Spring Break
Gym'Backs hope to avoid Gator chomp
Jill Tompkins
Issue date: 2/8/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
After a rough weekend in the Rocky Mountains, the No. 16 Arkansas Gymnastics team will attempt to recover itself Friday against the No. 1 team in the nation.
The Gym'Backs will face the Florida Gators at 7 p.m. in Barnhill.
Coaches said that the team needs to be much more controlled this week on all events. Arkansas co-head coach Rene Cook said Florida performs difficult routines.
"They have a lot of difficulty and are competing spectacular gymnastics," Rene Cook said. "They have a very special artistry flair on top of the difficulty. It will be a great meet to watch."
Arkansas had a rough time getting to Salt Lake City with two different airplane delays. The trip was so difficult, Rene Cook said that the meet against Utah was the hardest of the year.
"That was the worst experience as a coach," said co-head coach Mark Cook, "but you have to adapt and problem solve."
The coaches said in situations like that, players have to be extremely focused.
"Normally, the [Southeastern] conference championships are the hardest meet to compete in because of the crowd and the hype leading up to it," Rene Cook said. "But with the difficulty it took to get to Salt Lake and staying on the apparatuses, last week was the most difficult."
The Gym'Backs also encountered something the team had never experienced - a very large crowd of 14,044.
"I think they were a little intimidated [of the crowd]," Mark Cook said. "But once the initial shock wore off, they calmed down."
Even though the crowd in Barnhill doesn't compare to the previous week's crowd, Arkansas is still ranked No. 11 in attendance in the country with almost 2,500.
Florida sits on top of the national rankings in the GymInfo Coaches Poll with fellow SEC foes Georgia and Alabama sitting No. 2 and 3. All seven SEC teams are ranked in the top 25 with five of the six listed in the top 15 teams in the nation.
The Gym'Backs will face the Florida Gators at 7 p.m. in Barnhill.
Coaches said that the team needs to be much more controlled this week on all events. Arkansas co-head coach Rene Cook said Florida performs difficult routines.
"They have a lot of difficulty and are competing spectacular gymnastics," Rene Cook said. "They have a very special artistry flair on top of the difficulty. It will be a great meet to watch."
Arkansas had a rough time getting to Salt Lake City with two different airplane delays. The trip was so difficult, Rene Cook said that the meet against Utah was the hardest of the year.
"That was the worst experience as a coach," said co-head coach Mark Cook, "but you have to adapt and problem solve."
The coaches said in situations like that, players have to be extremely focused.
"Normally, the [Southeastern] conference championships are the hardest meet to compete in because of the crowd and the hype leading up to it," Rene Cook said. "But with the difficulty it took to get to Salt Lake and staying on the apparatuses, last week was the most difficult."
The Gym'Backs also encountered something the team had never experienced - a very large crowd of 14,044.
"I think they were a little intimidated [of the crowd]," Mark Cook said. "But once the initial shock wore off, they calmed down."
Even though the crowd in Barnhill doesn't compare to the previous week's crowd, Arkansas is still ranked No. 11 in attendance in the country with almost 2,500.
Florida sits on top of the national rankings in the GymInfo Coaches Poll with fellow SEC foes Georgia and Alabama sitting No. 2 and 3. All seven SEC teams are ranked in the top 25 with five of the six listed in the top 15 teams in the nation.
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