The University of Kentucky gymnastics team will look to claim its second victory of the seasonwhen it plays host to No. 22 Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 10. Action gets underway at 7 p.m. atMemorial Coliseum.
The GymKats (1-4, 0-3 Southeastern Conference) notched their first win of the season in atri-meet as they topped George Washington University 193.675-190.800 on Feb. 2. They also facedNo. 3 Georgia in the meet and was tied after two rotations. However, UK could not overcome theGym Dogs 195.500. Despite their record, the GymKats maintain a team average of 193.519 for a No.26 national ranking and a No. 6 regional ranking.
The vault continues to be the GymKats strongest event. Their average of 48.650 is rankedsecond in the region and ninth nationally. Junior Jennifer Simmons’ 9.775 average leads the team, is11th in the region and is 35th in the nation, while sophomore Julia Gore and freshman Julie Joy areclose behind with a 9.731. Senior Beth Coleman improved her average to 9.725 after a season-high9.850 against Georgia and George Washington.
UK put together its best beam performance of the season against Georgia with a 48.800, thefifth-highest beam score in school history, and had no falls. Sophomore Mindy Smith continues to bethe bright spot, averaging a 9.856, which is first in the region and 10th in the nation. Junior Jessie Lempis second on the team with a 9.775 average to rank 10th in the region, while junior Nicole Allen’s9.706 ranks 15th regionally.
Lemp heads up the UK uneven bar squad with a 9.744 average. She scored a season-high 9.825against Georgia to lead the Gym Kats to a season-high 48.325. Junior Katie Toups is second on theteam with a 9.675. Toups got off to a slow start this season but has rebounded to score two 9.800sand a 9.775.
The GymKats floor exercise average of 48.544 ranked eighth regionally and 35th nationally.Smith also leads the way here with her 9.800 average, and she has been the most consistent on theapparatus, scoring no less than a 9.775 this season. Coleman was added to the floor lineup againstMichigan and has earned a 9.762 average in two meets, while Allen has been a steady contributor witha 9.700 average.
Illinois comes into Memorial Coliseum sporting a 0-4 record on the season. However, much likeKentucky, their record is not indicative of how well they are performing. Their team average of193.881 is ranked 22nd in the nation, and they have a season-high 195.700 in a narrow defeat to OhioState last weekend.
The Fighting Illini opened the season with a narrow loss to then-No. 9 Penn State,194.825-194.650. They then traveled to Illinois State and suffered through their worst performance ofthe season, falling 196.000-192.275. They scored another sub-193.000 when they squared off againstMichigan State, which tallied a 194.800, but they appear to be peaking after their top meet of theseason last week.
