Kentucky Gymnastics impress at Rupp Arena during 2022 Excite Night
Kentucky Gymnastics made a statement in their meet against No. 28 Ball State during Excite Night at Rupp Arena on Friday.
With a 196.525-194.75 win over Ball State, it’s safe to say the GymKats are rolling into the 2022 season with strength.
Originally scheduled to compete against No. 21 Georgia, the Cats commanded the Ball State Cardinals after a last-minute schedule switch due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
Excite Night, a tradition for the GymKats, kicked off at Rupp with former head coach and two-time SEC Coach of the Year Leah Little welcoming fans. Little began the event over 20 years ago, which is now a staple of the program.
The GymKats, currently coached by Tim Garrison, began competition with a punch on Vault, having five scores of 9.800 or better. Junior Raena Worley scored a high of 9.900 on the Vault, claiming her first Vault award of her career.
Kentucky then moved to the Uneven Bars, their best showing of the evening, with Senior Cally Nixon and Worley both scoring a 9.900 or higher.
On the Balance Beam, Worley continued her wins for the evening, having the highest score of 9.875. The Beam was the only event of the night that Kentucky did not score an overall of 49.000 or higher, coming just short at 48.875.
Last up was Floor, where Worley and Sophomore Hailey Davis both scored 9.925, a high for Davis and the first win of her career.
Kentucky swept the competition, winning all individual events including Uneven Bars, Balance Beam, Floor Exercise, and Vault.
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Kentucky then took the overall awards in both the team division and the individual All-Around competition. All-American Raena Worley claimed her seventh All-Around title of her collegiate career with a score of 39.65. She noted the significance of being able to compete in Rupp Arena, saying post-meet that competing in Rupp just feels “different”.
Coach Garrison commented on the team’s adaptability with schedule changes, saying it “…didn’t change a thing”. He was very pleased with the opening performance despite the last minute changes, and said it was good to “get back at it”.
The GymKats are looking forward to opening SEC matchups against No. 11 Alabama on the road on January 21st.
The GymKats will be back in action in Lexington on January 29th against no. 7 Missouri at Memorial Coliseum.
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