No. 7 Arkansas falls at No. 3 Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 3 Alabama posted season high scores on all four events and recorded a 197.450-195.500 victory over Arkansas’ No. 7-ranked gymnastics team in Southeastern Conference action in Coleman Coliseum on Friday.

Alabama recorded season highs on vault (49.425), bars (49.475), beam (49.100) and floor (49.450).

“We had a few mistakes on just about every event except beam,” co-head coach René Cook said. “That was a little disappointing. I think the girls were trying a little too hard and tightened up a bit. At the same time, we competed on beam at the end of the meet and I thought we had one of the best rotations we’ve had since we qualified for the national championship last year.”

Highlights for the Razorbacks were season-high team scores of 49.000 on vault and 48.950 on beam.Individually, senior Casey Jo Magee and freshman Kelci Lewis matched their season highs on bars, sophomore Mariah Howdeshell recorded a season-high score on vault while Lewis matched her best, Howdeshell and Sarah Nagashima matched their season bests on beam, and Magee had a season-high 9.925 on beam.

Magee won the individual beam title with a 9.925

In the first rotation, Alabama got three scores of 9.9 or better on vault for a total of 49.425. Morgan Dennis had a 9.975, Kayla Hoffman a 9.925 and Ricki Lebegern a 9.90.

Meanwhile, Arkansas posted four scores of 9.7 or better on bars for a 48.750 total. Magee had a 9.850, Amy DeFilippo and Jaime Pisani a 9.775 each, and Nagashima a 9.750 while Lewis added a 9.650. Magee and Lewis each matched their season high on the event.

In the second rotation, Arkansas got a season-best performance from Howdeshell on vault (9.70) and a season-high matching 9.80 from Lewis along with a 9.850 from Pisani, a 9.80 from Magee and a 9.750 from Nagashima. The team total of 49.000 is a season high.

For the Crimson Tide, Hoffman, Ashley Sledge, Kassi Price and Ashley Priess each scored a 9.90 on vault while Dennis had a 9.875 for a team total of 49.475.

After the first two events, Alabama led 98.900-97.750.

In the third rotation, Arkansas got a team-best 9.800 from Lewis on floor, followed by Nagashima with a 9.750, Amanda Siebert with a 9.725 and Stacy Bartlett with a 9.600

Alabama posted three scores of 9.8 or better on beam, including a 9.875 from Dennis, a 9.850 from Priess and a 9.800 from Marissa Gutierrez. The Crimson Tide recorded a 49.100 on beam while Arkansas had a 48.800 on floor.

On beam, Magee recorded a season-high 9.925 to win the event while Nagashima equaled her season high with a 9.850. DeFilippo added a 9.775. Arkansas’ 48.950 team score is a season high.

“The girls had to fight for everything,” Cook said. “To finish that strong (on beam) really impressed me. We counted mistakes, but we didn’t count a fall. We’re getting early experience at working hard through a meet.”

Alabama, on floor, had a 9.950 from Dennis, and a 9.925 from both Lebegern and Priess.

The Razorbacks return home next week to entertain Kentucky on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Barnhill Arena.

No. 3 Alabama 197.450, No. 7 Arkansas 195.500Jan. 22, 2010 = Coleman Coliseum

ROTATION 1Alabama: Vault: 49.425Geralen Stack-Eaton 9.800, Marissa Gutierrez 9.775, Ashley Priess 9.825, Ricki Lebegern 9.900, Kayla Hoffman 9.925, Morgan Dennis 9.975

Arkansas: Bars: 48.750Sarah Nagashima 9.750, Jaime Pisani 9.775, Mariah Howdeshell 8.600, Amy DeFilippo 9.775,Casey Jo Magee 9.850, Kelci Lewis 9.650

ROTATION 2Alabama: Bars: 49.475Ricki Lebegern 9.725, Ashley Sledge 9.900, Morgan Dennis 9.875, Kayla Hoffman 9.900, Kassi Price 9.900, Ashley Priess

Arkansas: Vault: 49.000Sarah Nagashima 9.750, Mariah Howdeshell 9.700, Amanda Siebert 9.800, Kelci Lewis 9.800,Jaime Pisani 9.850, Casey Jo Magee 9.800

ROTATION 3Alabama: Beam: 49.100Ricki Lebegern 9.750, Kassi Price 9.825, Geralen Stack-Eaton 9.800, Marissa Gutierrez 9.725,Morgan Dennis 9.875, Ashley Priess 9.850

Arkansas: Floor: 48.800Sarah Nagashima 9.750, Stacy Bartlett 9.600, Amanda Siebert 9.725, Kelci Lewis 9.800, Casey Jo Magee 9.675, Jaime Pisani

ROTATION 4Alabama: Floor: 49.450Marissa Gutierrez 9.800, Erika Pearson 9.775, Ricki Lebegern 9.925, Ashley Priess 9.925, Geralen Stack-Eaton 9.850, Morgan Dennis 9.950

Arkansas: Beam: 48.950Jaime Pisani 9.700, Stacy Bartlett 9.700, Sarah Nagashima 9.850, Amy DeFilippo 9.775, Mariah Howdeshell 9.700, Casey Jo Magee 9.925

Download: ark, alabama meet results.pdf