UK gymnastics bringing Excite Night to Rupp Arena
The Kentucky gymnastics team, which last year broke four program records on its way to a No. 12 national ranking, will open the season Jan. 5 with its annual “Excite Night” at Rupp Arena for the first time.
“Opening the season at home with our first meet at Rupp Arena is something we have envisioned for some time,” UK head coach Tim Garrison said. “The fact that it is now becoming a reality is very exciting. Beyond that, we have our sights set on building on the successes of a strong 2017 season with a largely unchanged roster.”
The Cats will return All-American and SEC Freshman of the Year Mollie Korth, and All-American Alex Hyland, who both qualified as all-around competitors in last season’s NCAA Championships among others who helped the Cats to a 10-4-1 record and 3-4 finish in the hyper-competitive Southeastern Conference. That included Kentucky’s first ever win against then No. 6 Alabama and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA regional for the first time in school history.
Korth, who enrolled early last December out of high school, led the Cats with 19 event titles. Hyland had 11 beam titles, including topping the podium at the SEC Championships.
Excite Night will be a four-team meet, including Southeast Missouri State, George Washington and Ball State and will begin at 7 p.m.
Over the years, Excite Night has often filled Memorial Coliseum to near capacity, selling out last season before the doors opened. Memorial’s capacity is listed at 8,500, and while there were a number of open seats at last season’s event, family passes and uncertainty over student attendance make gauging how many will show up for UK’s signature meet a challenge.
The Cats will have four other home meets, all in Memorial. They host Florida on Jan. 19, Georgia on Feb. 9, Missouri on Feb. 23 and Ohio State on March 2.
The SEC Championships will be held in St. Louis on March 24.
UK’s preseason Blue-White scrimmage will be announced later.
Jared Peck: 859-231-1333, @ItSaysHere
UK Gymnastics schedule
Home meets in bold.
Day | Date | Time | Opponent |
TBD | TBD | TBD | Blue/White |
FRI | January 5 | 7:00 p.m. ET | George Washington, SEMO & Ball State |
FRI | January 12 | TBD | @Arkansas |
FRI | January 19 | 7:00 p.m. ET | Florida |
FRI | January 26 | 7:00 p.m. ET | @ Auburn |
TBD | February 2 | TBD | @ LSU |
FRI | February 9 | 7:00 p.m. ET | Georgia |
TBD | February 16 | TBD | @ Alabama |
FRI | February 23 | 7:00 p.m. ET | Missouri |
FRI | March 2 | 7:00 p.m. ET | Ohio St. |
SUN | March 11 | TBD | @ New Hampshire |
WED | March 14 | TBD | @ Illinois State |
SAT | March 24 | TBD | Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, MO SEC Championships |
SAT | April 7 | TBD | NCAA Regional Sites Salt Lake City, UT Tuscaloosa, AL Raleigh, NC Columbus, OH University Park, PA Minneapolis, MN |
April 20-21 | TBD | NCAA National Championships Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, MO |
This story was originally published September 18, 2017 at 2:18 PM with the headline "UK gymnastics bringing Excite Night to Rupp Arena."