Hogs Close Out Regular Season At BWA, Seal Single Season Home Attendance Record
Arkansas had its final home meet of the regular season on Friday and sent its seniors off well.
While the No. 16 Gymbacks fell to the No. 19 Minnesota Golden Gophers 197.075-196.900, Arkansas’ veterans had a great night. Graduate student Kennedy Hambrick earned the beam title with a season-high 9.900, and fellow fifth year Norah Flatley took bars with a 9.925 and the all-around with a 39.575. Both marks matched season highs for Flatley.
Flatley also earned podium finishes on beam (9.875) and floor (9.925), and senior Maddie Hickey earned a 9.900 on floor for a share of second place.
Friday saw a crowd of 8,218 fans, the third-highest attended meet in program history. That figure brought the season home attendance total to 36,619, a new record. Arkansas saw an average of 7,328 fans per meet over its five between Barnhill Arena and Bud Walton Arena, smashing its previous season average of 4,966, set in 2022.
Vault
The first half of Arkansas’ vault lineup got better as it went on, with scores of 9.800, 9.850, and 9.875 from Cami Weaver, Norah Flatley and Frankie Price. Freshman Lauren Williams earned a 9.800 in the fifth spot, which brought up junior Emma Kelley to anchor. In just her third vault appearance of the season, she did her job with a solid Yurchenko full for a career high 9.825. The Hogs posted a 49.150 on the event.
Bars
Freshman Cally Swaney got bars off to a hot start with a clean routine and a stuck double layout dismount for a new personal best 9.875. Next, junior Jensen Scalzo and freshman Reese Drotar both posted matching 9.825s in the second and third spots. Sophomore Maddie Jones continued to show her strength on bars as she had a stellar routine up fourth and scored a 9.900 with a stuck dismount. Flatley anchored the lineup with a huge 9.925 to seal the event title and pushed Arkansas to a 49.350 event score.
Beam
Freshman Kalyxta Gamiao led off beam with a 9.800 score, and senior Kiara Gianfagna added a 9.825 next on her big night. Sophomore Cami Weaver got the Hogs back on track after a fall with a 9.825 score, complete with stuck dismount. Hambrick came up next and had her best performance of the season, complete with solid acro and a calm demeanor for a 9.900 score. Flatley capped things off with a 9.875 for the Hogs to bring the team’s total to 49.225.
Floor
Sophomore Maddie Jones had a nice routine for the Razorbacks as the lead-off, only stepping out of bounds on the last pass for a score of 9.750. Senior Maddie Hickey dialed up a 9.900 with a lights out routine with stuck passes in the second spot and paced the Hogs. Gamiao came into the floor lineup for just the second time this season and put up a 9.800, a new career high. Flatley kept the energy high and the tumbling sharp up fourth and added a 9.925 for Arkansas midway through the lineup. Price finished things off with a 9.800 and put on a show for Bud Walton Arena one last time for 2023. Arkansas concluded floor with a score of 49.175.
Up Next
Arkansas begins its postseason journey with the SEC Championships on Saturday, March 18 from Gas South Arena in Duluth, Ga. The competition is split into afternoon and evening sessions for the eight teams, with seeding information to come.
More Information
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