Cats Clinch Spot in Second Session of SEC Championship
LINCOLN, Neb. – No. 9 Kentucky ended its regular season with its fifth 197-point performance in its last six outings, clinching a spot in the evening session of next week’s Southeastern Conference Championship with a 197.085 National Qualifying Score. The Wildcats placed second overall in Saturday’s tri-meet at No. 18 Nebraska, falling 197.675-197.200 to the Cornhuskers and beating No. 56 Illinois State (191.625).
“This was another solid outing for the team,” said head coach Tim Garrison. “We have been working throughout the regular season to position ourselves for the postseason. This score puts us over a 197 NQS for the first time in program history and also places us in the evening session of the SEC Championship next weekend. I’m very proud of the individuals that have come together to make this an incredible team, and I’m excited to see what the postseason brings.”
A team’s NQS is calculated by its top six scores, which must include three road or neutral meets, dropping the high score and averaging the remaining five. The Wildcats edged out No. 11 Alabama (196.900) to join No. 8 Georgia (197.195), No. 3 Florida (197.675), and No. 4 LSU (197.680) in the top half of the final SEC standings.
The Cats were led by a 49.400 vault rotation, tying the second-best mark in program history. Senior Katie Stuart picked up her second outright vault win of the season by tying the second-best individual score in school history (9.975). Junior Mollie Korth finished second overall on the event by matching a career-high 9.950.
Kentucky also received a career-high output on balance beam from sophomore Ella Warren, who led off the night with a 9.850 in just her second time on the apparatus this season. Senior Alex Hyland tied a season-high 9.900 on beam, equaling fellow senior Sidney Dukes for Kentucky’s best beam score and a fourth-place finish overall.
The Wildcats will take a 7-7 (3-4 SEC) record to New Orleans next weekend. The evening session of the SEC Championship will begin at approximately 8 p.m. ET on Saturday at the Smoothie King Center, televised on ESPN2.
For the latest on the Kentucky gymnastics team, follow @UKGymnastics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKAthletics.com.
