Nov. 12, 2012

TUCSON, Ariz. - The Arizona women's gymnastics team previewed a promising set of routines this past Friday, November 9 during the team's official pre-season intrasquad. The team performed for national level judge (and recently inducted Arizona Hall of Fame gymnast) Jenna Karadbill, as well as GymCat alumni, family members and coaches to test the readiness of their routines early on in season.

The Wildcats began the afternoon on floor, putting up eleven new floor routines. With all new music, and tumbling, floor looks to become a strong even for the Cats this season. One of the highlights included a powerful and riveting routine from sophomore Kristin Klarenbach:

The team then rotated to bars, where seven routines were showcased. Arizona looked to be swinging easy - despite the difficult release moves thrown including Tkatchevs, Jaegers, Giengers, Pac saltos and more. A consistent scorer for the cats throughout the past three seasons, senior Aubree Cristello stood out with her bar routine:

The Cats finished up the intrasquad on beam. Based on the talent displayed on the four inch wide event, making the beam lineup this season is going to be a competitive event for the gymnasts. The team put up ten solid routines that were not only hit, but hit with style. Shelby Edwards exemplified the depth added by the freshman class with this routine:

The team did not compete vault at the intrasquad, but feels confident with its progress this early in the season.

Head coach Bill Ryden is "happy with the results. Given that it is the beginning of November I would say we are ahead of schedule. We still have a little bit to go before we are competition ready, and the intrasquad gave us an idea of where we need to improve before season starts. However, considering how much time we have before our first meet I think we are in a good place."