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The 20th-ranked University of Kentucky gymnastics team looks to rebound from a loss last week when it welcomes New Hampshire to Memorial Coliseum on Friday, Jan. 25. Action is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The GymKats (2-2, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) are coming off a disappointing loss to Florida last week at home. They were led in that meet by senior co-captain Jessie Lemp and junior Julia Gore. Lemp scored a career-high 9.875 on bars, which ranks 22nd nationally, and a 9.800 on beam, while Gore scored a career-high 9.850 on vault and a 9.800 on bars.

“I am very pleased with the way our workouts have gone,” Coach Leah Little said. “They have turned things up a notch. We, the coaches, have pushed them a little harder this week and they have definitely responded. We expect to come back to the level where we were and hopefully higher.”

Sophomore Julie Joy leads the team in the all-around, winning two of three meets this season, and scored a career-high 39.125 at the Bahama Breeze Invitational on Jan. 11. Gore and freshman Kara Prestigiacomo are tops on the team on the vault, and Gore is ranked sixth on vault in the Central Region.

Junior Mindy Smith leads the team on the balance beam with a season-high 9.825, which ranks fifth in the Central Region, while Lemp’s high of 9.800 ranks 12th. On the floor, two GymKats have tallied a 9.900 or higher this season. Sophomore Aronda Primault tallied a career-high 9.925 in the season-opener to rank 16th in the country, and freshman Michelle Gales scored a 9.900 to rank 10th in the region.

New Hampshire (2-0) comes to the Bluegrass with wins over Rutgers and Rhode Island. Junior Jen Dickson, the 2001 East Atlantic Gymnastics League Rookie of the Year, is UNH’s top gymnast with a season-high all-around score of 38.825. Senior Bethany Wagner is second on the team with a 38.800, while junior Michelle Harley is third with a 38.425.

UK and UNH have met three times with the GymKats holding a 3-0 series advantage. The teams last met in Gainesville, Fla., on Feb. 13, 1993, where UK topped UNH 194.450-188.550. In the last and only meeting in Lexington on Feb. 24, 1989, the GymKats got the best of UNH, 183.550-183.050.

Friday also is “Superhero Night,” and the fan voted as the best-dressed superhero will walk away with a new DVD player. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Tickets will be available at the door and are $5 for adults and $2 for children in the eighth grade and below. UK students get in free with a valid student ID.