The No. 19 Kentucky Wildcats (1-1, 0-0 SEC) open Southeastern Conference play this weekend when they travel to No. 9 Arkansas (3-0, 0-0 SEC) for an SEC showdown with the Lady Razorbacks, Friday Jan. 16 at 7:00 p.m. CT.
UK defeated pre-season No. 24 Brigham Young 194.450 ? 192.625 this past Friday in Memorial Coliseum as first-year head coach Hajile ?Mo? Muhammad picked up his first win at the helm.
Arkansas finished first in its own Arkansas Quad meet defeating No. 22 Minnesota, West Virginia and Illinois-Chicago. Sophomore Dana McQuillin led the way by picking up the school?s first ever all-around title.
?Arkansas appears to be a polished and clean team,? Muhammad said. ?They are young, but I?m sure they?ll be ready to compete. It should be a very good meet with either team capable of being victorious.?
The Wildcats are led by senior Aronda Primault who has won the all-around title at both of Kentucky?s meets this season. Primault has led UK on vault, beam and all-around for the past two seasons and currently has the highest vault, bars, beam and all-around averages on the team. She also has the third-highest all-around average in the Central Region and teammate Michelle Gales holds the fourth-highest all-around average in the region.
Arkansas is in its second year competing in varsity gymnastics and are directed by co-head coaches Mark and Rene? Cook. The Lady Razorbacks defeated the Cats at home last season in a quad meet with Texas Women?s University and University of Illinois-Chicago. UA holds a 1-0 advantage in head-to-head competition with UK, but the Wildcats tied with the Lady Backs for sixth place at the SEC Championships last season.
Kentucky Gymnast of the Week
Senior Julie Joy is the latest Kentucky ?Gymnast of the Week? for her performance in UK?s 194.450 ? 192.625 win over No. 24 Brigham Young, Friday evening.
Joy helped lead the Wildcats to their first win of the season by posting a 9.850 on floor exercise, a 9.800 on uneven bars and a 9.700 on the balance beam. Her scores earned her third place on the floor exercise, fourth on beam and fifth on uneven bars.
The Villa Park, Ill., native is one of only two seniors on Kentucky?s roster and coach ?Mo? Muhammad relies on her to provide leadership and consistency to the team.
?Julie has done a fantastic job leading this team in times of adversity,? Muhammad said. ?She is a fighter with a lot of grit and determination.?
Senior Leadership
In addition to Joy?s standout performance against No. 24 BYU, senior Aronda Primault continued to post impressive numbers for Kentucky. Primault won her second consecutive all-around title with a season-high 38.975 score.
The Canton, Ohio native tied for the vault (9.875) and floor exercise (9.900) titles and finished tied for second on bars (9.825) and fifth on beam (9.375).
Primault has led Kentucky vault, beam and all-around for the past two seasons. She received All-America recognition in 2002 when she became the third gymnast in Kentucky history to reach the NCAA Championships.
O?Keefe Quietly Leads the Way
Kentucky soft-spoken sophomore Staci O?Keefe has been one of UK?s leaders through the first two meets of the season. O?Keefe was named Kentucky ?Gymnast of the Week? after leading off on bars and beam against Ohio State. She set career-highs on both routines.
The following week, O?Keefe eclipsed her career-high on bars once again by scoring a 9.85 against BYU to claim the meet title in the event.
