TUCSON, AZ -- Tonight the Arizona GymCats opened their 2017 season at home against Texas Woman's University and Utah State. The GymCats won the meet with a score of 194.025 to Utah State's 191.600 and TWU's 189.500. After tonight, Arizona Gymnastics will enter their next meet with a 2-0 record for the season. 

"I think we had some really nice highlights throughout the meet." Said head coach Tabitha Yim. "The first thing that comes to mind is our amazing Tucson fans! It was incredible to see so many people in the crowd, and we were thrilled to have the Girl Scouts with us tonight. Another big highlight was Heather Swanson. She made her McKale debut anchoring our vault lineup as a freshman and was absolutely fantastic. Our seniors were solid contributors on bars, and Maddy Cindric showed her experience with a flawless routine in the anchor spot on beam. Lauryn and Kennady did a wonderful job on floor and really brought the crowd into their routines." 

The GymCats started the meet on vault, bringing in a team total of 48.775. Freshman Heather Swanson made her collegiate gymnastics debut anchoring the team on vault, earning a score of 9.850, which was also the highest vault score of the meet. Seniors Gabrielle Laub and Selynna Felix-Terrazas also competed, Felix-Terrazas earned a 9.750 and Laub a 9.725. 

The Wildcats took the lead in the first rotation and carried the momentum onto the next three events. During the second rotation, the GymCats started off strong with Krysten Howard and Haylie Hendrickson finishing their sets with #ArizonaSticks! Freshman Christina Berg also made her collegiate debut tonight in McKale, earning a score of 9.575 on bars. Gabrielle Laub and Selynna Felix-Terrazas helped carry the team to victory with their scores of 9.750 (Laub), and 9.825 (Felix-Terrazas). The GymCat seniors took home top-three honors on bars, with Selynna Felix-Terrazas coming in first, Krysten Howard taking second, and Gabby Laub earning third. Overall, the GymCats stuck 4 out of 6 landings and earned an uneven bars score of 48.425.

Going into the third rotation, Arizona was leading with a score of 97.200 to Utah State's 95.575 and Texas Woman's 93.625. Arizona had a shaky start on beam, but ended the line-up strong with Madison Cindric delivering a clutch performance and earning a 9.750 to close out the rotation. 

Head coach Tabitha Yim said, "As a team, we have a lot of room to grow and develop. Our nerves showed throughout the night, and we need to bring the details and confidence we have in practice to the competition floor. It's nice to get the first meet under our belt, and I have full confidence that our team will learn from this experience and continue to build and improve over the course of the season".

As Arizona entered their final event, they held the lead by two points over Utah State. The team's spirit and energy was exceptionally evident during their floor routines. Sophomore Lauryn Mattson enthused the crowd with her highly difficult skills and infectious smile, earning a score of 9.800. Junior Kennady Schneider's self-choreographed routine gave her a score of 9.800, and junior Madison Cindric also come up with a 9.800. 

Going into a quad-meet on January 14th against Maryland, Minnesota, and Alaska, the Wildcats feel as though this tri-meet was a great way to begin the 2017 season. "We loved starting the season at home in front of an amazing crowd, and it also prepared us for a quad-meet format next weekend. Next Friday, we will fly across the country to have our first experience in another arena and environment," said Yim. "It's important to expose our team to all different kinds of situations and scenarios to help them learn how to be comfortable being uncomfortable. We believe our schedule gives them the opportunities they need to be successful at the end of the year."

Join the GymCats for the rest of the 2017 season! Tickets for Arizona Gymnastics' home meets are on sale through the ticket office (520.621.2287), located on the south side of McKale and can be purchased online at ArizonaWildcats.com. Fans can keep up with the GymCats via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.