TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona Gymnastics earned the No. 22 ranking in the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) preseason poll, released by the association on Friday.
This is the third year that the GymCats have been picked in the Top 25 of the WCGA preseason poll under head coach John Court.
“We are very excited to start the 2024 season ranked 22nd by the WCGA,” Court said. “Our ranking reflects our 2023 postseason finish, our returning student-athletes, and our talented class of freshmen. We are looking forward to continuing to build on our competitive process this season.”
The GymCats are returning 15 letterwinners from last season’s team that finished the year ranked No. 21 by Road to Nationals, their highest end of season ranking since closing out the 2016-17 campaign ranked No. 26. The Wildcats ended last season ranked No. 15 on beam and No. 23 on vault.
Among the 15 returners are redshirt senior Malia Hargrove and junior Alysen Fears, two standouts who competed in all 14 meets last year. Hargrove was named All-Pac-12 honorable mention on vault after finishing the 2023 season ranked seventh in the conference and 23rd nationally on the event. Sophomore Alysen Fears competed in every meet on bars and beam for the GymCats last season, earning career high scores of 9.925 on bars and 9.875 on beam.
The Wildcats are welcoming six freshman to the squad, Sophie Derr, Ainsley Greever, Haley Havenor, Sophia Maisel, Abigayle Martin, and Tirzah Wise.
Arizona hosts the GymCat Showcase on Saturday, December 16 at 2 p.m. MST. The 2023 regular season will kick off at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad hosted by ESPN on Friday, January 12.
Source: Arizona Wild Cats
