PROVO, Utah (Jan. 12, 2013) - In the first home meet of the season, redshirt sophomore Megan Bain helped lead the BYU women’s gymnastics team over Utah State 194.075-189.425 at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday in front of 1,120 fans.
“I think we’re moving in the right direction,” head coach Brad Cattermole said. “The team is getting out there and working hard. This time of the year everyone is fighting and I’m happy to see that we’re moving in the right direction.”
BYU earned the high score in every event of the day to defeat the Aggies. Bain scored two of the four high scores in each event of the meet en route to the victory, including a 9.900 on the beam and a 9.825 on the floor to tie career highs on the beam and the floor.
“Megan loves to compete,” Cattermole said. “If every day were a meet she’d be a happy camper. She’s getting better and better. Today, she got out there and competed. I was happy with her energy. She’s doing really well, but I don’t think you’ve seen anywhere near all that Megan is capable of.”
The Cougars started the day off on the vault. Newcomer Eliane Kulczyk took to the vault first for BYU and stuck the landing for a score of 9.750. Freshman Madeline Nilsson rounded out the BYU vaulters and matched Kulczyk’s score to lead the Cougars.
On the uneven bars, BYU’s upperclassmen stepped up for the Cougars. Senior Haylee Rollins grabbed the highest score of the day on bars with a 9.875 and Bain secured a 9.850. Junior Raquel Willman and freshman Nillson also scored high with a 9.775 each.
BYU’s high beam scores and some miscues on the floor from Utah State created separation from the Aggies. Bain put up a huge score for the Cougars to carry her team with a 9.900 - the highest score of the day on any event. Freshman Makenzie Johnson and Willman also grabbed solid scores on the beam with a 9.775 each. Sophomore Ashley Follett also notched a 9.650 to give BYU the top four scores of the meet on the beam.
Bain continued her streak into the final event and scored an event-high 9.825 on the floor. Willman scored high once again in her fourth event of the day with a 9.775 to beat out the three Aggies in the all-around competition with a final score of 38.950.
BYU will compete next on Jan. 19 in the Texas Woman’s Quad Meet in Denton, Texas at 7 p.m. CST.
PROVO, Utah – Following a successful start to the 2013 season last week, the BYU women’s gymnastics team hosts Utah State in the first home meet of the year on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse.
“The first meet was a good one for us; we made a couple of mistakes but it was a really good first meet,” head coach Brad Cattermole said. “This one is our first home meet and everyone should be really excited and looking forward to it.”
BYU topped No. 9 Oregon State in last week’s Cancun Classic but fell short of No. 10 Michigan. The Cougars scored a solid 194.475 but are looking to build on that heading into Saturday.
“We’d like to get into the 195’s and we think we are capable and pushing toward that,” Cattermole said. “To do it we need to stick all of our routines. If you do that the rest of it you can just let take care of itself.”
Strong showings in each of the events will allow for a good foundation as the season progresses. In addition to a strong veteran group, several freshmen will be counted on for contributions this season as the newcomers impressed in their collegiate debut last week.
The meet will be televised live on BYUtv from the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 1 p.m. MT. Follow BYUcougars.com for stats and scores from the meet.