Arkansas Gymnastics Fact Sheet #5

2008 GYMNASTICS FACT SHEET #5 — at No. 4 AlabamaArkansas remains on the road The Gym’Backs traveled to No. 3 Florida last week and remain on the road this week for an away Southeastern Conference match up with No. 4 Alabama. The Crimson Tide are hosting their annual “Power of Pink” meet and the contest will be televised by ESPN2.
Power of Pink on television Next week’s contest at No. 4 Alabama airs tape delayed on ESPN2. The scheduled air date is Sunday, Feb. 17 at 1:30 p.m. central on The Deuce.
Last Week Arkansas scored a season-best 195.75 at Florida. The Gym’Backs tied their season-high on vault (49.025) and set a season-best on bars (48.875). One of Arkansas’ goals for each meet is to not count a fall and the Gym’Backs were able to meet that goal Friday.
More about Florida Several Gym’Backs set career or season-bests in the meet at No. 3 Florida. Arkansas got career highs from senior Samantha Cortez on the all-around (39.100), sophomore Amy DeFilippo on vault (9.85), sophomore Allison Daniels on bars (9.75) and sophomore Casey Jo Magee tied her all-around best with a 39.275. In addition, the Gym’Backs saw season-bests from Magee on vault, sophomore Michelle Stout on vault, Cortez and Magee on bars and Cortez and DeFilippo on beam.
That’s Right — No. 10 The Gym’Backs continue to climb in the national polls thanks to four 195-plus performances. This week, Arkansas is 10th as a team and ranks 11th on the vault, 12th on bars, 13th on beam and seventh on the floor exercise.
Fifth in the SEC? That’s right. Arkansas is 10th in the nation and fifth in the SEC facing what is again the best teams in the country in their own conference. This week Georgia holds the top spot for the second consecutive week. Florida remains third, followed by No. 4 Alabama, No. 7 LSU, No. 10 Arkansas, No. 16 Auburn and No. 34 Kentucky.
About Alabama The Crimson Tide suffered its first loss of the year to top-ranked Georgia but scored a 196 to remain in the No. 4 spot in the rankings this week. The Crimson Tide enter the week ranked 10th on vault, third on bars, fifth on beam and fourth on the floor exercise.
About the series Arkansas has faced the Crimson Tide 11 times since adding gymnastics in 2003. Alabama has won each meeting. Although the teams have met 11 times, Arkansas and Bama have only squared off twice in Tuscaloosa. The first meeting came in 2004 and the teams met again in Alabama in 2006. The Crimson Tide have competed three times in Fayetteville and the programs have met six times (5 SEC and 1 NCAA Championship) on neutral floors.
The South Central Rankings The Gym’Backs remain in second place in the South Central Regional standings. No. 6 Oklahoma leads the SC, followed by Arkansas. Nebraska is third followed by Missouri and Arizona State rounding out the top five in the region. Here’s the complete regional standings:

Rk

Team Ave Region High RQS
1 Oklahoma 195.715 SC 196.550 0.000
2 Arkansas 195.387 SC 195.750 0.000
3 Nebraska 195.050 SC 196.675 0.000
4 Missouri 194.744 SC 195.400 0.000
5 Arizona State 194.500 SC 196.150 0.000
6 Arizona 194.231 SC 194.650 0.000
7 Illinois-Champaign 193.631 SC 194.975 0.000
8 S.E. Missouri 193.442 SC 194.050 0.000
9 Northern Illinois 192.825 SC 193.400 0.000
10 Texas Woman’s 191.887 SC 192.800 0.000
11 Illinois State 191.762 SC 192.775 0.000
12 Illinois-Chicago 189.400 SC 190.625 0.000

