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Arkansas Stuns No. 2 Florida at Bud Walton Arena

New gymnastics home become place of fear for nation's top teams
Kent Smith|
The Arkansas gymnastics team storms the floor after knocking off No. 2 Florida at Bud Walton Arena on Feb. 7, 2025.
The Arkansas gymnastics team storms the floor after knocking off No. 2 Florida at Bud Walton Arena on Feb. 7, 2025. | Razorback Communications

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Arkansas RazorbacksFlorida Gators

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Bud Walton Arena may no longer be the most feared venue in college basketball, but it is quickly becoming one of the most unsettling gyms in all of gymnastics.

The last time Arkansas competed in Bud Walton, the Razorbacks took down defending national champion and the nation's No. 2 team, LSU, in front of over 10,000 fans. Friday night, another No. 2 team, Florida, dropped in for an early start and, despite having the edge in three events, fell apart on beam in the final rotation even though the Gators have the best collection of talent on the event in all of college sports.

Arkansas put up a 49.450 on floor to close the meet, making up 1.2 points in a single event to come back and win the overall meet, 197.195-196.550. More importantly, since wins aren't what actually determines national rankings and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, the Razorbacks were able to set a season high while breaking the 197.000 barrier for the second time this season, a feat Jordyn Wieber's team accomplished seven times in the regular season last year.

 Yet, while wins aren't all that important in the overall picture of making it back to the championship meet at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, getting back-to-back wins in front of large crowds in Bud Walton is a huge boost for the program as a whole. It also ended a 28-meet losing streak to the Gators.

Arkansas came off a meet at Oklahoma where the team was weakened by a flu outbreak. This week, the Razorbacks were much healthier, although it should be noted Leah Smith, one of the team's most consistent performers, was out with a leg injury.

Nowhere did that health an energy shine more than on floor. Last week against Oklahoma in what is traditionally Arkansas' strongest event, only two Razorbacks posted scores of at least 9.800 and no one broke the 9.900 barrier.

Friday night, Arkansas was back to its natural form despite having to adjust the line-up a little. Mati Waligoria, who didn't even compete in the event last week, and Frankie Price each posted a 9.925 to officially take down Florida and lock up a score above 197.000.

Although the theatrics of a final event comeback drew a lot of emotion, it was clear to Wieber and those in attendance that something special was cooking up after Arkansas crushed a season high on bars. Just like floor, illness took a lot of steam out of the Razorbacks on bar at Oklahoma.

However, because of how inconsistent Arkansas was at times on the event last year, it was unclear whether it was a case of worn bodies or bad old habits. That appears to be settled now.

Last week the Razorbacks barely had two scores break the 9.800 threshold. However, against Florida, Arkansas dropped a 9.800 while Callie Swaney, Maddie Jones and Waligoria each broke the 9.900 barrier.

Waligoria actually flirted with perfection, posting a 9.950 to close the event, giving the Razorbacks a 49.400 on bars which kept Arkansas within .200 at the halfway mark. The win sets up a showdown against No. 11 Georgia in Athens next week.

The Bulldogs scored their first 197.000+ of the season Friday night at Auburn which helps them in the standings despite losing 197.300-197.200. This is a highly important meet for Arkansas because the Razorbacks need to start stacking high scores in road meets.

The national qualifying score is calculated by taking a team's top six scores, dropping the highest, and averaging the remaining five. Three of those scores must be from meets away from home.

Right now, Arkansas would have to drop the score from the Florida meet and be required to count a pair of scores in the 195.000+ range.

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Kent Smith
KENT SMITH

Kent Smith has been in the world of media and film for nearly 30 years. From Nolan Richardson's final seasons, former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner trying to throw to anyone and anything in the blazing heat of Cowboys training camp in Wichita Falls, the first high school and college games after 9/11, to Troy Aikman's retirement and Alex Rodriguez's signing of his quarter billion dollar contract, Smith has been there to report on some of the region's biggest moments. 

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