Last year was full of many firsts for the Arizona GymCats in a highly successful season. A much younger team hopes to live up to that standard in the program’s 50th year. That pursuit starts tomorrow in McKale
Center at 2 p.m. MST.
The GymCat Showcase
McKale Center is a busy place this winter. Volleyball just wrapped up its season last weekend. Women’s basketball is playing all of its nonconference games at home. The top-ranked men’s basketball team heads to Alabama for a Top 25 matchup against the Crimson Tide tomorrow.
In order for the gymnastics team to get to practice in McKale ahead of the showcase, something had to give. There’s a lot of setup that goes into a gymnastics meet. The thing that gave was men’s basketball practice. Basketball head coach Tommy Lloyd agreed to move his practice to the Richard Jefferson Gymnasium so gymnastics could set up and practice in the arena.
“I really want to acknowledge Tommy,” gymnastics head coach John Court said.
For freshmen like Hillary Puleo, the GymCat Showcase allows them to get used to performing in the arena before the scores count. That gives them the opportunity to get used to the layout, the sightlines, and the atmosphere. Puleo is looking forward to “getting out there and having fun and getting all my jitters out before season starts.”
A young team
Puleo is one of six newcomers this year. There are five freshmen and sophomore transfer Sadie Smith, who spent her first year at Arkansas. They will give this year’s team a dramatically different look than the 2024-25 team that finished second in the Big 12.
Last season’s team was dominated by a few upperclassmen who were either all-arounders or competed multiple events. Elena Deets, Alysen Fears, and Emily Mueller are all gone. Deets was the 2025 Big 12 co-Specialist of the Year for her performances on bars and balance beam. Both Fears and Mueller were all-arounders. That’s 10 routines that are gone.
Arizona will still have experience, especially later in rotations. Redshirt senior Liz LaRusso returns to compete on everything except balance beam.
“Oh my gosh, it means everything to me, especially missing on my junior year,” LaRusso said. “And it wasn’t fully decided last year if I was going to get the opportunity to come back. I wanted to stay healthy last year and have a good season. So the fact that John gave me this opportunity to do it one more time, I’m just really trying to enjoy the rest of it and have my best year yet.”
She’s not the only experienced upperclassman. True senior Emma Strom has competed on everything except bars during her time at Arizona, and fellow senior Gigi Lenczner performed on beam in all 14 of Arizona’s meets last season. Junior Abigayle Martin is an all-arounder while fellow juniors Sophie Derr (bars, vault, floor) and Tirzah Wise (vault, bars, beam) contributed on multiple events last year. Junior Ainsley Greever, who posted a career high of 9.800 on vault as a freshman, returns from an injury that kept her out her sophomore year.
That will still leave room for the newcomers, though. Court expects Smith to compete bars on a nightly basis. He’s also excited about the way Smith has fit into the group.
“She’s turned into a team leader, also, which I think for someone who has just come into the program to have the respect that she does, you don’t see that much,” Court said.
The freshman class includes Puleo, Elle Bragga, Riley Carman, Lily Tisdale, and Delaney Mead. Court believes the trio of Puleo, Bragga, and Carman will compete on a nightly basis. Tisdale and Mead will work their way in as they become more comfortable.
Bragga will contribute mostly on beam but has the potential to be in the rotation on bars, according to her head coach. Carman will likely be on everything except beam, but she has the potential to show up in that rotation, too. Puleo could do even more.
“She’s someone that you could see on all four,” Court said.
That excites Puleo, but she especially looks forward to one event.
“I would say beam, definitely,” Puleo said. “Get up there and walk in and just have fun up there. Be in my own little bubble and show it off.”
Turning heads in the Big 12
The group of 12 underclassmen has a strong corps of upperclassmen to show them the way. Two of those upperclassmen have caught the eyes of the other Big 12 coaches.
Strom and Martin were both named to preseason All-Big 12 teams this week. There are five teams: vault, uneven parallel bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. Each team consists of six members as voted by the league’s coaches. Coaches cannot vote for their own athletes, but if the other six coaches vote for an athlete, she is considered a unanimous selection.
Martin was unanimously selected to the All-Around team. She was also voted onto the Vault team and the Balance Beam team.
Strom was a unanimous selection for the Floor Exercise team, rounding out Arizona’s four selections. She and Strom had two of the 10 unanimous selections.
“It’s an incredible honor,” Strom said. “It takes a lot of hard work and consistency for sure, and Abby’s just really demonstrated that over the last couple of years. She’s gonna have a great junior year. And I’m really excited, as well, to not just show it off on floor but the other events.”
Coaching changes
The GymCats lost a lot of senior leadership, but they also lost a very important member of the coaching staff. Former associate head coach Taylor Spears left the program just a few days before classes started. She has moved onto a life outside the world of coaching.
Court opted not to replace Spears this season because of the timing, but he will hire a third assistant after the season.
There had already been changes before Spears left. Kylie Kratchwell was promoted to associate head coach earlier in the summer. At the time, that meant two assistants held the title, but it’s back to just one now.
Spears leaving necessitated changes in duties. The former national champion on balance beam had coached that event as she helped Court build the program over the last seven years. Now, second-year assistant and former GymCat Shelby Martinez coaches beam. Court has taken over vault again. He coached the event prior to hiring Martinez, who is a former Pac-10 vault champion.
