UA gymnastics

Arkansas’ Mark Cook was voted SEC gymnastics coach of the year and Sarah Shaffer of the Razorbacks was named freshman of the year by league coaches.

Arkansas Coach Mark Cook was voted SEC coach of the year and freshman Sarah Shaffer won freshman of the year in voting by league coaches after last week’s SEC championships. Cook in his 16th season as head coach, won the award outright for the first time after leading the Razorbacks to a fifth place showing at the SEC championships, the team’s highest finish since 2011, and a No. 10 ranking heading into NCAA regionals. Fayetteville Cook, gymnastics who helped program start in the 2003, University was SEC of Arkansas, co-coach of the year in 2008 and 2016. Shaffer, a redshirt freshman from Tyler, Texas, is the only SEC freshman ranked in the top 40 nationally in the all-around. She has posted 10 scores of 9.9 or better, including six on the floor exercise, where she is ranked No. 26 in the nation. Shaffer was named SEC freshman of the week three times this season. She is the third Arkansas gymnast to win SEC freshman of the year, joining current Razorback senior Amanda Wellick (2014) and Paige Zaziski (2015). The Razorbacks will compete as the No. 2 seed behind UCLA at the NCAA Columbus (Ohio) Regional on April 7. The top two teams from each of six regionals will qualify for the NCAA Championships on April 20-21 at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis.