TUCSON, AZ – No. 18 Arizona enters the 2017 season with a group of 16 gymnasts who are ready to "Be TRUE" and make a run for the NCAA post-season.

This Friday, Jan. 6, Arizona Gymnastics will kick off their season at 7 p.m. in McKale Center against Texas Women's University and Utah State.  Live tweets of the meet will be available on Twitter under AZGymnastics and live streaming will be aviliable once the meet begins at http://pac-12.com/live/university-arizona and live stats will be accessible at athletics.arizona.edu/gymstats/20170106/htm. 

Last season the GymCats went 5-5 in regular season competition, defeating in-state rivals Arizona State University with a 196.375 to 193.975. They were runner-ups in session one of the Pac-12 Championships and went on to finish fourth at the NCAA Regional Championship. Senior Lexi Mills finished the season capturing the NCAA regional balance beam title, advancing her to the NCAA Championships – Arizona's first individual bid since 2012.

"This season, we are excited to welcome new faces and routines to our line-ups on all four events," said Arizona head coach Tabitha Yim who enters her 2^nd season with the Wildcats. "We have a strong junior and senior class leading the way and look to be aggressive with our line-ups at the beginning of the season. Our goal is to provide our athletes with the experience they need to be at their best at the end of the year."

The Wildcats have 10 returning gymnasts, and will be led by GymCat seniors, Krysten Howard and Selynna Felix-Terrazas, and junior Madison Cindric who provide consistency and poise across all four events.

Her freshman year at Arizona, Selynna Felix-Terrazas earned Pac-12 honors as Freshman/Newcomer of the Week and has continued to shine ever since. She has competed in every meet during her time at Arizona and holds a career high of 9.900 on the uneven bars. She is a versatile gymnast for Arizona, also contributing strong numbers on both vault and floor.

Senior Krysten Howard will lead the Wildcats with her artistry and flair on bars, beam, and floor. Howard worked her way into the line-up on floor her sophomore year and now holds a career high of 9.900. She is a steady contributor on bars and beam with career highs of 9.875 on both events. She has competed in every meet since coming to Arizona, and continues to grow each season.

Junior Madison Cindric has displayed strength on all four events, competing in every meet since freshman year. Last season, she earned scores of 9.800 or higher eight times on beam, and currently holds a career high of 9.900. As anchor for the vault line-up, she has a career high of 9.850, and highs of 9.925 on bars, and 9.850 on floor. During preseason workouts, Cindric has emerged as a strong all-around competitor and looks to have a breakout season on all four events this year.

Additional key returners for Arizona Gymnastics include senior Gabrielle Laub, juniors Victoria Ortiz and Kennady Schneider, and sophomores Haylie Hendrickson, Lauryn Mattson, Skyler Sheppard, and Danielle Spencer.

Senior Gabby Laub brings a wealth of experience to the competition floor and has been a steady contributor on vault and a leader on bars with a career high of 9.900. She is joined by Victoria Ortiz who is known for her high-flying releases and who looks to break into the beam line-up this season. Junior Kennady Schneider always brings the crowd to their feet with her own personally choreographed floor routines and her dynamic performances on bars and beam.

Sophomore Haylie Hendrickson will return to McKale Center after missing 2016 due to an injury. She is expected to be a strong contributor on beam and bars this season. Mattson, Sheppard, and Spencer all return for their second year and look to build off their performances last season with career highs of 9.825 on beam (Sheppard), 9.850 on bars (Spencer) and 9.875 on floor (Mattson).

Arizona Gymnastics also welcomes six new freshmen to the team this year: Christina Berg, Courtney Cowles, Shannon Farrell, Jenny Leung, Maddi Leydin, and Heather Swanson. The freshman will make their McKale debut this weekend and look to make significant contributions across all four events throughout the season.

For continued coverage of Arizona Gymnastics, follow the team at arizonawildcats.com/gymnastics, on Facebook at facebook.com/ArizonaGymnastics, and on Twitter @AZGymnastics.