The Arkansas Razorbacks gymnastics team represents the
University of Arkansas and competes in the
SEC Conference.[2] The team was founded in 2003 and is currently coached by
Jordyn Wieber,[3] after she assumed the position in April 2019.[4]
History
The gymnastics team was founded in 2003 by Mark Cook, who started building the team in 2001.[5] Cook had previously coached the
Stanford gymnastics and
UCLA Bruins teams, as the head coach and assistant coach respectively. The first team competed in the 2003, with an all-freshman roster, and finished the regular season ranked 41st.
The team made their first appearance at the
NCAA National Championship finals ('Super Six') in
2009, finishing in 5th place with a score of 196.475 - their best placement to date.[6] The Razorbacks made their second appearance in
2012, finishing in 6th place with a score of 196.300.[7]
The retirement of Mark Cook as head coach was announced on April 9, 2019.[8] The new head coach for the 2019-2020 season was announced to be the 2011 World Champion
Jordyn Wieber on April 24 - the first Olympic champion to be the head coach of an NCAA gymnastics team.[9] Wieber was previously a volunteer assistant coach at UCLA, at which she coached floor, which UCLA finished the 2018 and 2019 regular seasons ranked No. 1 in the country.[10][11]
In 2024, the Razorbacks qualified to the
national championships, finishing in 7th place; Reese Drotar was awarded first-team
All-American honours on the uneven bars, and Leah Smith earned second team All-American honours on vault.[12]
