Kentucky Earns First Road Win of the Season at Missouri
COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 10 Kentucky gymnastics earned its first road victory of the season defeating No. 14 Missouri, 197.275-196.625 at the Hearnes Center.
Senior Raena Worley was the top all-around gymnast earning her 16th career victory and fourth of the season. The Christiansburg, Va. native totaled a combined 39.700 on the evening, her highest of the 2023 campaign. Her all-around career high is 39.750, which she has tallied three times in her four years at Kentucky.
Starting the night on the uneven bars, senior Shealyn Luksik stuck her landing to earn a 9.900. She was the leading scorer on the event for UK. Luksik tied Missouri’s Helen Hu for the first-place finish on the event. Junior Bailey Bunn set a new season record with her own stuck dismount and a 9.875 from the judges. Worley also scored a 9.875 on the apparatus with sophomore Annie Riegert setting a new season and career high at 9.850. Leadoff Hailey Davis recorded a 9.800 on the event with Kaitlin DeGuzman posting a 9.825. The total bars tally for UK was 49.325.
On vault, the second rotation of the night, Worley had the top mark which tied the Tigers’ Jocelyn Moore for the No. 1 placement. Tying her season best 9.850 vault last week against No. 11 Alabama, the senior shattered her high with a 9.950. The big score tied her current career-best vault which she set last season at NCAA Regionals. Also showing out on the event was junior Isabella Magnelli who was awarded a 9.850 while senior Ashlyn LaClair set a new all-time high and season best with a 9.825. Sophomore Makenzie Wilson also scored a 9.825 on the apparatus with both Arianna Patterson and Jillian Procasky scoring 9.800 each. Kentucky totaled 49.250 on the event.
Up next was the floor exercise. On a roll, Worley scored another 9.950 as anchor on the event hitting the top mark of the night for the competition. The high score tied her season best which was set last week against the Crimson Tide. Also scoring big on the event was Davis who tallied a 9.900 while Magnelli and Patterson scored a 9.825 and Wilson and Procasky recorded 9.800. The third rotation total equaled 49.300 for the Wildcats.
To close out the competition, the Cats headed to the balance beam. For the second week in a row, Magnelli found herself at the top of the leaderboard with a top score on the event. Tying Hu for first, the Sufferin, N.Y. native earned a 9.950. She has scored a 9.925 or better in the last three meets on the apparatus. Worley was not far behind Magnelli with a big score of her own, a 9.925 with Bunn scoring a 9.900. Bunn’s performance earned her a new personal best for the 2023 season. Patterson tallied a 9.850 on the final rotation with Procasky earning a 9.775 and Luksik a 9.100 following an unfortunate fall. Kentucky totaled 49.400 on beam – tying Mizzou’s floor rotation for the highest scoring rotation of the night.
The Wildcats finished with a total meet score of 197.275 which was enough to top the Tigers earning the first away victory for 2023. Kentucky will be back in Memorial Coliseum for the next two weeks hosting Eastern Michigan on Friday, Feb. 10 and No. 18 Arkansas the following week, Feb. 17.
For the latest on the Kentucky gymnastics team, follow @UKGymnastics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKAthletics.com.
