UA knows it belongs at NCAAs

BY ROB KEYS

Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2008

URL: http://www.wholehogsports.com/adg/223730/

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas was an unexpected guest the last time it competed at the NCAA Championships gymnastics meet.

The Lady Razorbacks finished last among the 12-team field at the 2006 championships, but the result didn’t matter much to a team making the first such trip in the program’s four-year history. Arkansas advanced to the championship meet only after a train wreck of a balance beam rotation by higher-ranked UCLA in the regional meet held at Barnhill Arena

“I think that meet was so special because that was our first senior class... and I said at the time it was like a fairy tale,” Co-Coach Rene Cook said of being at the 2006 championships. “You couldn’t write a movie better than the ending of that story for them.”

This time around, the Lady Razorbacks are eyeing a top-10 finish that would satisfy their loftiest preseason goal. Arkansas, ranked and seeded 11 th, competes against No. 2 seed Florida, No. 3 LSU, No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 Oregon State and No. 10 Oklahoma in the first of two sessions at 1 p. m. today.

The meet is being held at top-ranked and top-seeded Georgia, and the top three teams from each session advance to the Super Six championship round. Arkansas has competed at Georgia’s Stegeman Coliseum twice this season and has faced every team in its session except Oregon State.

“It’s the best we could ask for,” Co-Coach Mark Cook said. “It’s now up to us to get out there and perform and take advantage of the opportunity.”

Seniors Emily Peacock and Samantha Cortez, along with junior Alex LaChance, competed at the 2006 event, while sophomore Casey Jo Magee competed as an individual at last year’s championships. Peacock and Cortez said the previous experiences should work in Arkansas’ favor in terms of combating the nervousness that can be consuming on the national stage.

“The excitement and the atmosphere made for the most amazing feeling,” Cortez said of competing in 2006. “I remember trying not to let it get to me that much, but it was overwhelming for the first time being there.”

Arkansas is more seasoned this time, and beat four-time national champion Alabama for the first time in program history earlier this year. The Lady Razorbacks also finished a solid second behind secondranked Utah at the NCAA North Central Regional meet April 12,

“It wasn’t a fluke, like a lot of people viewed it last time,” Cortez said. “We earned it. We hit our routines, and we’re one of the 12 teams that deserve to be there.”

And this time, Arkansas isn’t just happy to be there.

“The top 10 is definitely there for us,” Peacock said. “We might even have a chance at the Super Six. Everyone at this meet is so good that anything can happen.” NCAA Championships WHEN 1 Central today WHERE Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Ga. WHO No. 2 seed Florida, No. 3 LSU, No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 Oregon State, No. 10 Oklahoma and No. 11 Arkansas NOTEWORTHY The top three teams from each of today’s two sessions advance to the Super Six championship round.... Today’s other session features top-seeded Georgia, No. 4 Stanford, No. 5 Utah, No. 8 Michigan, No. 9 UCLA and No. 12 Denver.