Magee wins all-around title at Baton Rouge

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BATON ROUGE, La. – University of Arkansas All-American Casey Jo Magee picked up her sixth all-around title scoring a 39.40 leading No. 9 Arkansas to a 195.80 at No. 6 LSU Friday. The sixth-ranked Tigers (11-2, 4-2 SEC) won the meet with a 196.150, but the Razorbacks (6-4, 3-3 SEC) went 1-2-3 in the all-round. Magee was followed by junior All-American Michelle Stout with a 39.350 and freshman Jaime Pisani with a 39.325. Magee tied for the win on both the bars and beam and Pisani tied for second in vault and was second on floor with scores of 9.90 on both. “I was glad to see Jo turn a corner tonight,” said Arkansas co-head coach René Cook. “She had a great night. Unfortunately we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities tonight. Hopefully, we’ll learn from our mistakes and move forward.” Although Arkansas had opportunities to make a move on the Tigers all night, there may have been none bigger than the final rotation. The Razorbacks trailed by 0.475 with the last event remaining. A fall by the first Razorback was followed by solid performances from Stout (9.85), Amy DeFilippo (9.75) and Pisani (9.825) before the second fall for Arkansas. But LSU opened the door with mistakes of their own. Their second performer stepped out on the floor exercise and their fifth gymnast stepped out then fell on her routine. Magee anchored the beam for Arkansas and wowed the crowd with a 9.90 tying for the win on the event. But the Tigers hung on in front of the home crowd of 3,045 getting a 9.975 from senior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney to win the floor and secure the team win. Arkansas out-scored LSU in the final rotation, 48.625-48.500, but it wasn’t enough for the win. The Razorbacks opened the meet on the bars and scored a 48.975 despite nearly perfect routines from All-Americans Magee and Stout. Magee tied her season-best leading Arkansas with a 9.875 while Stout scored a 9.825 to pace the Razorbacks. LSU, however, got a 9.95 from All-American all-arounder Clare-Kearney who anchored the vault in the opening rotation. The Razorbacks moved to vault and got back-to-back stuck landings from Sarah Nagashima and Mariah Howdeshell with both gymnasts posting 9.725s. Senior Alex LaChance followed with a 9.775 as the Razorbacks struggled to score a 9.80 on the first two events. Magee broke through with a 9.825 good for fifth place on the vault. Pisani picked up the baton and scored a 9.90 tying for second and Stout wrapped up the event with a 9.85 helping Arkansas to a 49.075 on the vault. Meanwhile the Tigers continued their solid performances counting nothing less than a 9.825 for a 49.255 on bars and a 98.500-98.050 lead after two events. The third rotation again saw the Razorbacks battle low scores for the first three gymnasts. The final three, however, rallied the scoring paced by Pisani’s team-leading 9.90 – a mark that ties her career-high. Stout and LaChance added 9.825s for the Razorbacks as well. LSU was solid on beam scoring a 49.150 and held a lead, 147.65-147.175, heading into the final event. Arkansas returns home hosting No. 18 Minnesota in the final home regular season meet of the 2009 season. Please contact the Razorback Ticket Office at 575-5151 for more information or tickets. Log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com.