Cougars Come Up Just Short at NCAA South Central Regional

TEMPE -- The BYU women's gymnastics team came close to pulling off an upset and qualifying for NCAA Nationals, but fell just short of finishing in second place at the NCAA South Central Regional. UCLA, No. 1 in the country entering the meet, and Arizona finished first and second, while the Cougars took fourth behind Arizona State. The Bruins and Wildcats will head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the NCAA National Championships.

Freshman Jaime Mabray led the Cougars with an all-around score of 38.900, good for a tie for fifth at the meet. Mabray's score nearly qualified her for Nationals, but she lost a tiebreaker with ASU's Laura Moon.

The meet came down to a three-team competition for second place, with Arizona edging Arizona State for the second-place finish.

"ASU and U of A are really solid teams and we were going to have to have a good meet to knock them off," BYU head coach Brad Cattermole said. "Tonight it just wasn't to be."

BYU started off the night on the uneven bars and got a consistent effort from the team. Brooke Craig and Kari Dye led the Cougars with a score of 9.725, while Mabray tacked on a 9.700. Lindsay Lines scored a 9.675 to give the Cougars four consistently high scores. Seniors Jeni Lopez and Kelly Evanson rounded out BYU's scoring, each scoring a 9.300.

"We struggled a little bit on bars and then I knew we were going to have to get on a roll and we just never did," Cattermole said.

The Cougars came back strong on the balance beam, led by Evanson's 9.825. Mabray also performed well, scoring a 9.800, while Dye notched a 9.775. As a team, the Cougars scored a 48.750 to put them right back in position to qualify for Nationals.

The Cougars hit all of their floor routines en route to a 48.625 team score. Dye and Evanson led the BYU gymnasts, with each scoring a 9.775. After the third rotation, BYU found itself in fourth place, .500 behind second place Arizona State.

Going into vault, the Cougars knew they needed to hit everything, and it didn't quite happen. Evanson led the Cougars with a 9.825 on the event. Megan Shupe, competing with a sprained left ankle, still managed to score well with a 9.800 when she stuck her vault. Senior Angie Hickman also scored well with a 9.725.

"It wasn't as if we were out of the game," Cattermole said. "We just never got on the roll we needed to."

UCLA finished the meet with a team score of 197.425, easily outperforming second place Arizona, who scored a 194.950. The Wildcats' score barely beat out Arizona State, who scored a 194.875. UCLA's Jaime Dantzscher won the all-around at the meet with a score of 39.700.

Cal-State Fullerton's Kelly Mathiasen and ASU's Laura Moon were the individual qualifiers for the NCAA National Championships.

OVERALL TEAM SCORES
1. UCLA                 197.425
2. Arizona              194.950
3. Arizona State        194.875
4. BYU                  194.000
5. Cal-State Fullerton  192.000
6. Illinois-Chicago     191.925
UCLA and Arizona Qualify for Nationals in Tuscaloosa, Ala.      
BYU SCORES
ALL-AROUND              Score
Jaime Mabray            38.900
Kari Dye                38.750
Kelly Evanson           38.725
Jeni Lopez              37.800
BARS                    Score
Jaime Mabray            9.700
Kari Dye                9.725
Brooke Craig            9.725   
Jeni Lopez              9.300
Lindsay Lines           9.675
Kelly Evanson           9.300
Total                  48.125          
BEAM                    Score
 
Brooke Craig            9.500
Jeni Lopez              9.625
Kari Dye                9.775
Jaime Mabray            9.800
Lindsay Lines           9.725
Kelly Evanson           9.825
Total                  48.750
FLOOR                   Score
Angie Hickman           9.650   
Brooke Craig            9.650
Kari Dye                9.775
Jaime Mabray            9.725
Jeni Lopez              9.700
Kelly Evanson           9.775
Total                  48.625
VAULT                   Score
Kari Dye                9.475
Jeni Lopez              9.175
Megan Shupe             9.800
Jaime Mabray            9.675
Angie Hickman           9.725
Kelly Evanson           9.825
Total                  48.500
OVERALL               194.000