Arkansas Readies for Regional Action in Norman
The No. 18 Gymbacks are set for their 18th-straight NCAA gymnastics regional appearance and begin their journey with semifinal action in Norman, Okla. on Thursday.
Arkansas will square off against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 16 Arizona State and No. 32 Arizona at 7 p.m. in the evening session of the second round of regional competition. Arizona earned its spot in Thursday’s quad meet after the Wildcats defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers in a play-in dual meet on Wednesday afternoon.
The afternoon session at 1 p.m. in Norman consists of No. 8 Minnesota, No. 9 California, No. 24 Boise State and No. 25 Utah State, and the top two teams from each session will advance to Saturday’s regional final, set for 5 p.m. in Norman.
The Hogs have yet to see any of the teams in either regional session yet this season and Arkansas has only seen the three teams in the evening session a combined 37 times dating back to 2004.
Arkansas is 1-18 against Oklahoma and the Gymbacks and Sooners last met in last year’s regional competition in Tuscaloosa, in which the Hogs fell to the Sooners in the final. Oklahoma finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the country and currently holds a national-best NQS of 198.140.
The Hogs last competed against the Sun Devils in 2019’s Baton Rouge Regional and they came out on top. Arkansas has faced Arizona State eight times total with a 6-1-1 record, and just two of those meets haven’t come in the postseason. The Sun Devils are coming off a regular season that saw them earn a share of the Pac-12 title and currently have a 195.905 NQS.
Arizona comes in at 196.300 in NQS rankings, and the Hogs have an 8-2 advantage all-time against the Wildcats. The two last competed in a dual meet in 2019, which was an Arkansas victory, and the last postseason action was in the 2011 Denver regional, where the Gymbacks also came away with a win.
Arkansas currently has a 196.820 NQS score and ranks above Arizona State and Arizona on beam (49.275) and floor (39.305) while Oklahoma takes the top ranking on all events and all-around.
Both sessions of the Norman regional semifinals on Thursday will be streamed live via ESPN+ as well as Saturday’s regional final. Live stats will be provided by Oklahoma.
More Information
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