10th-Ranked Razorbacks Back On The Road At Missouri

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The 10th-ranked Arkansas gymnastics team will make its second road trip of the season this Friday for a Southeastern Conference matchup against the 24th-ranked Missouri Tigers at 7 p.m.

The Razorbacks rose to No. 10 in the rankings for the first time since the 2016 season with an average score of 195.938 after its 196.525 performance against Kentucky. Friday’s meet marks the Razorbacks second road trip in three weeks after opening the season at LSU.

“We need to replicate the home meet at an away meet,” said head coach Mark Cook. “We’ve learned from the LSU meet and we’ve dialed in at home. We know what we have to do now and it’s a matter of going out there and performing.”

Redshirt freshman Sarah Shaffer was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week after her 39.325 all-around performance against the Wildcats. The score is the highest all-around score by a freshman in the SEC this season and the highest by a freshman Razorback since 2015.

With a 49.250 beam score against Kentucky, Arkansas scored their highest beam score since 2014 led by freshman Sophia Carter who has scored a 9.900 on the event in both meets to start the season. The Razorbacks are averaging a beam score of 49.200, its highest in back-to-back meets since 2013, and ranks fourth in the nation on the event.

“I have a lot of confidence in this team,” said Cook. “The thing is we have a lot more room for improvement. Although we did really well this past weekend, we know we can make improvements in some of our landings and some of our executions. This team is definitely capable of breaking a 197.”

Since returning against No. 3 LSU to open the season, senior Amanda Wellick has scored at least a 9.825 on each event, including a season high 9.900 on bars against No. 6 Kentucky.

“It’s time to go win a meet,” said Wellick. “We have Mizzou this weekend so I’m really ready to go out there. We’re just going to focus on us and go out and get the win.”

Arkansas has won four of five regular season matchups against the Tigers, including two straight on the road. Friday’s meet is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and will be streamed on the SEC Network+ and the WatchESPN App.

For more information on Arkansas gymnastics, including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackGym on Twitter.