Arizona Gymnastics Wins First Pac-12 Meet, Loses Freshman to Injury

Arizona Gymnastics, ranked No.25, started strong and held on against a late surge by No. 20 Stanford to win its first Pac-12 meet this season.

There were many stories within the story of this particular Pac-12 showdown. First off, the meet marked the return of Coach Tabitha Yim to McKale. She coached the Wildcats the past two seasons but left last fall when Stanford, her alma mater, offered her the head coaching job.

It was also the final home meet of the season, so the parents got to watch from the sidelines for Senior Day. We are used to seeing cardboard heads in the Zona Zoo during basketball games. Some of the Gymcat parents wore t-shirts bearing large pictures of their daughters’ heads. Imagine seeing a huge picture of your face in your own face while you are tumbling on the mat during floor exercises.

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Arizona started the meet on the vault. Little did they know, simultaneously a key fall by Stanford’s senior star, Elizabeth Price, on the uneven bars would be the break the Wildcats would need 90 minutes later.

Arizona held their own on vault, tying their season high. Meanwhile Stanford’s Price, who never falls off the bars, somehow managed to do so. Because Price was the second Cardinal to fall off the bars, the Cardinal was in a deep hole going into the second rotation, a hole they never could climb out of.

Stanford settled down once they went to the vault. Arizona had also had a fall on the uneven bars, but they were able to throw the low score out, so it did no damage. The balance beam was the most challenging event of the afternoon for Arizona. It hasn’t been their strength this year, and Sunday was no different. They only scored a 48.425, while Stanford was lighting it up on the floor exercises. After three rotations, the Cardinal was creeping closer.

Luckily Arizona’s final routine, the floor exercise, is always their best. As long as the gymnasts stayed within the lines and hit their landings, they would win the meet. Arizona sports fans know that nothing seems to come easy for Arizona lately and Sunday was no different.

Payton Bellows is a freshman on the gymnastics team this year. While she is young, she is getting opportunities to compete. She is a physically strong gymnast, and things will only get better for Payton as she gains experience. But on the floor exercises, she came up lame after a tumbling pass. She was in so much pain she couldn’t get up and needed help leaving the floor. The Pac-12 announcers thought she might have injured her Achilles Heel.

No longer did the Wildcats have the luxury of dropping their low score. No problem, two experienced seniors were on the sidelines pulling the team together as they got ready to nail their routines.

Captain Maddy Cindrick was on her game all afternoon. She was hitting her routines and having fun doing it.  She took to the floor and did what talented seniors do and scored a 9.85!

https://twitter.com/ArizonaGymCats/status/962848763206225920

Meanwhile, Stanford was on the always perilous balance beam. For the Cardinal, that is another day at the office–they are calm and always do well. Sunday was no different. They were smooth and nailed their routines. Fortunately, the Wildcats have senior Kennady Schneider, the floor exercise ace, as their final athlete. Schneider is not just talented on the floor, she flirts with the audience, smiles at the judges which they love and nails her passes in a routine that she choreographs on her own.

And the final score:

Next: Arizona Basketball Beats USC to Stay Alone Atop the Pac-12

We haven’t heard what Payton Bellow’s injury is yet. Zona Zealots wishes her well and hopes for a speedy recovery. Her teammates will Bear Down for her until she’s back in the gym. Congratulations Arizona Gymcats on the big win and good luck this weekend against Oregon State.