Angeny Continues to Make Big Impact on UK Gymnastics
The 15th-ranked Kentucky gymnastics team knew it would need a big effort in Friday night’s meet. The Cats were hosting fifth-ranked Arkansas, one of the most talented teams in the country.
The Cats knew they would need significant contributions from a number of gymnasts in order to win. And that’s exactly what head coach Tim Garrison got from his team on Friday night. Kentucky scored a season-high 197.000 to edge out the Razorbacks, who scored a 196.675 in Friday’s meet at Memorial Coliseum.
“It was absolutely a total team effort,” Garrison said after the meet. “I’m so proud of the entire team, all the role players, all of the people that didn’t necessarily compete tonight but brought a lot of energy. It takes the whole group.”
Junior Josie Angeny claimed her second career all-around title with a career-best 39.500 in Friday’s meet. Angeny finished just ahead of teammate Raena Worley, who had an all-around score of 39.475 on Friday. Freshman Bailey Bunn was UK’s third all-arounder and she also set a new career high with a 39.350 in the meet.
For Angeny, she knew it wasn’t a perfect night, but she was still pleased.
“Tonight went pretty well for me,” Angeny said. “A lot of my work is paying off, so I’m super excited. I’ve been trying really hard mentally to come back each meet and tonight, I kind of pieced it together a little bit better.”
While many athletes were wondering what to do with themselves during the quarantine last summer, Angeny was finding ways to make herself better every day.
“Quarantine, honestly, was the best thing that could have happened for me,” Angeny said. “It gave me a lot of time to mentally realize that I only have two more years here and I only have so much time with gymnastics left and this is the thing I’ve loved my entire life. So it really hit me like a truck. So I could go one way or the other. I tried to grind every day, I changed how I ate a lot, I went running all the time, I trained everywhere.”
Garrison is proud of how hard Angeny has worked to get herself into shape and to make a major contribution to this team.
“Sitting back and just watching her as a coach makes me extremely proud,” Garrison said. “”When people were struggling to find places to train this summer, she was going to find the time to train. She’s made some tremendous changes and with the changes, she’s made a lot of progress. She’s doing so well.”
Angeny is making a big impact on the team with her physical skills, but she has also become a leader for the younger gymnasts on the team.
“I feel so much different and I think the biggest thing is that my team trusts me now,” Angeny said. “I can be hard to work with, I admit that. But I really took this freshman class under my wing and they are asking me for advice so I wanted to show them that I can lead by example.”
That leadership earned her team a big win on Friday night, one that Garrison knows that he and the squad will savor.
“It was a special night. Any time you can get a win in the SEC, it’s always special. It always will be because it’s such a tough conference,” Garrison said. “But when you take down the number five team in the country and score a 197, a season-high score, I’d call that a good night.”
