Columbia, MO -- After winning the Cat Classic two years in a row, the Cougars gave up their title Friday night to host University of Missouri, and came in fourth behind the University of New Hampshire and the University of Arizona.
Falls on the bars cost the cougars in the running, scoring 47.775, which is an improvement from last week's season low of 47.600. The Cougars also fell short on the beam scoring a 47.625, another season low.
Arizona's Monica Bisordi won the all-around title with a 39.325, with second and third place finishers, Lindsay Davis (39.225) and Alisha Robinson (39.175) both from Missouri.
Sophomore Kirsten Pauga the only Cougar to come in the top three on an event. Pauga's floor routine scored her a 9.825, tying for third with New Hampshire's Vanessa James and coming in behind Missouri's Lauren Schwartzman (9.850) and New Hampshire's Michelle Harley (9.850).
BYU's other all-around competitor, senior Lindsay Butterfield scored her highest scores of the season on beam with a 9.725 and on the floor exercise 9.800.
Some Cougars will get a chance to compete again tomorrow night when individuals from each event advance to the individual finals.
Team ResultsMissouri 195.875
New Hampshire 195.100
Arizona 194.575
BYU 192.850
Individual Results
All-Around
1. Monica Bisordi (Arizona) 39.325
2. Lindsay Davis (Missouri) 39.225
3. Alisha Robinson (Missouri) 39.175
4. Michelle Harley (New Hampshire) 39.150
5. Jen Dickson (New Hampshire) 39.050
6. Lindsay Butterfield (BYU) 38.375
7. Amanda Hall (New Hampshire) 38.350
8. Vanessa James (New Hampshire) 38.275
9. Kirsten Pauga (BYU) 37.925
Vault (Missouri 49.150; New Hampshire 48.675; Arizona 48.675; BYU 48.500)
1. Abby Pearson (Arizona) 9.875
2. (3-way tie) Alisha Robinson (Missouri); Andi McCabe (Arizona); Amanda Hall (New Hampshire) 9.850
Other BYU Scores
Meghan Donahue (9.800)
Brogan Jacobson (9.750)
Megan Pessoa (9.700)
Trisha Ashton (9.650)
Kirsten Pauga (9.600)
Lindsay Buttefield (9.550)
Uneven Bars: (Missouri 49.075; New Hampshire 48.400; Arizona 48.950; BYU 47.775)
1.Alisha Robinson (Missouri) 9.900
2.Jaime Duce (Arizona) 9.850
3.Rachael Dombart
Other BYU Scores
Kari Lords (9.825)
Brogan Jacobsen (9.800)
Lisa Willis (9.700)
Lindsay Butterfield (9.300)
Brooke Haskett (9.150)
Kirsten Pauga (8.800)
Balance Beam: (Missouri 49.150; New Hampshire 49.025; Arizona 48.650; BYU 47.625)
1.(tie)Lauren Schwartzman (Missouri); Monica Bisordi (Arizona) 9.925
3.Rachael Dombart (Missouri) 9.875
Other BYU Scores
Lindsay Butterfield 9.725
Kirsten Pauga 9.700
Brooke Haskett 9.625
Kari Lords 9.400
Lisa Willis 9.175
Trisha Ashton 8.575
Floor Exercise (Missouri 48.500; New Hampshire 49.000; Arizona 48.300; BYU 48.950)
1.(tie)Lauren Schwartzman (Missouri); Michelle Harley (New Hampshire) 9.850
3.(tie)Kirsten Pauga (BYU); Vanessa James (New Hampshire) 9.825
Other BYU Scores
Lindsay Butterfield 9.800
Candace Slater 9.800
Brogan Jacobsen 9.775
Brooke Haskett 9.750
Lisa Willis 9.700
Provo, Utah (February 5, 2003) -- Recovering from a difficult loss to Kentucky, BYU's 20th-ranked gymnastics team heads to Columbia, Missouri this weekend to compete in the State Farm Cat Classic Friday and Saturday.
The team is looking to repeat as champions of the tournament, hosted by University of Missouri, where the Cougars have taken first the past two years.
"It's a good meet, with good teams," BYU's head coach Brad Cattermole said. "We are looking to defend our past two years of titles, but we are going to have to really work for it this year."
With high scorer Jaime Mabray still out of competition with a broken foot, and powerhouse Kari Lords slowed down a little with a sprained neck, the team will have to avoid the mistakes they made last week in their loss against Kentucky.
"We just have to get out there and focus on gymnastics," Cattermole said. "We can't let one bad meet slow us down. As the season goes on, we'll stop making little mistakes and our confidence will continue to increase."
The Cat Classic consists of four teams, the Arizona Wildcats, New Hampshire Wildcats, Missouri Tigers and the BYU Cougars, competing in a similar fashion as the NCAA Nationals. The first day is devoted to team competition and the second for individual event specialists.
Last year, as a freshman, Jaime Mabray took second place in the all-around with a 39.225 and took the individual beam title with a 9.900. All-American Kelly Parkinson-Evanson took home the individual title for vault.
The Cougars have participated in this tournament ten times, winning the title in 2001 and 2002.
