MELISSA HALTERMAN/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA senior gymnast Sheehan Lemley competes in the floor event Saturday night in McKale Center during the Pac-10 Championships. Arizona tied for fourth overall.

The Arizona gymnastics team continued to put up high scores, this time at the Pac-10 Championships Friday in McKale Center, but could only manage a tie for fourth against its stellar league rivals.

The No. 15 Gymcats (10-8-1, 2-3-1 Pacific 10 Conference) extended their school record of meets with at least 196 points to nine in a row with a score of 196.775, the seventh best mark in team history, good enough for fourth in a meet that saw three scores of 10 awarded.

No. 6 Stanford (197.900) took first, No. 1 UCLA (197.875) finished second, No. 10 Oregon State (197.075) was third, No. 12 Washington (196.425) finished sixth and California, the only unranked Pac-10 team, finished last (195.625). No. 22 Arizona State tied for fourth with the UA.

"It was really bittersweet, but the girls fought hard; they didn't give up, they were intense. It was a highly intense meet and I liked their efforts," said UA head coach Bill Ryden. "We nickeled and dimed ourselves a little bit ... but without a doubt it was a great learning experience, getting ready for regionals."

The Gymcats scored a 49.275 on the floor, 49.175 on the beam, 49.250 on the vault and 49. 075 on the bars. It was the fourth time this year, but only the sixth time in school history, that they scored at least a 49 on all the team events.

Arizona junior Monica Bisordi tied for seventh in the all around with a 39.500 and placed sixth on the vault. Senior Andi McCabe was sixth on the vault (9.900) and junior Katie Johnson, with a 9.900, was seventh on the floor.

"Monica had a great meet. I mean, she's one of the best in the conference and definitely one of the best in the nation," Ryden said.

Stanford's Natalie Foley scored a 10 on the vault right in front of the Cardinal's section. Meanwhile, UCLA, which Stanford edged out by the smallest possible margin, had the other two perfect scores ÷ sophomore Kate Richardson on the floor and senior Jeannette Antolin on the vault.

The Gymcats finished fourth in the vault, fifth on the bars, fifth on the beam and fifth on the floor.

The Pac-10s also saw the return of UA junior Jamie Schell, who had been sidelined since January. Schell scored a 9.825, which was used in the team total.

"A pleasant surpise was the fact that we were able to get Jamie Schell back," Ryden said. "It was the first time we had her in six weeks, I believe, and her score counted. And that helped us."

In their first meet of spring break, the Gymcats beat then-No. 21 Arkansas 196.525 to 194.850. Bisordi earned three individual titles, with career highs in the all-around (39.725), on the floor (9.975) and on the vault (9.950). She also finished second on the bars and beam.

Against the Razorbacks, Arizona won three team-event titles, with a school record 49.575 on the floor, a 49.425 on the bars ÷ the second highest score in UA history ÷ and a 49.475 on the vault.

On senior night, senior Sheehan Lemley and freshman Aubrey Taylor tied for third on bars, scoring career highs of 9.875, and junior Jamie Duce on the bars with a career-high 9.925.

The Gymcats return to action April 3 in the 2004 NCAA Regional Championships, also in McKale Center.