Utah State Gymnasts Hold Off Cougars

Usually it isn't an upset when the No. 26 team defeats the No. 34 team, but for Utah State gymnastics Head Coach Ray Corn, Friday's victory was just that -- especially since it was against an in-state rival.

It took the second-best ever team bar score to spark a comeback, but the Aggies (6-5) were able to rally for a 195.925-195.625 victory over BYU (2-6) in the Spectrum.

"I don't think it gets any better or more exciting in gymnastics than that right here," Corn said. "From our standpoint this was an upset, and the reason for that is in the preseason rankings I think [the Cougars] were ranked about 20th in the nation.

"Anytime you play BYU, either home or away, it is absolutely wonderful, the taste of victory. I know our fans love it, our team members love it, and the Cougars don't like it."

Leading Utah State into the meet were its three all-around competitors, and once again they didn't fail to impress, scoring five career marks. Senior Nicole Kilpatrick won the all-around with a 39.350, but her two freshmen teammates were right behind with Meagan Nelson turning in a 39.300 and Jessica Parenti posting a 39.250.

"I don't know how many other teams have three strong all-arounders like that," Kilpatrick said. "It's not a competition between us, it's just pushing each other through all the time."

Utah State began on the vault, and although four gymnasts upped their start value to a 10.0, the Aggies got off to a shaky start. Two gymnasts took steps on their landings and the Aggies came away with a 48.550.

Corn said nerves were a little bit of a factor in the event.

"You want to go into a meet with as few one-inch screws in your stomach as possible and certainly we had a couple on vault tonight," he said.

Despite the minor errors, Corn said he was happy with the effort by his vaulters and the higher starts will help the team through the remainder of the season.

While the Aggies were on vault, BYU was performing well on the uneven bars, scoring a season high 49.175 to take an early meet lead.

When the teams switched rotations though, the Aggies began to fight back. Nelson (9.850) and Parenti (9.925) both tied career highs in the bars and Rachel Ropelato (9.900) set a career high to help the Aggies to a 49.325.

"Bars were tremendous," Corn said. "I think that we honestly fought for every half-tenth, tenth, even a hundredth of a point tonight."

Moving onto the beam the Aggies continue to excel, with all six gymnasts hitting their routine. Nelson won the event with a career-high 9.925 while Parenti tied her career-high with a 9.875.

The 49.075 team score topped BYU's floor score of 48.825 to give the Aggies a 0.075 lead going into the final rotation.

While BYU slipped on the beam, having to count a fall, the Aggies shined on the floor with three gymnasts topping 9.900.

Freshman Liesel Kohler set a career-high 9.900 and was followed by Nelson with a 9.925.

"I just love to perform and it's a lot of fun for me," Kohler said. "I just think you've got to hit the tumbling then you can dance your heart out for the rest of the set."

Not to be outdone by her teammates, Kilpatrick tied her career high with a 9.925.

"The first four of them hit on floor so they basically said 'just go out there and hit' and we'll secure the win," Kilpatrick said. "That's basically what I tried to do."

Utah State finished with a 48.975 on the floor while BYU scored a 48.825 on the beam.

"That's what was exciting about tonight is that they closed a meet off tonight," Corn said. "They made a couple of little bobbles on floor but it was strong enough to hold off a very strong BYU team."

Fans will have another opportunity to see the Aggies perform Friday when they face No. 21 Ohio State University. The meet was originally set for 7 p.m. in the Spectrum, but the time was changed due to a scheduling conflict.

By Landon Olson; slbk5@cc.usu.edu
Photo by John Zsiray