Coming off a narrow loss to Alabama and subsequent bye week, UK gymnastics kicked off the second half of its season with a win over no. 5 Arkansas.

The Razorbacks traveled to Memorial Coliseum for Friday night’s meet and led Kentucky through the first two events, vault and bars.

But wobbles from Arkansas on the beam and an enthusiastic showing from UK in floor routines gave the Cats crucial decimal points in the latter half of the meet.

Final adjustments from the judges brought the Cats to 197.000 for the night – a season high and goal of UK’s gymnasts.

Head coach Tim Garrison said the turnout was a team effort.

“Anytime you can get a win in the SEC, it’s always special. It always will be because it’s such a tough conference, but when you take down the number five team in the country and score a 197, a season high score, I call that a good night,” Garrison said.

Kentucky was helped to its victory, the third of the season, by a strong showing from junior Josie Angeny.

Angeny won the all-around performance of the night, becoming just the third of UK’s gymnast to do so this season.

“I still wouldn’t say it was like my best day I’ve ever had,” Angeny said. “But I finally put together my vault, I’ve been wanting to compete that since I was 12, and I finally got to do it tonight and I finally made it.”

Garrison said Angeny had improved her “motor” and made changes, especially with training over the summer, that have strengthened her events.

“It’s very obvious to her performance that she was able to achieve every bit of that and ready to just watch her progress and continue doing what she’s doing even at a higher level,” Garrison said.

Angeny said that the pandemic’s affects on gymnastics made her realize she only has two years left to compete and push her to train more. She also said that her relationship with the team has changed this year; as an upperclassmen, the newer gymnasts look up to her for advice.

“It really made me realize like okay like I can, I can lead them I need to show by example,” Angeny said. “And I just got so much more comfortable with myself out there.”

Angeny and freshman Bailey Bunn were the only two UK gymnasts to compete on all apparatuses.

Bunn, Angeny and Cally Nixon tied for the team’s highest score on vault. All three stuck the landing on their bar dismounts as well – something the team has worked on following a .375 point margin in their loss to Alabama two weeks ago.

Bunn said that following that meet, Garrison took the team through all the small details that together, added up to a whole point that would have given them the win.

In a sport where a tenth of a point may be the difference maker, UK was able to reduce those errors enough to knock out the no. 5 team in the country.

“Tonight we absolutely chopped away at that. We did better on landings – we didn’t hit all the landings but we did way better on our landings,” Garrison said. “Way better execution in general.”