Hogs ready for final road test at Oklahoma on Friday
FAYETTEVILLE — Tenth-ranked Arkansas travels to Norman, Oklahoma, for the OU Quad meet against the top-ranked Sooners and top 15 teams Arizona State and Denver this Friday at 7 p.m.
“This is going to be a big challenge,” said coach Mark Cook. “It’s very competitive competition. This is one of the most competitive years I remember with teams 7-20 within a tenth or two of each other as far as the parity.”
The Razorbacks come into the week with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 196.660, the highest in team history.
Arkansas’ freshmen recorded seven scores over 9.800 last week against Arizona, the highest among Southeastern Conference programs last weekend.
Freshman Sarah Shaffer has continued her tear through her first full season as a Razorback, recording at least one score of 9.900 in each of the last six meets, the only freshman in the conference to do so.
Fellow freshman Sophia Carter is the highest-ranked individual on the team, coming in at No. 13 on the balance beam after she tied her own program record of 9.975 on the event last week.
Senior Amanda Wellick has regained her form since her return from injury this season, posting scores of 9.800 or higher in 82.7% of her routines.
“We’re feeling good,” said Cook. “We have Amanda back in the all-around and it’s been a bit of a boost to us, but we’re trying to make some adjustments here and there. The girls did really well last week.”
Friday’s meet is Arkansas’ third road trip in four weeks and first since recording its second highest road score in program history of 196.875 at No. 5 Florida Feb. 23.
It’s the Razorbacks’ second quad meet of the season, after placing fourth at GymQuarters last month.
After posting its record high 197.275 against Arizona, The Razorbacks have now scored multiple scores of 197 or higher twice in one season for just the second time in program history, joining the 2012 season.
Arkansas posted a 197.175 against Georgia earlier this season. Its the first time in program history that Arkansas has posted multiple 197’s during the regular season.
As a team this season, the Razorbacks have recorded event scores of 49.000 or higher 26 times, after recording similar scores just 18 times last season.
Friday’s meet is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. The meet will be televised on Fox Sports Oklahoma and the Fox Sports Go app.
Fassi earns SEC Weekly honor as top women’s golfer
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas junior Maria Fassi has been selected as the SEC Women’s Golfer of the Week, the league office announced today.
Fassi has picked up back-to-back medalist honors this spring winning the Lady Puerto Rico Classic and earning a win last week at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate.
The two wins brings Fassi’s victory total to four this year, making her only the second Razorback player to win four or more events in a single season (Stacy Lewis).
Fassi leads the team with a 69.67 stroke average, is ranked second in the SEC, fourth in Golfstat and fifth in Golfweek.
She currently ranks third on the ANNIKA Award Watch List and is the No. 1 player on the Arnold Palmer Cup selection list for international women.
At the Darius Rucker this week
• Fassi’s three-round 210 was the fourth best individual score in tournament history.
• She was one of just two players to shoot in the 60s in the final round.
• Fassi finished with a 2-under 69 on the final day and 3-under for the tournament.
• Fassi was the only player in the field to shoot par or better in all three rounds.
• Fassi defeated five top-10 players, eight top-25 players and 14 top-50 players in the field.
• Fassi’s win and score were the best in program history for a Razorback at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate.
• Fassi’s win is only the fourth time in seven years that Arkansas has had an individual player in the top-10 at this event.
• Fassi’s performance paced Arkansas to a runner-up finish. That is the Razorbacks’ best showing at this event (previous was T-5 in 2013).
• Arkansas’ 874 is the program’s best score at this event (previous was 882 in 2016).
• Fassi has paced Arkansas to four team titles including one this spring at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic, and six top-4 finishes in six events.
• Helped Arkansas defeat eight SEC teams and some of the top-ranked players in the conference and country at the Darius Rucker.
The third-ranked Razorbacks return to action on March 18-20 at the Evans-Derby Experience in Auburn, Alabama.
Arkansas travels to the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic April 13-15 in the final event of the regular season.
Razorbacks qualify third diver for NCAA Championships
FAYETTEVILLE — Senior diver Nicole Gillis became the third Arkansas diver to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships on Wednesday, finishing seventh in the platform at the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships in Minneapolis.
Gillis started the day with an ninth-place showing in the prelims out of 20 athletes, scoring a 247.40. In the finals, she dove personal-best 262.10 to punch her ticket to the NCAA Championships with an overall score of 509.50.
It marks the first time in school history that Arkansas has sent three divers to the NCAA Championships and the first time since 1985 to send more than one diver.
Junior Marissa Green was the second Razorback that competed in the platform event on Wednesday. She finished 14th with a personal-best 219.40 in prelims to advance to the finals. In finals, she added 215.60 to finish with a total of 435.00, good for a 15th-place finish.
The NCAA Championships will take place will be held March 14-17 at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio.
Schedule of Events/Results
Monday, March 5
One-Meter Prelim
4th – Brooke Schultz – 303.55
21st – Nicole Gillis – 258.85
23rd – Marissa Green – 257.50
30th – Maha Amer – 236.95
34th – Caroline Welch – 233.20
One-Meter Final
4th – Brooke Schultz – 615.80*
Tuesday, March 6
Three-Meter Prelim
4th – Brooke Schultz – 336.25
6th – Maha Amer – 327.40 (personal best)
15th – Nicole Gillis – 301.00
22nd – Marissa Green – 282.35
40th – Caroline Welch – 229.95
Three-Meter Final
2nd – Brooke Schultz – 727.75*
9th – Maha Amer – 638.60*
13th – Nicole Gillis – 619.20
Wednesday, March 7
Platform Prelim
9th – Nicole Gillis – 247.40
14th – Marissa Green – 219.40
Platform Finals
7th – Nicole Gillis – 509.50*
15th – Marissa Green – 435.00
* NCAA Qualifier
Storey feeling more comfortable in new offense
Ty Storey ran the first team offense Tuesday and hit the winning pass to freshman wideout Mike Woods on Saturday and talked about it after practice.
Ramirez likes aggression, direction of Chavis’ defense
Hogs safety Santo Ramirez talked Tuesday about the new defense, especially the aggressive nature that is a change.
Kelley talks about new offense, weight, physicality
Razorbacks quarterback Cole Kelley talked Tuesday about the new offense, his weight and competing.
