyzk had a solid beam performance as well, scoring a 9.775 to contribute to the team's beam score of 48.075.

The Gymcats had four all-around appearances this meet, including freshmen Molly Quirk and Aubree Cristello, who responded well to the pressure to join Deanna Graham and Sarah Tomcyzk.

For the Razorbacks, Jaime Pisani won the all-around with a 39.125 after tying for first on bars and floor.

“We had a lot of new routines on every event, and we have a lot of work to do from this point forward.” Coach Ryden said, “Tonight was a good learning experience, and I'm not disappointed with our performance.”

The Gymcats now look towards competing against No. 7 Stanford next week.