CANCUN -- The BYU gymnastics team began the 2009 season against stiff competition at the sixth annual Cancun Gymnastics Classic, finishing fourth in its session with a score of 189.125.

The Cougars finished behind No. 5 Stanford (195.60), No. 9 Oregon State (194.575) and No. 14 Denver (193.825).

“We have a very young team, and they’re still learning,” said BYU head coach Brad Cattermole, whose team has no seniors. “We made some mistakes but we intend to get better. Since it’s early in the season, we took some chances to see what our girls could do. We have some bright spots, but we also have some spots that need to improve.”

Balance beam proved to be the strongest event for the Cougars as they posted a team score of 48.250, finishing third ahead of Denver. Freshman Natalie Eyre, competing in her first collegiate meet, led BYU with a score of 9.825, the highest Cougar mark of the night. Fellow freshman Krysten Koval was right behind with a 9.700 while junior Danielle Goldman tallied a 9.675.

The Cougars also tallied event scores of 47.150 on vault, 47.125 on bars and 46.600 on floor exercise.

“Our beam team did exceptionally well,” said Cattermole. “We struggled on floor and vault, but when you lose 17 of 24 routines from the previous season, it makes it tough to do as well as you’d like early in the season.”

BYU will now return stateside and begin preparing for its first home meet of the season this Friday against the Beavers at 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse. OSU is 2-1 on the year by virtue of its second-place finish in Cancun.

PROVO -- The BYU gymnastics team will kick off the 2009 season this Friday as the Cougars compete in the sixth annual Cancun Gymnastics Classic in Cancun, Mexico. The Cougars will officially begin their 2009 campaign in the evening session of the Classic, which begins at 5:30 p.m. MT on Friday.

“This is our first real competition, and we’re ready to get going and see who can step up for us,” said BYU head coach Brad Cattermole, whose squad has no seniors this season. “We’ve got a good group of kids, and I know if we perform at our best, we can be very successful.”

BYU has become an annual participant in the event and will be competing against Oregon State, Stanford and Denver, all three of whom competed at last season’s NCAA Championship with the Cardinal finishing third. Michigan, LSU, North Carolina and Boise State will be squaring off in the afternoon session. In addition to experiencing a high level of competition, the Cougars will see a preview of coming attractions as BYU will face Oregon State (Jan. 9), Boise State (Feb. 20, March 6) and Denver (March 9) again during the upcoming season.

The Cougars will also have a chance to strut their stuff in front of a younger generation of gymnasts as numerous clubs and Junior Olympic competitors gather at the event. Last year, 35 clubs and over 600 JO competitors from all over the world competed at the Classic.