FAYETTEVILLE -- No. 12 Arkansas appeared to have given away another SEC showdown against Alabama with two falls on the beam Friday night, but the Crimson Tide had their own meltdown.
No. 6 Alabama fumbled away its huge lead with three falls on the beam and Arkansas closed with a school-record score on the floor to snatch away a 196.325 to 196.175 upset before a crowd of 3,164 at Barnhill Arena and a live television audience on the SEC Network.
No. 12 Arkansas 196.325,
No. 6 Alabama 196.175
ARKANSAS (196.325)
VAULT (49.375) Heather Elswick 9.95, Stephani Canizaro 9.75, Samantha Nelson 9.825, Leah McMoyle 9.9, Paige Zaziski 9.675, Amanda Wellick 9.95
UNEVEN BARS (49.125) Keara Glover 9.775, Elswick 9.65, Erin Freier 9.8, Canizaro 9.875, Wellick 9.825, Zaziski
BALANCE BEAM (48.225) Nelson 9.75, Glover 8.925, Wellick 9.75, Zaziski 9.75, Freier 9.65, Sydnie Dillard 9.325
FLOOR EXERCISE (49.600) Canizaro 9.925, Dillard 9.875, Zaziski 9.075, Nelson 9.925, Elswick 9.925, Wellick 9.95
ALABAMA (196.175)
UNEVEN BARS (49.1) Mackenzie Brannan 9.725, Keely McNeer 9.775, Katie Bailey 9.825, Carley Sims 9.8, Amanda Jetter 9.825, Lauren Beers 9.875
VAULT (49.475) McNeer 9.9, Brannan 9.85, C. Sims 9.85, Kaitlyn Clark 9.925, Beers 9.875, Kayla Williams 9.925
FLOOR EXERCISE (49.45) Aja Sims 9.875, Mackenzie Valentin 9.825, Clark 9.875, Brannan 9.925, C. Sims ,9.9 Lora Leigh Frost 9.875
BALANCE BEAM(48.15) Bailey 9.325, McNeer 9.8, Beers 9.275, A. Sims 9.9, Clark 9.725, Williams 9.4
"Beating Bama makes you happy," Arkansas Coach Mark Cook said. "Barnhill's intimidating. It's a hard place for a lot of teams to come and compete."
Amanda Wellick needed a 9.8 or better in the anchor spot to nail down Arkansas' victory, and the sophomore all-arounder came through with a big performance with three nearly flawless tumbling runs and a 9.95 to ignite the home crowd.
"We knew we were going to beat them," said Wellick, who won the all-around with a 39.475. "Well, we had the confidence we could. And if we have that confidence, I know we're capable of that."
The victory ended a five-year streak of losses to Alabama for the Razorbacks (1-1, 1-0 SEC), who improved to 3-28-1 in the series.
Arkansas put up a 49.6 on the floor, topping their previous record of 49.525 in 2004.
"We knew we were really strong on the floor. It didn't scare us at all," said Arkansas junior Heather Elswick, who had a 9.925 in the fifth spot on the floor to start the Razorbacks' closing 1-2 punch that completed the big comeback. "We went in thinking we're going to beat them. It didn't intimidate us."
Stephani Canizaro hit a 9.925 in the lead position on the floor for Arkansas, tying Stephanie Nelson and Elswick in the event, and Sydnie Dillard contributed a 9.875.
Alabama led by a whopping 1.3 points heading into the final rotation, but Katie Bailey came off the beam in the lead position, Lauren Beers fell off in the third spot and senior Kayla Williams completed the trifecta in the anchor position to the astonishment of all.
"This was a very atypical performance on beam," Alabama Coach Dana Duckworth said. "We have not had an intrasquad that's had more than one fall -- all fall."
Elswick got the Razorbacks off to a hot start with a 9.95 on the vault. Wellick matched that score in the anchor position to lead Arkansas to a 49.375. Elswick and Wellick tied for the event title, with Alabama's Kaitlyn Clark and Williams tying for third with 9.925s.
Alabama scored 49.1 on the bars on the first rotation, giving the Razorbacks a lead of 0.275.
The Crimson Tide made up the deficit on the second rotation with a big 49.475 on the vault while Arkansas was scoring 49.125 on the bars. Stephani Canizaro posted a 9.875 on the bars to tie Alabama's Lauren Beers for the event title. Arkansas' Paige Zaziski was third at 9.85.
Alabama led 98.575 to 98.5 after two rotations.
Keara Glover came off the beam in the second spot for Arkansas and it looked as if the Razorbacks would be able to avoid counting a fall as Wellick, Zaziski and Erin Freier all stayed on the apparatus. Sydnie Dillard made it to the final element prior to her dismount before losing her balance, and the Razorbacks had to count her 9.325 on their event score of 48.225.
Alabama scored well on the floor, led by Mackenzie Brannan's 9.925, to extend its lead to a seemingly insurmountable 148.025 to 146.725.
"In sports, anything is possible," Cook said.
Sports on 01/17/2015