Kentucky Begins Postseason Action at SEC Championships

ST. LOUIS – The No. 9 Kentucky gymnastics team will compete in the night session of the SEC Championships for the first time in school history on Saturday at the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis. UK earned the No. 4 seed in the event and will compete at 7 p.m. live on ESPN2 against Alabama, Florida and LSU
 
The early session, featuring Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia and Missouri will begin at 2 p.m. Bart Conner, Kathy Johnson Clarke and Laura Rutledge will be on the call for both sessions. The awards session will take place around 8:30 p.m. ET and will be shown live on SEC Network+.
 
SEC Network+ has expanded coverage of the SEC Gymnastics Championships, with live streams of each event, and a quad-box view called “all-around.” The all-around channel allows the view to watch every event at the same time, on one stream. All streaming options, and the television coverage, are available through the WatchESPN App as well as the SEC Network+ channels.
 
Kentucky will begin on the floor before rotating to the vault, bars and finishing on the beam.
 
Last year at the SEC Championships, Kentucky finished fifth and posted its best SEC Championships score in program history with a 196.625. Alex Hyland took a share of the SEC beam title after a 9.95, and Hyland joined Mollie Korth and Sidney Dukes as All-SEC.
 
Last Year at the SEC Championships
Last year at the SEC Championships, Kentucky posted a 196.625, its best team score at the event in program history. Alex Hyland won a share of the SEC Beam title with a 9.95. Alex Hyland, Mollie Korth and Sidney Dukes all were named All-SEC for their performance at the meet.
 
Kentucky in the Team Rankings
Heading into the final rankings of the regular season, Kentucky feel one spot to No. 9 in the nation. UK’s Regional Qualifying Score currently sits at 196.800, and the Wildcats average 196.461 with a high of 197.100.
 
Kentucky in the Event Rankings
Kentucky sits in the top-15 in every event ranking. UK’s best event is the beam, where UK is ninth in the nation with an RQS of 49.295. Kentucky is No. 10 on the floor at 49.315, which is the third best SEC team. The Wildcats are No. 12 on the vault and bars with scores of 49.170 and 49.240, respectively.
 
Individually, Mollie Korth is Kentucky’s best all-arounder at No. 13 in the nation and an RQS of 39.470. Alex Hyland trails closely behind at No. 18 in the country at 39.425.
 
First Night Session Ever
Since the Southeastern Conference Gymnastics Championships went to two sessions, the same four teams – Alabama, Florida, Georgia and LSU – have earned the top seeds in the championship event. This year, after finishing fourth in the SEC with a regional qualifying score of 196.800, Kentucky will join the evening session for the first time in program history.
 
Impressive All-Around Score
Mollie Korth won the all-around at the New Hampshire Quad Meet with a 39.625, matching her best all-around score ever. Korth tied the seventh-highest score in program history and holds the highest score from any Wildcat other than NCAA Champion Jenny Hansen. Junior Alex Hyland finished second in the all-around with a 39.400.
 
First Career Event Win
Hailey Poland came up with a 9.875 on the beam to earn the first event title of her career. She tied her career best at Illinois State with a 9.875.
 
For complete news and updates on the Kentucky Gymnastics program, go to UKathletics.com. Season tickets can be found on UKathletics.com/Tickets. News and updates on the team can also be found on Twitter at @UKGymnastics and at @UKCoachGarrison and Facebook at Facebook.com/UKGymnastics.