Season-high score tops No. 12 Kentucky
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The weather was icy outside, but Arkansas’ 10th-ranked gymnastics team was warm inside Barnhill Arena Friday as the Razorbacks knocked off No. 12 Kentucky in a Southeastern Conference meet.
Arkansas recorded a 196.750-195.325 victory to even its record at 2-2. All four meets have been against teams in the top 20.
The Razorbacks set season highs with scores of 49.25 on vault, 49.10 on beam, 49.225 on floor and with the team total of 196.750. The vault and beam scores both match the 10th-best in school history.
“We were really focused from the first routine to the last tonight,” co-head coach René Cook said. “We were relaxed, especially considering the weather and conditions. It was a great environment in here.”
Sophomore Jaime Pisani was the star for the Razorbacks, setting season and career marks on vault and bars along with a season high on beam and a season-high matching score on floor.
Arkansas claimed the top three individual all-around finishers with Pisani winning the title with a career-best 39.525 points. Senior Casey Jo Magee was second with 39.375 and senior Amy DeFilippo, in her first meet this year as an all-arounder, was third with a career-high 39.225.
“We came in and had a lot of confidence,” Pisani said. “The last two weeks, we struggled on the road in tough environments (at No. 4 Florida and No. 1 Alabama). We want to keep improving every day in practice.”
Pisani won the individual event titles on vault and floor, Magee won beam, and Magee and Pisani tied for the title on bars.
Other highlights were sophomore Mariah Howdeshell setting season and career highs on vault and beam, freshman Kelci Lewis recording a season high on vault, senior Sarah Nagashima matching her career best on bars and floor, senior Casey Jo Magee setting a season high on bars and matching her best on beam, and DeFilippo setting a career high on floor
Pisani’s 9.925 on vault matches the fourth-best mark in school history, a score she recorded last year in a home win over No. 9 Alabama. Magee’s 9.925 on beam ties the third-best score in school history.
In the first rotation, Arkansas scored a 49.25 on vault while Kentucky had a 48.70 on bars.
For the Razorbacks, Pisani and Howdeshell set season and career highs with a 9.925 and 9.850, respectively. Lewis had a season-high 9.850 and DeFilippo, in her first attempt on vault this season, had a 9.825. Freshman Amanda Siebert recorded a 9.800.
For Kentucky, Andrea Mitchell had a 9.775 on bars.
In the second rotation, Arkansas stretched its lead by posting a 49.175 on bars while UK had a 49.05 on vault.
For Arkansas, Pisani again set season and career highs with a 9.875. Nagashima matched her career high with a 9.850 while Magee set a season high with a 9.875. Howdeshell recorded a 9.800 and DeFilippo a 9.775.
For UK, Whitney Rose had a 9.925 on vault and Jasmine Minion a 9.875.
Arkansas moved to beam for the third rotation and had a 49.10 while Kentucky had a 48.975 on floor.
Magee had a season-high matching 9.925, Pisani a season-best 9.825 and Howdeshell a career high 9.750. DeFilippo and Nagashima each scored a 9.800.
For UK on floor, Hillary Ferguson had a 9.875.
In the final rotation, Arkansas posted a 49.225 on floor while the Wildcats had a 48.600 on beam.
Nagashima had a career-high matching 9.850, Lewis matched her season high of 9.825, DeFilippo had a 9.825 in her first floor event of the year and Pisani equaled her season best of 9.90.
For Kentucky on beam, Emily Green had a 9.875.
The meet was covered by Cox Sports Television. A tape-delay broadcast airs on Cox Cablevision onMonday at 10 p.m., Feb. 12 at 1 p.m. and Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m.
The Razorbacks are home again next week when No. 15 Auburn visits Barnhill Arena for a 7 p.m. meet on Friday.
No. 10 Arkansas 196.750No. 12 Kentucky 195.325Jan. 29, 2010 = Barnhill Arena = Att.: 1,810
ROTATION 1Arkansas: Vault: 49.250Amy DeFilippo 9.825, Kelci Lewis 9.850, Amanda Siebert 9.800, Jaime Pisani 9.925, Casey Jo Magee 9.750, Mariah Howdeshell 9.850
Kentucky: Bars: 48.700Andrea Mitchell 9.775, Jacque Behrendt 9.725, Whitney Rose 9.675, Caitlyn Ciokajlo 9.700,Jamie Reimann 9.750, Storey Morris 9.750
ROTATION 2Arkansas: Bars: 49.175Sarah Nagashima 9.850, Jaime Pisani 9.875, Mariah Howdeshell 9.800, Amy DeFilippo 9.775,Casey Jo Magee 9.875, Kelci Lewis 9.125
Kentucky: Vault: 49.050Andrea Mitchell 9.825, Phylicia Reshard 9.725, Hillary Ferguson 9.350, Jasmine Minion 9.875,Emily Green 9.700, Whitney Rose 9.925
ROTATION 3Arkansas: Beam: 49.100Jaime Pisani 9.825, Stacy Bartlett 9.675, Sarah Nagashima 9.800, Amy DeFilippo 9.800, Mariah Howdeshell 9.750, Casey Jo Magee 9.925
Kentucky: Floor: 48.975Andrea Mitchell 9.175, Phylicia Reshard 9.825, Emilie Rymer 9.725, Jasmine Minion 9.725, Hillary Ferguson 9.875, Emily Green 9.825
ROTATION 4Arkansas: Floor: 49.225Sarah Nagashima 9.850, Stacy Bartlett 9.700, Kelci Lewis 9.825, Amy DeFilippo 9.825, Casey Jo Magee 9.825, Jaime Pisani 9.900
Kentucky: Beam: 48.600Andrea Mitchell 9.450, Emilie Rymer 9.825, Hillary Ferguson 9.700, Whitney Rose 9.750, Emily Green 9.875, Storey Morris 9.175
Download: ark, kentucky meet results.pdf
