Parkinson Earns All-America Honors but Cougars Unable to Advance at NCAA Gymnastics Championships

BOISE -- Cougar sophomore Kelly Parkinson earned second-team All-America honors in the all-around and floor exercise but BYU was unable to advance into the team finals of the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships being conducted at The Pavilion on the campus of Boise State University.

Competing in its seventh NCAA Championships, BYU placed sixth in the first session of the team preliminary competition Thursday, with only the top three teams from each session qualifying for Friday's Super 6 Team Finals. Advancing from session 1 were perennial gymnastics powers Georgia, Utah and Alabama. Session 2 qualifiers were its top three teams, UCLA, Nebraska and Michigan.

Two-time defending national champion Georgia placed first in the afternoon session at 196.775, followed by Utah at 196.125, Alabama at 196.075, Louisiana State at 194.950, Oregon State at 194.750 and BYU at 195.500. UCLA won the evening session with a 197.250, followed by Nebraska at 196.0, Michigan at 195.925, Penn State at 195.350, Iowa State at 195.325 and West Virginia at 194.175.

"We needed to have our best meet to have a chance to move on but that just didn't happen," BYU coach Brad Cattermole. "We made some mistakes but we did some good things too. I was really proud of the kids. I thought they gave it their all and fought to the end. Kelly (Parkinson) had a good meet in the all-around."

Parkinson earned All-America status by finishing tied for fifth in the all-around with a 39.10 score and tied for seventh on floor with a 9.850 performance. Three other Cougars nearly earned All-America honors. Junior Angie Hickman (9.825 on vault) and senior Leah Niepraschk and sophomore Mindi Hilton (9.800 on bars) each finished just one spot and only .025 points from the required top-eight placement. Competing in session 2, Nebraska's Heather Brink won the all-around title with a 39.6. BYU junior Kim Little finished 15th in the session 1 all-around at 38.350 while senior Denice Pauga placed 18th at 37.775.

BYU opened the meet on the floor exercise and recorded a 48.725 with Parkinson leading the way with a 9.850. Little added a 9.775 and Marisa Cosgrave a 9.725 as BYU finished the first rotation in second place behind Louisiana State (49.0 on vault).

The Cougars moved to vault in the second rotation and finished the rotation with a brief lead as BYU and Oregon State were the only two schools to compete in both of the first two rotations. BYU scored 48.875 on vault for a 97.600 total as previous leader LSU sat out with a bye. Hickman provided BYU's top vault with a 9.825 effort, while Denice Pauga, Little and Parkinson each added 9.8 vaults.

With BYU sitting out the third rotation with a bye, the Cougars dropped to fifth as each school completed its second event of the meet. Utah took the overall lead at 98.150, followed by Georgia at 98.000, LSU at 97.850 and Alabama at 97.775. BYU trailed at 97.600 with Oregon State at 96.875.

In the fourth rotation, BYU's Leah Niepraschk and Mindi Hilton tallied 9.8 routines and Parkinson a 9.775 to help the Cougars earn a 48.575 bars score. With then meet-leading Utah and Georgia both sitting out with a bye, BYU moved into second place temporarily at 146.175, moving ahead of LSU, who dropped to 146.025 after a 48.175 total on beam. Alabama held the lead at 146.875.

BYU entered its last event, the balance beam, in the meet's fifth rotation but did not have enough to secure a third-place finish and a spot in Friday's team finals. Jeni Thomas led BYU with a 9.725 and Karen Nielsen added a 9.700 but the Cougars could only manage a 48.325 team score and a meet total of 194.500. Georgia scored a session-high 49.425 on vault to seal first place and Utah delivered the session's best beam score, a 49.050, to edge Alabama for second place.

MEET SCORES:
Team
Session 1
1. Georgia, 196.775
2. Utah, 196.125
3. Alabama, 196.075
4. Louisiana State, 194.950
5. Oregon State, 194.500
6. BYU, 194.500
BYU Event Scores:
Floor, 48.725
Vault, 48.875
Bars, 48.575
Beam, 48.325
Session 2
1. UCLA, 197.250
2. Nebraska, 196.000
3. Michigan, 195.925
4. Penn State, 195.350
5. Iowa State, 195.325
6. West Virginia, 194.175
Floor Exercise (Session 1 Only)
1. Suzanne Sears, Georgia, 9.900
   Talya Vexler, Georgia, 9.900
   Kristen Sterner, Alabama, 9.900
   Denise Jones, Utah, 9.900
BYU Floor Scores:
7.  Kelly Parkinson, 9.850
25. Kim Little, 9.775
34. Marisa Cosgrave, 9.725
39. Brooke Craig, 9.700
40. Candace Cosgrave, 9.675
    Denice Pauga, 9.675
Vault (Session 1 Only)
1. Monica Fammer, Georgia, 9.900
   Kristi Lichey, Georgia, 9.900
   Suzanne Sears, Georgia, 9.900
   Katie Hornecker, Alabama, 9.900
   Andree Pickens, Alabama, 9.900
   Gabi Weller, Towson, 9.900
BYU Vault Scores:
13. Angie Hickman, 9.825
15. Denice Pauga, 9.800
    Kelly Parkinson, 9.800
    Kim Little, 9.800
38. Mindi Hilton, 9.650
42. Hilary Johnson, 9.475
Uneven Bars (Session 1 Only)
1. Kathleen Schrieves, Georgia, 9.900
2. Natalie Barrington, Alabama, 9.875
3. Andree Pickens, Alabama, 9.850
   Kristen Sterner, Alabama, 9.850
   Dara Stewart, Alabama, 9.850
   Jenny Schmidt, Utah, 9.850
BYU Bars Scores:
11. Leah Niepraschk, 9.800
    Mindi Hilton, 9.800
14. Kelly Parkinson, 9.775
30. Kim Little, 9.700
39. Jeni Thomas, 9.500
42. Denice Pauga, 8.650
Balance Beam (Session 1 Only)
1. Kristi Lichey, Georgia, 9.850
   Deidra Graham, Utah, 9.850
3. Amanda Curry, Georgia, 9.825
   Talya Vexler, Georgia, 9.825
   Denise Jones, Utah, 9.825
   Angelika Schatton, Utah, 9.825
BYU Beam Scores:
19. Jeni Thomas, 9.725
22. Karen Nielsen, 9.700
25. Kelly Parkinson, 9.675
27. Denice Pauga, 9.650
33. Brooke Craig, 9.575
41. Kim Little, 9.075
All-Around Champion: Heather Brink, Nebraska, 39.600
All-Around (Session 1 Only)
1. Kristi Lichey, Georgia, 39.400
   Denise Jones, Utah, 39.400
3. Andree Pickens, Alabama, 39.375
4. Deidra Graham, Utah, 39.275
BYU All-Around Scores:
5.  Kelly Parkinson, 39.100
15. Denice Pauga, 38.350
18. Kim Little, 37.775