UA upsets Oregon State, wins meet

Ian Meyer Arizona Daily Wildcat UA gymnast Maureen Kealy recovered from an accident in warmups to help Arizona to a four-way meet win Friday night at at McKale Center.

Would sophomore standout Heidi Hornbeek be healthy enough to compete?

Would sophomore Maureen Kealey be able to bounce back from a warm-up accident?

These questions were answered as the 14th-ranked GymCats upset two higher ranked teams en route to winning the four-way meet in front of about 900 fans at McKale Center.

Hornbeek, who missed last weekend's meet against Minnesota with the flu, was still feeling under the weather up until the beginning of the meet. You could never tell by the way she performed.

Hornbeek finished first in the all-around (39.30), the vault (9.925), the beam (9.925) and on the floor (9.925). All but the floor were new season-high scores for Hornbeek.

"It was a hell of an effort for her tonight," UA head coach Jim Gault said.

Kealey hit her head with her knee while warming up on the bars. She had to be checked out by doctors before being cleared to compete. She came back and finished fifth in the beam (9.80).

Arizona finished with a score of 195.300, claiming three of the four events. No. 9 Oregon State took second with 193.825, No.13 Stanford slipped to third with 192.825 and George Washington finished last with 187.875.

The 195.300 is a season-high team score, almost two points better then their previous high of 193.450, set against California on Jan. 17. In the individual performances, the Wildcats bettered their season-high individual scores in the vault, with Hornbeek going from a 9.90 to a 9.925, and on the bars, with senior Becky Bowers climbing from a 9.875 to a 9.900. Bower's 9.900 was good enough for first in the bars. Hornbeek bettered her season-high all-around score from 39.30 to 39.45.