March 12, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Wildcats (6-7 overall, 0-6 Southeastern Conference) are set to travel cross country to Anchorage, Alaska, for a set of dual meets against the AAU Seawolves (7-7 overall). Meets are scheduled for Friday, March 13 at 11 p.m. ET and Sunday, March 15 at 6 p.m. ET. Live video will be streamed for Friday’s meet only and is available at Greatnorthwest.tv.

This weekend not only will be the inaugural meeting between Kentucky and Alaska-Anchorage, but the first time the Seawolves have competed against a member of the Southeastern conference. The two squads share a common opponent this season in Centenary, a team which the Cats defeated in a tri-meet with Georgia earlier this year.

Kentucky is coming off a road loss to No. 25 Iowa. However, the No. 24 Cats have earned at least 20 season and career highs in the last two meets combined. UK is also in the top 25 in three of four individual events, ranking No. 15 on vault, No. 23 on bars and No. 23 on floor.

Two gymnasts are ranked in the nation’s top 30. Seniors Natalie Rubinstein and Heather Hite come in at No. 28 on the uneven bars and No. 29 on the balance beam, respectively. Despite not cracking the top rankings, sophomore Jasmine Minion most recently earned a career high-tying 9.900 on the vault at Iowa. She has not scored below a 9.800 all season, averaging a team-high 9.840.

Alaska-Anchorage is coming off six consecutive wins after sweeping two tri-meets and Temple twice. Last time out for the Seawolves, they earned a season-high 192.775 to defeat Rutgers and Bridgeport, the third best score in program history. AAU returns home to host the Cats before heading to the Mountain Pacific Sports Confederation (MPSF) Championships in Colorado Springs.