Wellick Captures Two Event Titles For No. 12 @RazorbackGym at No. 19 Auburn

AUBURN, Ala. – Sophomore Amanda Wellick added another pair of event titles to an already impressive start to the 2015 season, but it would not enough to lift the No. 12-ranked Arkansas gymnastics team to a victory at No. 19 Auburn, as they fell 197.075-196.250 on Friday night at the Auburn Arena.

Wellick, who is the reigning Southeastern Conference Co-Gymnast of the Week, followed up her three-event title performance last Friday with two more victories as she won the vault and floor exercise to help Arkansas post a 196.000-plus score for the second week in a row. The Wheaton, Ill., native posted a 9.900 on both the vault and floor exercise to win capture her second-straight event title in both events.

Arkansas got the night started off on a strong note, as they tied a season-high 49.125 on the uneven bars. In the rotation, the Razorbacks had five gymnasts post 9.800-plus scores, which included two career-best scores and a pair of season-high performances. Junior Erin Freier and Wellick each posted a 9.850 to lead the team, the score was a new season-high for Freier.

Head Coach Mark Cook’s team, who entered the meet ranked tied for seventh in the nation on the vault with fellow SEC member LSU, posted its third-consecutive 49.000-plus score in the event with a 49.050. Wellick collected her second 9.900-plus score in as any weeks on the vault with a 9.900 to lead her to a share of the event title.

The Razorbacks, who are currently the third-best floor exercise team in the nation, collected its highest score of the night in the event by turning in a 49.250 rotation thanks to five 9.800-plus’. Wellick captured her second 9.900 score of the night from the anchor spot for the floor exercise event title.

The Razorbacks posted a season-best on the beam by collecting a 48.825 in the final rotation. Freshman Paige Zaziski led the charge by scoring a career-best 9.800 in the event.

Results

Razorback of the Meet – Amanda Wellick
• Won the event title on both the vault and floor, giving her six on the year.
• Scored a 9.900 on both the vault and floor exercise.
• Posted a 9.800 on the uneven bars.
• Collected a 39.300 in the all-around to finish second on the night.

9.80 Plus Routines
Bars – Keara Glover (9.825), Erin Freier (9.850), Stephani Canizaro (9.800), Amanda Wellick (9.800), Paige Zaziski (9.850)
Vault – Heather Elswick (9.800), Paige Zaziski (9.825), (9.900)
Floor – Stephani Canizaro (9.800), Sydnie Dillard (9.825), Samantha Nelson (9.850), Heather Elswick (9.875), Amanda Wellick (9.900)
Beam – Paige Zaziski (9.800)

All-Around Scores
Amanda Wellick: 39.300
Paige Zaziski: 38.325

Post-Meet Sound: Head Coach Mark Cook

On His Team’s Performance
“We started off with a few errors on the bars, but nothing big. We have to get sharper on our landings. On vault, we did pretty well, we just had a few landings that needed to be higher up around the chest when they land. We had five really outstanding floor routines and on beam we performed very well and we didn’t count falls. We had a clean meet, so that means we are getting more consistent, but we have to fix those small, little errors. I feel we will continue to get stronger as the year goes on. This was a really good score on the road and we showed some mental toughness tonight.”

On Amanda Wellick’s Two Event Titles
“She is a seasoned veteran now. She had a couple of errors tonight, so she will continue to get better as the year goes along and win a lot more titles.”

On Team’s Beam Season-Best Performance
“We showed some mental toughness tonight on the beam. This week in our intrasquads, if we didn’t hit it we would do it again. We had to get tougher at it and we did. This is a good beam team and to be able to hit all of our routines tonight was a huge step for us mentally.”

#RazorStats
• The Razorbacks scored a 196.250, giving the team a 196.000-plus score in back-to-back weeks.
• Arkansas tied a season-high 49.125 on the bars.
• The Razorbacks set a season-high 48.825 on the balance beam.
• Sophomore Amanda Wellick captured the event title on the vault and floor exercise. It marked the second-straight week that the Wheaton, Ill., native has won overall on both events.
• The all-time series with Arkansas and Auburn is now tied at 13-all.
• Junior Erin Freier and Keara Glover set season-high scores on the bars, while junior Heather Elswick and freshman Paige Zaziski tied their career-best.
• Zaziski also scored a career-high 9.800 on the beam to lead the team.

Up Next
The 12th-ranked Arkansas gymnastics team will be back in action next Saturday, as they will travel to Dallas, Texas to partake in the 2015 MetroPlex Challenge. The Razorbacks will go up against SEC foe LSU, top-ranked Oklahoma, and Iowa State. The event is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

For more information on Arkansas gymnastics, follow @RazorbackGym on Twitter.