Huskies look for Arizona victory

The Husky gymnastics squad will be back in action tonight as it travels to Tucson, Ariz., to take on the No. 18 Arizona Wildcats. The matchup against the Wildcats will be the Huskies’ fifth in a row against a top-25 opponent.

Arizona comes into the meet with a 3-3 record in dual meets after dropping a 196.575-196.050 decision to UCLA last Friday night.

Washington is coming off of a 194.475-194.100 loss to the No. 15 Arizona State Sun Devils last Friday night at Bank of America Arena.

Although the Huskies are 1-7, they are still ranked 26th nationally — a testament to their strong schedule.

The Husky freshmen have been doing their part, however, as the Dawgs have three freshmen ranked in the top 100 nationally in five different events. Haley Bogart is ranked 65th on vault, while Kristen Linton is ranked 55th on uneven bars and 93rd on balance beam. Samantha Walior sits in the top 100 in three different events, checking in at No. 77 on uneven bars, 86th on balance beam and 92nd in the floor exercise.

“The freshmen have done a great job adjusting to college gymnastics. They have a lot of great girls they have learned from,” junior Katie Boyko said.

Boyko has been cleared to compete after sitting out the first part of the season while recovering from shoulder surgery in the fall.

“It’s a possibility to see her vaulting this weekend,” coach Joanne Bowers said.

The Huskies will look to exact a bit of revenge on the Wildcats. Last season Washington was within striking distance of upsetting Arizona but fell just short, losing 195.300-193.925 at home.

“We need to go into this meet and hit everything. The little details will make a huge difference,” Boyko said.

Junior Ashley Houghting will try to make the difference for the Huskies. In last Friday’s loss to Arizona State, Houghting won the vault with a score of 9.925. The win was her sixth of the season and her third on vault. Houghting has now set a school record of 19 vault titles in her career.

This is the last Pac-10 dual meet for the Huskies. They will travel to Baton Rouge, La., to take on the Louisiana State Tigers next weekend before returning home for two meets against Seattle Pacific University and finally competing in the Pac-10 championships, which will be held at Bank of America Arena at the end of next month.

[Reach reporter Evan Riggs at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.]