Arkansas' new era ready for No. 2 OU

Arkansas co-head coach Mark Cook congratulates freshman Heather Elswick after she completed her vault during a meet with Georgia Friday, Jan. 11, 2013, in Barnhil Arena on the UA campus in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas is touting tonight's season-opening meet at No. 2 Oklahoma as a new era in Razorback gymnastics, and for good reason.

No. 13 Arkansas will compete for the first time since the program's inception in 2003 without former co-coach Rene Lyst and four-year mainstay Katherine Grable, the school's first NCAA individual champion.

Women’s gymnastics

Arkansas at Oklahoma

WHEN 6:45 p.m. Central tonight

WHERE Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Okla.

TV Fox Sports Southwest

RECORDS Season opener for both teams

SERIES OU leads 10-1, including a 197.425 to 196.65 victory last year in Fayetteville.

RANKINGS Arkansas is No. 13, Oklahoma is No. 2 by GymInfo

Coach Mark Cook elevated Samantha Snider to assistant head coach and moved up former Arkansas All-American Jamie Pisani from director of operations to assistant coach.

"Rene was a great part of the program, but we've started -- our coaches call it a new era -- and everyone has just been really positive about it," sophomore all-arounder Amanda Wellick said. "We have really good incoming freshmen that have improved throughout the preseason."

The Razorbacks, who placed third in the NCAA Fayetteville Regional and did not advance to the NCAA Championships last year, will face five of the teams that advanced to the Super Six last year, starting with the defending NCAA co-champion Sooners, who tied for the title with Florida.

"They haven't really lost a lot of kids from last season," Cook said. "They will still be extremely strong. For us, it's just going there and hitting our routines cleanly and see how close we can get to them. That'll gauge us as far as where we're at."

Cook said freshman Paige Zaziksi would join Wellick as all-around competitors. The sophomore Wellick and senior Stephani Canizaro have shown notable improvement in the offseason, Cook said. Juniors Sydnie Dillard, Heather Elswick and Erin Freier and sophomore Samantha Nelson also are expected to contribute, along with Zaziski and other freshmen.

Razorbacks freshman Braie Speed, who would have competed in all four events, injured her knee and will be out for the season.

Oklahoma returns the nucleus of its championship team, including junior Haley Scaman, the NCAA floor exercise runner-up who scored a 10 on the vault at Arkansas last year, junior Maile'ana Kanewa, also the NCAA floor exercise runner-up, junior Keeley Kmieciak and sophomore Chayse Capps.

The Razorbacks expect to maintain their status as a contender in the always difficult SEC.

"I think we're going to make a statement this year and it's going to be a really good year," Wellick said. "Everything that happened last year doesn't mean anything for this year. Just go in there and make a statement for what our team is like."

Sports on 01/09/2015