UA gymnasts win SEC awards

Arkansas Razorbacks Sarah Shaffer high-fives teammates following her performance on the floor during a gymnastics meet, Friday, Jan. 26, 2018, at Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville.

Arkansas senior Braie Speed and freshman Sarah Shaffer earned honors from the SEC office Tuesday after big performances in the No. 11 Razorbacks’ school-record 197.3 showing Friday.

Speed, a senior from San Antonio, scored 9.95 on the uneven bars and won her fourth title of the season with a 9.9 on vault in last week’s tri-meet victory over Denver and Iowa State. Speed has competed on the vault for 36 consecutive meets and has posted a 9.8 or better in 32 of those meets.

Shaffer earned SEC freshman of the week honors to become the first Razorback to win three weekly conference honors in a season. The Tyler, Texas, native scored 39.5 on the all-around, the second highest total for an SEC freshman this season and the highest score for a Razorback since 2016.

She posted multiple scores of 9.9 or better for the fourth time this season, including a 9.95 on the floor exercise, the fourth-highest score for a Razorback, to win her third title of the year.

The Razorbacks compete at the SEC Championships on Saturday at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis.