The No. 11 Arizona gymnastics team travels to Tempe tonight to pay a visit to the rival Sun Devils in Wells Fargo Arena.
The Wildcats (7-3-1, 2-2-1 Pacific 10 Conference) are 1-2-1 in their last four meets, coming off a three-match weekend that saw them tie then-No. 15 Washington 197.300ö197.300, then fall to No. 10 Louisiana State by 0.050 while defeating Texas Woman's University (193.425) in a combined meet. On Feb. 13, Arizona also fell 0.050 points short of Oregon State.
To summarize, that is two losses by 0.100 points and a tie while posting the second- and third-best scores in school history (197.300).
At Monday's triple meet, senior Andi McCabe and junior Katie Johnson earned their first collegiate perfect 10s on the vault and floor, respectively.
"(McCabe) was so close so often; it's going to motivate both to keep going strong," said UA head coach Bill Ryden. "For a 10 to happen, it has to be the right combination of feeling good and everything coming together."
Arizona has never scored 197 or better in two consecutive meets until last weekend, but it doesn't have the wins to show for them.
"We don't want to worry about other teams' scores," Ryden said. "We need to focus on our routines because we've seen that the scores will come."
Despite a record of 6-4 (2-3 Pac-10) and no national ranking, ASU plays one of the tougher schedules in the NCAA. The Sun Devils face nine of the top 25 teams during the regular season alone, including tonight's match versus the UA. Sun Devil sophomore Ashley Kelly won the all-around (39.750) last week in a home loss to No. 4 Utah, 196.850-196.500.
Arizona's answer in the all-around will be junior Monica Bisordi, who also has a season high of 39.750. Freshman Aubrey Taylor has been impressive in the all-around, but may not participate in all events tonight because of an injury, according to Ryden.
"Monica is hitting her stride right now," Ryden said. "When (Bisordi) does well, it helps motivate the rest of us."