No. 12 Gym'Backs go West for Sunday quad

November 7, 2014

FAYETTEVILLE – The 12-ranked University of Arkansas gymnastics team breaks from Southeastern Conference action traveling to No. 8 UCLA for a quad meet Sunday at 4:00 p.m. Arkansas also faces No. 6 Alabama as well as No. 44 Cal State Fullerton in the four-team meet. “We’re excited to go to LA,” said co-head coach René Cook. “Four of the 10 gymnasts competing are from the West Coast and it’s always good to get back near hometowns. Sometimes you worry about a team’s energy level when to go West but I don’t think that will be a problem with this group.” Arkansas’ West Coasters include freshman Stacy Bartlett from Tualatin, Ore.; and sophomores Amy DeFilippo from Torrance, Calif.; Casey Jo Magee from Eugene, Ore.; and Sarah Nagashima from Seattle, Wash. The Gym’Backs’ season scores have been consistently around the mid to high 195s and as a result, there have not been many big changes to the lineup this year. That trend continues Sunday with Arkansas competing the same lineup as last week’s Georgia meet. “I’m confident we’ll have the same lineup as we did at Georgia,” said Cook. “Sarah has really come on lately and I think she’ll exhibition on bars. Amy will probably exhibition on floor and that technically makes both all-arounders although the exhibitions don’t count. It’s good to have those two ready to go in case we need them as the season progresses.” And the season is progressing quickly. Arkansas host back-to-back home meets March 15 and 21 before beginning the postseason at the SEC Championship in Duluth, Ga., March 29. With the league championship approaching, Cook hopes the quad meet format will be good for the team. “At this point in the season, the change is a positive,” said Cook. “It keeps us on our toes and a little bit sharper. We start on the bars and it’ll be nice to see the team’s reaction of finishing floor-vault in case we see that in the postseason.” For more information about Arkansas’ upcoming home meets or for information about the Gym’Backs please log on to LADYBACKS.COM.