By Arlie Rahn
Arizona Daily Wildcat
TEMPE Ä The Arizona men's basketball team was not the only team to have luck frown on it last week. Entering Thursday night's matchup with No. 11 Arizona State, the 10th-ranked UA gymnastics team had its own share of obstacles to overcome.
First, two of the team's top bars performers, Becky Bowers and Tracy Yerkes, were sidelined with injuries, leaving Arizona with only five gymnasts in the bars lineup. Furthermore, top all-around performer Tenli Poggemeyer was mourning the death of her club gymnastics coach, Stormy Eaton, who was killed in a plane crash Thursday.
While they gave a gallant effort, the Wildcats still fell 193.675-192.2 to their intra-state rivals Thursday at the University Activity Center.
"When you come into a meet limping, you walk out limping," Arizona coach Jim Gault said.
For the third straight meet, the beam was the Achilles' heel for the Wildcats. They had to keep two scores under 9.3 and were plagued with falls. They recorded a higher score by their inexperienced five-person uneven bars squad (47.725) than they did with their regular six on the beam (47.650).