FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas gymnastics team came into Friday's home opener ranked No. 16, just behind No. 15 Georgia.
Those tight rankings appeared accurate as Georgia squeezed out a victory over Arkansas by 0.075 of a point.
Gymnastics
University of Georgia at Arkansas
Team Score
Georgia 196.775
Arkansas 196.700
Vault
Arkansas
Leah MacMoyle 9.775
Paige Zaziski 9.800
Braie Speed 9.800
Sydney McGlone 9.750
Amanda Wellick 9.850
Samantha Nelson 9.725
Georgia
Ashlyn Broussard 9.825
Natalie Vaculik 9.825
Sydney Snead 9.850
Gigi Marino 9.875
Brittany Rogers 9.875
Brandie Jay 9.950
Bars
Arkansas
Keara Glover 9.775
Erin Freier 9.850
Stephanie Canziaro 9.875
Amanda Wellick 9.600
Braie Speed 9.875
Paige Zaziski 9.875
Georgia
Natalie Vaculik 9.850
Gracie Cherrey 9.800
Sydney Snead 9.200
Rachel Schick 9.825
Brandie Jay 9.825
Brittany Rogers 9.900
Beam
Sydnie Dillard 9.875
Paige Zaziski 9.875
Amanda Wellick 9.800
Erin Freier 9.850
Sydney McGlone 9.450
Samantha Nelson 9.800
Georgia
Ashlyn Broussard 9.875
Vivi Babalis 9.625
Rachel Schick 9.825
Brittany Rogers 9.900
Mary Beth Box 9.875
Floor
Arkansas
Sydnie Dillard 9.800
Stephanie Canizaro 9.825
Leah MacMoyle 9.875
Samantha Nelson 9.875
Sydney McGlone 9.700
Amanda Wellick 9.900
Georgia
Sydney Snead 9.775
Vivi Babalis 9.72
Gigi Marino 9.850
Mary Beth Box 9.850
Brittany Rogers 9.750
Brandie Jay 9.875
All-Arounders
Arkansas
Amanda Wellick 39.150
Georgia
Brittany Rogers 39.425
"You get that sometimes in this sport. Sometimes you even get ties when you have two really evenly matched teams," Arkansas Coach Mark Cook said. "I thought these two teams were very even coming in, and that's what happened. It comes down to a missed step."
Georgia spent the first three rotations building a lead of 2.100 points, but the Bulldogs slipped up on the balance beam, giving the Razorbacks a chance on their floor routine.
"They made an error on the beam and had a subpar score on another one, and it left us a little window," Cook said. "We came up with some good routines, but it was too much to make up."
Arkansas had debuted the season in a meet at the Cancun Classic with an uneven performance, but Cook said Friday's effort was much better.
"We didn't end the year last year on a great note, and then we struggled a little bit to start this year," Cook said. "But this was a much better effort tonight. We showed a lot of heart and fight and getting back to the old way we used to compete."
Arkansas had a strong showing Friday in the beam, an event in which the Razorbacks struggled in Cancun.
"We switched some things up a little bit, tried to get a little different feel, and I think we responded," Cook said. "We came through with five scores of 9.800 or better. That was a weak point for us last time out, and it was a strong showing tonight."
Sydnie Dillard and Paige Zaziski each scored 9.875 for Arkansas on beam. Dillard also had a 9.800 on floor. Erin Freier had 9.850 on beam and 9.850 on bars. Stephanie Canizaro had 9.875 on bars and 9.825 on floor.
"Sydnie Dillard, Erin and Stephanie -- they all rocked it in their two events," Cook said. "We just need to keep building on that performance and keep getting more consistent each time out."
Arkansas has a quick turnaround, hosting No. 4 Oklahoma at Barnhill Arena on Sunday at 2 p.m.
"Another good team is coming in, and we want the top competition," Cook said. "We have a long way to go, but I like the way this team is competing right now, and we are going to keep getting better."
Sports on 01/16/2016