Online Exclusive: Gymcats look to stay undefeated at home against Stanford


By Michael Irish
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Thursday, February 11, 2005

The Arizona women's gymnastics team is at home tonight to host Stanford at 7:30 in McKale Center.

The No. 20 Gymcats are back after completing consecutive road meets in Seattle and Berkeley, Calif., in which they set season-high scores in each meet.

Last week at California, the Gymcats put up a season-high 194.900 points as they defeated the Golden Bears (189.850).

"I'm very pumped. I think the team is going to do fantastic," said freshman Rachelle Silberg.

Because of its two latest wins, Arizona has greatly improved its Regional Qualifying Score (RQS), which consists of the top six scores of the year, three of which must be away meets. The RQS is important because it is a main factor in deciding which teams qualify for the postseason.

Last week the team's seniors turned in quality performances on their way to victory.

Senior Katie Johnson won both her fourth consecutive vault (9.850) and fourth consecutive floor (9.900) titles of the year, setting new season-highs in both events.

Senior Jamie Schell had a season-high in the vault (9.800), while fellow senior Monica Bisordi got a season-high 9.875 in the floor exercise. Both finished second behind Johnson.

Bisordi also won the individual beam title, finishing with a season-high 9.900. Johnson (9.800) finished second in the event.

Senior Jamie Duce set a season-high in the uneven parallel bars with a score of 9.725, good enough for third overall.

"Everything is going great right now. Hopefully some of the fans can come out and support us," said Arizona head coach Bill Ryden.

The Gymcats enter the weekend ranked in national top-25 in team score. They do not have any athletes ranked in the top-25 in any individual event.

Next week, the Gymcats get the luxury of staying at home. They host No. 21 Oregon State Feb. 18 in McKale.