Recruit Files: Lauren Williams, Arkansas

Name: Lauren Williams
Club: Aspire Gymnastics Academy
High School Graduation Year: 2022

NCAA Team: Arkansas
Commitment Announcement: Instagram
Social Handles: Twitter | Instagram

Personal Bests

Vault	Uneven Bars	Balance Beam	Floor Exercise
9.800	9.775	9.525	9.650

Videos

Vault	Uneven Bars	Balance Beam	Floor Exercise
2020 WOGA Classic	2020 SuperStar Invitational	2020 SuperStar Invitational	2020 SuperStar Invitational

About Lauren

An Arkansas native, Williams is a 2019 J.O. nationals qualifier. She is the 2019 Arkansas state champion on vault and floor and the 2018 state champion on bars, beam, floor and in the all around.

What She Brings to Arkansas

Vault

• Skill: Yurchenko full
• Results: second place at the 2019 Region 3 regionals
• Margin of Improvement: She performs a good vault, but it is slightly piked down.
• Impact on the Team: Vault was Arkansas’ weakest apparatus in 2020 and Williams’ current vault will not make a big difference. However, her Yurchenko full is one on which head coach Jordyn Wieber could rely and two more years of club gymnastics could lead to substantial improvements. In 2018, she posted a video training a Yurchenko double twist, which reveals her potential.

Uneven Bars

• Skills: Maloney to Pak salto, full-in dismount
• Results: first place at the 2020 SuperStar Invitational (career high)
• Margin of Improvement: She has some form issues on her Maloney, but her execution is otherwise good. Her routine composition is already NCAA ready.
• Impact on the Team: Arkansas is growing as a bars team. Most of the gymnasts currently in the lineup will have graduated when Williams gets to Fayetteville, and she will be expected to replace them from the start. 

Balance Beam

• Skills: BHS + LOSO, cat leap to front aerial, 1.5 twist dismount
• Results: first place at the 2020 SuperStar Invitational
• Margin of Improvement: Some elements are a bit tentative, but she has two more years of club gymnastics to grow in confidence. Her form is excellent.
• Impact on the Team: Williams has a lot of potential on this apparatus, despite the hesitations, and could contribute to the lineup, which will also be almost entirely changed once she gets to college.

Floor Exercise

• Skills: full-twisting double back, 1.5 twist to front layout, double pike, double turn
• Results: second place at the 2019 Region 3 regionals
• Margin of Improvement: She could be a bit more confident on some landings, but her form is very good here, too.
• Impact on the Team: After only one season as head coach at Arkansas, Wieber has already made a name for her team as one that excels on floor. Williams should contribute to this new tradition.

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Article by Talitha Ilacqua

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