‘It’s magic.’ UK gymnastics records 1st perfect scores since the ’90s in Excite Night win.

Tim Garrison, now in his 13th season as the head coach for the No. 7-ranked Kentucky gymnastics team, hadn’t had a Wildcat receive a perfect 10.000 in his entire tenure — until Excite Night 2024.

“I don’t think you’re ready for it, you know, when it happens,” Garrison said. “Especially because we’ve been here, this is my 13th season, and we haven’t had one yet and my history here. So to be able to get that tonight, at home, at Excite Night, I mean, I don’t know if I can put the feeling into words, but it’s magic.”

In an already special season, the 50th anniversary of the program, the Wildcats (4-2, 2-1 SEC) made quite the statement on Friday night at Rupp Arena with a program-record total score in a 197.950-195.650 win against No. 18 Georgia (1-3, 0-3 SEC) in their annual celebratory home-opening meet. The remarkable performance came in front of more than 100 UK gymnastics alumni and a rowdy crowd of 10,302 fans.

And when beloved fifth-year senior Raena Worley and junior Makenzie Wilson each achieved the first 10.000s of their career on floor and vault, respectively, in front of UK gymnastics legend Jenny Hansen (1993-96), owner of 28 perfect scores (21 on vault) and the last Wildcat to record a 10.00, Rupp Arena was electric. Perhaps because, per UK Athletics, there hadn’t been a 10.000 scored in Rupp Arena until Friday night. According to Wilson, the crowd made a real difference.

“It has obviously a lot to do with us as a team,” Wilson said. “But it also comes down to the audience. I mean, they were electric. I mean, we feed off of their energy, you know, and vice versa. So they really helped us create just an amazing environment and we just fed off of it. And obviously it helped us so much, so it was great.”

The Wildcats dominated each of their four rotations, beginning by tying a program best with a 49.550 on vault. Wilson, the final competitor in UK’s vault lineup, delivered a front handspring pike half twist that earned an immediate, joyous response from the crowd. Her perfect score on the vault replaced her previous best of 9.975.

“Amazing. Emotional. All of the things,” Wilson said. “… I’m almost at a loss for words because just the love that I felt from that was insane and unlike no other.”

Kentucky’s 0.425 edge over Georgia on the vault — the Wildcats’ second-highest margin of the evening — began with a pair of freshmen making their home debuts. Delaynee Rodriguez posted a 9.725 to start the first rotation before Cecily Rizo scored a 9.850. UK’s veterans didn’t disappoint, either. Redshirt fifth-year Arianna Patterson delivered a 9.875, senior Isabella Magnelli scored a 9.925 and Worley earned a 9.900 ahead of Wilson’s flawless showing.

This year’s UK roster features six freshmen, three of whom competed against Georgia. Rodriguez — who led off in each of the four events — alongside Rizo and Creslyn Brose, Garrison said are “encouraging” examples of the growing potential of ‘Team 50.’ Garrison said he’s never had a freshman lead off in all four events, but Rodriguez “is doing a fantastic job.”

“She’s a special character,” Garrison said. “And she’s very poised, she’s very calm. One of those ones where it’s not too many highs, not too many lows. She’s just kind of even-keeled. Which, really enjoy that and that’s perfectly suited for the number one spot.”

Kentucky’s success continued into the second rotation with a 49.325-48.975 win on uneven bars. Junior Jillian Procasky and senior Bailey Bunn earned 9.900s. Rizo received a 9.775, and Rodriguez, junior Annie Riegert and Worley each earned a 9.850.

The Wildcats’ largest margin of victory arrived on the beam, with UK winning 49.425-48.525 behind an apparatus-leading 9.925 from the anchoring Magnelli. Rodriguez led off with a 9.900 after a judges’ inquiry bumped her score up from a 9.800. Brose earned a 9.850 in her collegiate beam debut and Bunn received a 9.900. Worley’s 9.850 followed Patterson’s 9.825 ahead of Magnelli’s impressive routine.

The Wildcats’ combined beam score of 49.425 tied their season high set on Jan. 12 in a victory over No. 11 Auburn, one of now five ranked opponents on Kentucky’s gauntlet of a schedule. Excite Night is the team’s fourth meet of the season, which opened with the Mean Girls Super 16 Gymnastics Championship on Jan. 5 where then-No. 9 UK defeated both then-Nos. 6 Michigan and 11 Michigan State but placed second to reigning national champion and current No. 1 Oklahoma. UK’s second defeat up to this point was at then-No. 8 LSU on Jan. 19, the meet before Excite Night.

According to Magnelli, the team’s first home meet of the season was long-awaited.

“We’re proud of everything, honestly,” Magnelli said. “We just went out there and gave it our all. We put our hearts out on that floor. We’ve been waiting for a home meet this whole season, so we just enjoy the crowd. BBN is freaking awesome, they packed this place, it was so awesome. But we just went out there and did our best. We practice like that every single day, so we finally just all put it together and we just enjoy this moment. And there’s just so much confidence and determination in this team.”

And the Wildcats finished just as strong, winning the floor rotation 49.650-49.025 behind a 9.850 from both Rodriguez and Magnelli, a 9.925 from Arianna Patterson, a 9.900 from Hailey Davis, a career-best 9.975 from Brose and Worley’s 10.000.

It was a fitting cap to the night, Worley earning the first perfect score in her five seasons in Lexington en route to her 23rd career all-around title with a score of 39.600. The moment Worley’s floor score was revealed was an emotional one, and she ran into the stands to celebrate with her family.

“Mom and Dad have always told me I don’t need a 10.000 to be special to them,” Worley said. “And they’ve kind of kept it in the back of my mind that I don’t do the sport for 10s. I do it for myself, I do it for God. And so the reasons behind it they’ve kind of really kept in my mind. So when it became overwhelming if I didn’t get one, or if I was so close, they were always reminding me. So why not go hug the people that keep that in my mind?”

Worley, who last year became UK’s first Honda Sports Award Finalist since Hansen, is one of six seniors on the roster. According to Garrison, their leadership — “the thing that doesn’t necessarily show up on the score sheet” — is invaluable. Garrison calls Worley, Magnelli, Davis and Bunn his floor generals, each providing guidance to their teammates that Garrison feels he and his coaching staff can’t give.

“I’ve talked to them about this,” Garrison said. “‘Listen, you guys are the ones, you’re in charge. You’re in charge of the team. Because you have the feel for the team.’ It’s like, we, we’re there, right? But we don’t know everything … they know who needs to be talked to before they go on, who needs to kind of calm down a little bit … they all have different roles that they perform outside of the flipping and twisting, outside of the performing routines, you know, and it’s like I said, it’s immeasurable, the benefit to this team. Because we can’t do what they do.”

That leadership played a major role in the Excite Night victory, which Garrison called the team’s “most complete performance of the season.”

After last season’s sixth-place finish in the 2023 NCAA women’s gymnastics tournament, Kentucky is already proving its potential with historic highs. According to Wilson, what makes “Team 50” so special is the genuine chemistry between its athletes.

“This team is truly like no other,” Wilson said. “I mean, just how close we are. And we truly are just one, you know? We’re not 20 individual girls, like we come together as one, and I think that makes all the difference in the world.”

Kentucky will next travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to face the No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday. The Wildcats’ next home meet will be against No. 9 Missouri at Rupp Arena on Feb. 9.