Wildcats to host Tigers for Excite Night at Rupp Arena
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 12, 2023) — The No. 12 Kentucky gymnastics program will host No. 10 LSU for its season and conference home opener 6 p.m. EST Friday, Jan. 13 at Rupp Arena.
The Wildcats began their 2023 meet slate last Sunday at No. 10 Ohio State competing in a quad meet against the Buckeyes, Arizona Wildcats and Greenville Panthers. UK came in second to Ohio State with a meet total of 196.575. Senior Raena Worley was the individual all-around winner with her highest score coming from the floor exercise (9.925).
Friday’s Excite Night is set to kick off the home meet season encouraging fans to bring their energy and excitement to rally on the Wildcats against conference rival. The Cats last faced the Tigers in Baton Rouge, La. in 2022 where Kentucky came out on top 197.500-197.450. UK has found success in two of the last three meetings between the programs.
Head coach Tim Garrison will begin his 12th season at the helm of Kentucky gymnastics where he has guided UK to an appearance in the Women’s College Gymnastics Association (WCGA) preseason poll each year. The Wildcats were ranked No. 13 at the start of last season and No. 12 at the start of both 2020 and 2021, following back-to-back top-10 preseason placements in what would prove to be historic 2018 and 2019 campaigns.
Nine out of 10 of Kentucky’s 2023 regular-season opponents appeared among the WCGA’s 36-team preseason group. In addition to Sunday’s meet at Ohio State and Excite Night on Friday, Kentucky’s remaining 2023 meet slate will include facing No. 20 Georgia (Jan. 20), No. 9 Missouri (Feb. 3), No. 2 Florida (Feb. 24) and No. 23 Illinois (March 11) on the road, as well as No. 7 Alabama (Jan. 27), Eastern Michigan (Feb. 10), No. 15 Arkansas (Feb. 17) and No. 5 Auburn (March 3) for senior night at home.
2023 single-meet tickets to all five Kentucky gymnastics home meets are now on sale through the UK Athletics Ticket Office. UK students will receive free admission by showing their Uk ID in the main Rupp Arena lobby. UK Faculty and Staff can receive free general admission for themselves and up to three free guests by showing their UK ID in the main arena lobby.
Live stats for Excite Night will be available on UKAthletics.com. Big Blue Nation can also stream the meet on ESPN2.
For the latest on the Kentucky gymnastics team, follow @UKGymnastics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKAthletics.com.
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