February 25, 2003 Athletics
Story
Utah
State Gymnasts Hold Off Cougars
From the Utah
Statesman (2/24/03)
 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.
The meet will now be at 11 a.m. in the Spectrum.
By Landon Olson; slbk5@cc.usu.edu
Photo by John Zsiray
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