Angeny and Worley Power Kentucky to Road Win at Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Powered by the strong performances of Josie Angeny and Raena Worley on Friday night, the Kentucky Gymnastics team ran its win streak to three Southeastern Conference meets in a row, picking up a 196.700-195.675 win over Arkansas at Barnhill Arena.
Josie Angeny recorded the highest score of any gymnast Friday night on any apparatus, scoring a 9.950 to close out the meet on beam and push the Wildcats over top of the Razorbacks in Fayetteville. The score for Angeny was enough to win the beam title for the evening as one of two Wildcats to win individual event titles on the night.
Raena Worley won her fifth-straight all-around title with a 39.625 in the process, winning the title on vault for the evening.
Kentucky had its best event first, as the Wildcats went for a solid 49.325 on bars to gain a .250 lead early in the night. UK had four of the highest five scorers of the meet on bars, paced by a 9.900 from Worley, 9.875 from Kaitlin Deguzman, 9.875 by Cally Nixon, and a 9.875 as well from Josie Angeny as they all began their nights on solid footing.
UK’s lead increased as it went to the vault, where Worley shined with a 9.925 to take the vault title. Arianna Patterson led off the event for Kentucky with a strong 9.875 and Makenzie Wilson scored a 9.825 as the three UK gymnasts to score above a 9.8 on the night.
Anna Haigis shined on floor with a 9.875, joining Worley as the co-leaders for the Wildcats on that event. Floor was the lowest-scoring event for UK on the night, but the Wildcats still managed to increase its lead heading into the final rotation in front of over 4,000 fans at Barnhill Arena and Arkansas, one of the best floor teams in the country, taking the stage.
Kentucky performed under the spotlight beautifully, with Angeny (9.950) and Worley (9.925) leading the event with the two highest scores of the night for either team, and both coming as the final two competitors of the night. Shealyn Luksik led off the beam run with a 9.850 and Isabella Magnelli put a cap on her impressive night with a 9.800.
UK will return to Memorial Coliseum Friday night at 6 p.m. ET against the Florida Gators. The meet will be televised on the SEC Network, ESPN3 and the ESPN app. Tickets are available by accessing UKathletics.com/tickets.
Follow along with the Wildcats on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
