FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas is ranked No. 19 in the 2018 National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC/W) preseason coaches poll announced Monday.
The Razorbacks tallied 872 points in the poll. In 2018, Arkansas will face off against nine top-25 teams, including road matchups against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Alabama and No. 17 Missouri.
The Razorbacks were tabbed as having the second hardest schedule in the nation by Road To Nationals.
All eight Southeastern Conference teams are ranked in the top 19 in the poll, including three in the top five.
Arkansas will face all seven other SEC teams this season, including No. 3 LSU in the season opener Jan. 5, 2018 in Baton Rouge.
Senior Amanda Wellick returns after suffering a season-ending injury in January of last season and missed what would’ve been her senior season.
She has since returned to the gym and is expected to be in Arkansas’ lineup this season.
Arkansas also welcomes back NCAA Individual participants Braie Speed and Jessica Yamzon.
Yamzon earned a spot at the NCAA Championships last season as a freshman, scoring a 38.925 in the all-around.
Speed posted a 9.825 on the vault at NCAA’s, tying her third-best score from last season.
The team will be in action for a free showcase at the first Holidays With The Hogs intrasquad meet this Sunday inside Barnhill Arena.
The meet will begin at 5 p.m. with doors opening an hour before at 4. More details can be found here.
NACGC/W Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1: Oklahoma (1769 points) (33 first place votes)
2: Florida (1728 points) (10 first place votes)
3: LSU (1692 points) (7 first place votes)
4: Alabama (1584 points)
5: Utah (1544 points)
6: UCLA (1477 points)
7: Michigan (1443 points)
8: Denver (1313 points)
9: Nebraska (1214 points)
10: Kentucky (1213 points)
11: California (1201 points)
12: Oregon State (1141 points)
13: Boise State (1125 points)
14: Auburn (1119 points)
15: Washington (1114 points)
16: Georgia (1011 points)
17: Missouri (975 points)
18: Stanford (903 points)
19: Arkansas (872 points)
20: Iowa (819 points)
21: George Washington (701 points)
22: Ohio State (690 points)
23: Illinois-Champaign (609 points)
24: Southern Utah (605 points)
25: Penn State (599 points)
