COLLEGE GYMNASTICS

UA gymnastics falls in close competition

Arkansas freshman Paige Zaziski competes on the bars during a meet against Missouri on Friday, Feb. 27, 2015, at Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville.

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