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Hornbeek, Liljenquist highlight disappointing year

For the UA gymnastics team, the performance of two individuals highlighted a disappointing team season in which Arizona finished 7-19.

With the team struggling for wins - despite solid overall scores - against tough competition, senior All-American Heidi Hornbeek and sophomore Randi Liljenquist stole the headlines.

Hornbeek was honored as the nation's top senior this year, even after several injuries kept her from competing in the NCAA Championships in Boise, Idaho.

"Heidi is the epitome of college athletics and I am very proud of what she has accomplished," head coach Bill Ryden said. "She is one of the top athletes to ever compete here at Arizona.

In her final season at Arizona, Hornbeek earned nine event titles and posted 32 top-five finishes. She also holds the UA record for the best scores on the vault (10), bars (9.95) and the beam (9.95).

Not to be outdone, Liljenquist also dominated this season. She also notched a perfect 10 on the floor this season against Michigan on March 3.

Ryden said this season will be one which Liljenquist can build on.

"Randi had a break out year this season," he said. "She has really made a name for herself this year."

With Hornbeek's injury Liljenquist was the only UA gymnast to compete at the NCAA Championships. Liljenquist finished in seventh place overall with a score of 39.075. She was named to the all Pac-10 team in the beam and the all-around. In her first season as an all-around competitor, Liljenquist earned 17 first-place titles and posted 40 top five finishes.

"I am happy with what I did this year," Liljenquist said. "I just want to practice hard and come back next year and do even better. Not only for myself but for the team as well."

As a team, though, Arizona discovered that along with tough competition comes tough losses.

"We wanted to compete against the best teams, and we did," Ryden said. "Wins and losses aren't important, but the overall score and the experience we gain is."

Arizona's defeats included setbacks to nationally ranked teams such as Michigan, Utah, Nebraska, Louisiana State, Stanford, Minnesota, Arizona State, Washington, Denver and Oregon.

The Wildcats achieved most of their success at the McKale Center, finishing with a home record of 5-4, but remained winless on the road (0-12).

In their final meet at the NCAA Region III Championships, the Wildcats finished in fourth place. They failed to advance to nationals as a team, finishing behind Nebraska, LSU and ASU.

"The bottom line is that we had a better team this year than we did last year," Ryden said. "I am very proud of how these girls did at the end and the strong effort they gave."

The Wildcats will lose the leadership of Hornbeek and fellow seniors Lisa Heckel, Kiernan Andrews and Gretchen Diaz for next year, but have three recruits coming in and nine returning gymnasts.

"We have quite a few positives from this season that we will take and use to prepare for next year," Ryden said. "I am very optimistic for the future and this team."

Ryan Marie DeGolia can be reached at sports@wildcat.arizona.edu.