Individuals in the regional rankings Several Arkansas gymnasts are ranked in the top 10 in the regional poll. Senior Samantha Cortez checks in at the number 10 spot on the vault with a 9.80 average. Senior Emily Peacock in ranked third in the region on the bars with a 9.819 average followed by sophomores Casey Jo Magee and Michelle Stout who are tied for fourth with a 9.80 average. Magee is ranked fifth on the beam with a 9.819 averages and Peacock ranks fourth on the floor exercise with a 9.85 mark. Junior Alex LaChance ranks ninth on the floor with a 9.825 average. Magee rounds out the Gym’Backs in the top 10. She ranks fifth as an all-arounder with a 39.169 average. As a team, the Gym’Backs rank second overall in the region. Arkansas ranks second on the vault, bars and floor and fifth on the beam.
Gym’Backs live on the web All of the 2008 home meets will be streamed live at LADYBACKS.COM. Click on “All Access” and sign up today. Non-subscribers can view live scores on the web as well.
Back-to-back-to-back-to-back Arkansas’ 2008 schedule works in twos. The Gym’Backs open the home season with back-to-back meets in LSU and Penn State. Then Arkansas has two on the road, followed by two at home, then two road and two more home to wrap up the regular season.
TV loves the Gym’Backs Arkansas again has a great television lineup for the 2008 season. The Gym’Backs’ road meet at Florida will be televised on a tape delay basis by SUN Sports. Arkansas’ meet at Alabama is the Crimson Tide’s Power of Pink and will air on ESPN 2. The meet at defending national champion Georgia has been picked up by FSN as well. In addition, Arkansas’ home meets will air in the Natural State – stay tuned as more information becomes available.
The SEC is strong — Again The Southeastern Conference is the strongest league for women’s gymnastics. Last year, the SEC sent four of its seven members to the NCAA Championships. All seven earned trips to the NCAA Regional Championships. Georgia emerged as the National Champion for the third consecutive year with Florida third, LSU seventh and Alabama ninth in the final meet. Meanwhile, Arkansas finished the year ranked 15th, followed by No. 23 Kentucky and No. 24 Auburn. That success and respect continues again in 2008 as evidenced by this week’s poll. Five of the seven SEC teams are ranked in the top 10 this week and six are in the top 16 this week. Georgia leads the SEC and is ranked first overall, followed by No. 3, Florida, No. 4 Alabama, No. 7 LSU, No. 10 Arkansas, No. 16 Auburn and No. 34 Kentucky.

TEAM OVERALL VT UB BB FX
Alabama 4 10 3 5 4
ARKANSAS 10 11 12 13 7
Auburn 16 122 16 18 t21
Florida 3 1 10 1 5
Georgia 15 5 1 3 1
Kentucky 34 14 40 46 14
LSU 7 9 5 16 6

Don’t overlook the Non-Conference Schedule In addition to the tough SEC slate, Arkansas faces a challenging non-conference schedule as well. Arkansas opened the year at No. 5 Michigan facing both the Wolverines and then-No. 22 West Virginia. The Gym’Backs host back-to-back home meets with then-No. 8 LSU and then-No. 12 Penn State, followed by trips to No. 3 Florida and No. 4 Alabama. Arkansas next hosts No. 28 Kentucky and No. 16 Auburn, followed by trips to No. 1 Georgia and No. 8 UCLA where they also meet No. 4 Alabama and No. 45 CS-Fullerton. Arkansas wraps up the regular season hosting No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 24 Michigan State.
The 2008 SEC Championship returns to Georgia The state of Georgia is going to be busy this year. The SEC Championship returns to the Gwinett Center in Duluth for the third time since 2003. In addition, the University of Georgia will host the 2008 NCAA Championship behind the three-time defending national champion Georgia Gym Dogs.
2009 is approaching Yes, the 2008 season is just starting but the Gym’Backs can look forward to 2009 as well. Arkansas has been selected to host the 2009 NCAA South Central Regional Championship April 4, in Barnhill Arena. It is the second NCAA Regional Arkansas has hosted. The Gym’Backs also hosted the 2006 South Central Regional upsetting UCLA to finish second overall and advance to the program’s first NCAA Championship.