CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Wildcats fell to No. 10 Oregon State Saturday afternoon. Despite the loss the team fought hard for a score of 195.100, falling just short of the Beavers score of 196.250.
“The second half really outshined the first half of the meet today,” said head coach Bill Ryden. “We showed up and competed and I'm proud of them. This is definitely a meet that we will learn and grow from.”
The Wildcats had a tough start to the meet on bars scoring a 48.625.
“Bars started out slow for us,” said Ryden. “We had a few errors that we haven't had in the previous meets. Our warmup was fantastic but unfortunately we nickeled and dimed ourselves in the meet. It wasn't our best performance today.”
Receiving the highest score for the team in the first rotation was sophomore Selynna Felix-Terrazas with a 9.775. Senior Allie Flores and freshman Victoria Ortiz contributed back to back scores of 9.750. Sophomores Krysten Howard and Gabby Laub posted scores of 9.700 and 9.650, respectively. Junior Lexi Mills unfortunately had a fall in the first half of her routine giving her a score of 9.225.
Looking to bounce back from the first rotation, the Wildcats scored a 48.825 on vault.
“Vault is a one trick event,” said Ryden. “And we had a few mishaps here and there but overall it wasn't that bad. Selynna (Felix-Terrazas) started off with a good vault. Jessie, Gabby and Shelby all had great efforts.”
Leading the team on vault was junior Jessie Sisler scoring a 9.800. Laub immediately following in the lineup posted another 9.800. Junior Shelby Edwards followed with a 9. 775. Flores and Felix-Terrazas posted a pair of 9.725's. Rounding out the vault scores was freshman Madison Cindric with a 9.475.
Going into the third rotation of the competition, the Wildcats trailed the Beavers 98.125-97.450.
“We really rebounded in the second half, especially on floor,” Ryden said. “Madison (Cindric) had a great floor set after not being in the lineup for two weeks. Kennady (Schneider) continued once again to look strong. Lexi (Mills) really did a great job tonight in her first floor competition of her career.”
Anchoring the floor lineup but leading in scoring was Flores with a 9.850 on floor. Just behind her was Mills. In her first collegiate performance on floor, Mills performed beautifully to receive a 9.800. Freshman Kennady Schneider, who is becoming a crowd favorite on floor with her high energy routine, posted a score of 9.750. Senior Shay Fox contributed a score of 9.725. Cindric returned to the floor lineup to receive a 9.700. Felix-Terrazas stepped out of bounds and scored a 9.600.
Going into the fourth and final rotation, the Cats looked to fight back and cut the Beaver's lead.
“Overall we had a good presence on beam today,” said Ryden. “Shelby had one of her best beam sets of the season. I think the team used their energy to come together and make a strong come back in the second half of the meet.”
Leading the team once again was Flores with a score of 9.850 on beam. Edwards and Mills posted two 9.800's. Cindric contributed a score of 9.675. Fox, who returned to the beam lineup this meet, also scored a 9.675. Schneider received a 9.250.
Looking ahead, the Wildcats will return home on Monday Feb. 16 and will look to receive another Territorial Cup point against rival Arizona State University. The 7 p.m., meet at McKale will be aired live on the Pac-12 Network. For continued coverage of Arizona Gymnastics, follow the team at facebook.com/ArizonaGymnastics and on Twitter @AZGymnastics.
