Going into the final rotation of round II, session I of the Washington regional, unseeded Arizona was in the second qualifying position to advance to the regional final, sitting three tenths ahead of seeded No. 10 Georgia.
The Wildcats had just gone lights-out on floor, capitalizing on mistakes from the Gymdogs on beam. Head coach John Court knew his six gymnasts would need to execute as cleanly as possible to stay ahead of Georgia’s floor lineup. With no 10.0 start values, Arizona would need big, clean, well-landed vaults.
In the team huddle before the rotation began, Alysen Fears looked at her team. “Everyone had that fire in their eyes,” she said. The Wildcats were unfazed: they trusted the teammate next to them, and believed in each other. The team put their hands in, and Fears gave a final word: “Let’s make history tonight.”
The Wildcats vaulted cleanly. Scores were not stratospheric, but they were strong. With one gymnast to go, everyone on the floor was doing fast math. Georgia needed a 10.0 to tie. Arizona knew it would win the tie break, but preferred to beat the Gymdogs outright.
“That was Lily Smith over there,” Court said. A formidable opponent, Smith’s strong routine wasn’t enough, scoring a 9.925. The Gymdogs finished third…
