Kentucky gymnastics opened the season on the right foot, earning a 195.075-192.050 win over Eastern Michigan on Friday night in the Convocation Center.
The Wildcats move to 1-0 on the young season following the win, while Eastern Michigan drops to 0-1. Kentucky opens its Southeastern Conference slate next weekend when the team heads to Florida. The meet is slated for Friday, Jan. 13 with a 6:45 p.m. start. The meet can be watched live on SEC Network+
“I thought we started off really well with the first three bar routines,” head coach Tim Garrison said. “The rest of the events, I thought it was the first meet out. I thought we were actually a little flat, compared to where I feel we should be. There’s plenty of things to look at today but I really want to focus inward and focus on our team and how we can prepare better.”
The team earned the victory after besting the Eagles in vault, beam and floor. Freshman Mollie Korth stood out, earning the all-around victory with a 39.075 performance in her first collegiate meet. Korth edged teammate sophomore Sidney Dukes for the all-around crown. Dukes scored a 39.000, and was the only other athlete to compete in all four events.
“It feels great (to win the all-around),” Korth said. “I was a little a nervous coming into competition but knowing I hit all four events made me feel really good. I’m glad that the coaches and girls were there to support me.”
“Mollie is just a great competitor,” Garrison added. “She’s a gritty kid. There were a few things today that she made some mistakes on. Unless you were looking for them, you wouldn’t see them. One, she’s an outstanding athlete and two, she’s a gritty competitor. That combination is going to serve her and the program well over the next few years.”
VAULT
The Wildcats scored a meet-high 48.650 on vault. Sophomore Sidney Dukes highlighted the event with a 9.825 on a yurchenko layout half. Korth scored a 9.775 in her first vault event, while sophomore Danaea Davis scored a 9.700
UNEVEN BARS
While EMU bested the Wildcats on beam 48.875 – 48.850, Korth and sophomore Alex Hyland paced the Wildcats with the two best scores on beam at 9.825 each. Juniors Katie Carlisle and Cori Rechenmacher each put up 9.775 scores.
Garrison on bars: “The first three were stuck dismounts and I thought we were really on a roll. We made a couple of mistakes after that but we ended up with four sticks and five solid routines on that first rotation.”
BALANCE BEAM
Kentucky pulled away from Eastern Michigan on the beam. UK scored a 48.800 while EMU scored a 46.750. Hyland led the way for the Cats with a 9.875, while Rechenmacher followed at 9.775.
FLOOR EXERCISE
UK outscored EMU 48.775 – 48.050 on the floor. Hyland won her third event of the night with a 9.850, and she also won the bars and beam. Korth followed suit with a 9.800 en route to the all-around championship and Dukes put up a 9.775.
For complete news and updates on the Kentucky Gymnastics program, go to UKathletics.com. Breaking news, behind-the-scenes updates and more can be found on Twitter at @UKGymnastics and Facebook at Facebook.com/UKGymnastics.
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