Arizona GymCats collapse in final rotation to end season in Tempe Regional’s opening round
Arizona gymnastics team gathers after losing to ASU in Tempe Regional on Apr. 1, 2026 | Photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics TEMPE—The Arizona GymCats landed in the opening round play-in meet against Arizona State largely because of disastrous bars rotation at the Big 12 Championships. They had a chance to rectify that right from the start of the dual meet against the Sun Devils, but they weren’t able to carry that redemption through to the end.
This time, the last rotation of the day did them in. Arizona head coach John Court said earlier in the week that he just didn’t want the team to beat itself, but that’s ultimately what it came down to. “We 1000 percent beat ourselves,” Court said.
Arizona went into the final rotation with a 0. 375 lead over ASU, but had two falls in a row off the balance beam and two major balance checks. First, it was Aubrey Krohnfeldt falling on one of her tumbling passes.
Next, Jessa Janicke fell. They were followed by Sophie Derr , who didn’t fall but had a big balance check at the end of her routine. Then came a major balance check by Tirzah Wise .
“We only needed 9. 7s,” Court said. They couldn’t get them because they were forced to count a fall yet again.