Gymnastics | 1/17/2026 9:07:00 PM

DENTON, Texas (Jan. 17, 2026) – For the second straight week, the Texas Woman's gymnastics team displayed a dazzling performance in Kitty Magee Arena.

No. 25 TWU competed in their second meet of the season in front of their home crowd, as they hosted No. 12 Denver and No. 26 Arizona. The Pioneers closed the meet with a 195.275 to defeat Arizona for the first time in program history and score their highest score in a meet against Denver in program history. Denver posted the top score of the meet with a 195.850, and Arizona closed the meet with a 193.350.

Dating back to last season, the Pioneers have now scored a 195.275 or higher in four straight meets for the first time since the 2024 season. It also marked the eighth straight meet TWU has scored at least one event score of a 49.000 or higher – the longest streak in program history.

"Friday night marked another special night in KMA," TWU Head Coach Lisa Bowerman said. "We had such a fun night hosting Club Gym Night to welcome the next generation of young gymnasts to our meet. They brought the energy for us all night. I am proud of the way our team continued to compete at high level throughout the meet. We stayed focus on our gymnastics and fought for each other in every rotation. We are excited to take this energy on the road with us next week."

TWU's highest event score of the night came on their final rotation on floor of a 49.050. Out of the five floor competitors, Sophie Hernandez, the anchor, and Kyleigh Ghanbari, in the third spot, topped the TWU leader board with 9.875's to tie for second in the event. Sophia Isbell scored a career high to help lead the Pioneers in the strong floor rotation with a 9.850. To open the rotation, Kami Zarlengo matched her career high with a 9.775, which also marked a season high. Bailey Bourgeois followed in the second spot with a 9.675.

The uneven bars marked the second highest rotation score of the night for TWU, as the Pioneers continued a strong season on the event with a 48.825. The anchor Caroline Bowns tied for the event title with a season high 9.825. Alaina Reid posted a career high on the event with a 9.800. The pair of seniors, Brooke Ferrari and Zarlengo, posted identical 9.775's, which marked another season high for Zarlengo. Bourgeois, in the lead-off position, rounded out the top five counting scores for the Pioneers with a 9.650.

On the balance beam, TWU posted a 48.725. Hernandez led-off the event with the highest score for the Pioneers and the third highest score of the meet – a season high 9.825. Ruby Goad continued her consistent senior season with a 9.750. Bowns and Reid both added 9.725's to the Pioneers counting scores, and Sofia Steffan showcased a solid routine to post a career high 9.700 on the balance beam.

Finally, on the opening apparatus of vault, the Pioneers scored a season high 48.675. Isbell continued her strong junior season on vault, scoring her second straight 9.825 of the season to lead TWU and post the second highest score of the meet on vault. Reid posted a strong 9.725, and Maddy Murphy also scored a solid 9.725, which marked a season high for the junior. Jordan Loock led-off the event with a career high 9.700, and Ghanbari, in the third spot, also posted a career high 9.700 to round out the top five counting scores for the Pioneers.

TWU will head on the road for the first time this season for their next meet. They travel to Temple for a quad meet against Temple, George Washington and Penn on Friday, Jan. 23 at 5 p.m. CT.