Anonymous | Posted: 28 Mar 2003 | Updated: 28 Mar 2003

Utes Knock Off Cougars 197.4-196.025

PROVO -- In BYU's last meet of the regular season, the Utah Utes knocked off the BYU women's gymnastics team 197.400-196.025.

Despite the loss, BYU's head coach Brad Cattermole was satisfied.

"This team has come a long way," Cattermole said. "We had four girls do vaults worth 10.0s tonight. We didn't have any when the season started."

But Cattermole was also less than happy with the falls on bars and beam.

"I would rather have had the girls stay on the equipment than get a good score," he said.

The Cougars performed consistently on vault, scoring a 49.200. Utah scored a 49.475 and placed three gymnastics in the standings. Annabeth Eberle took first with a 9.950, and teammates Veronique Leclerc and Kristen Riffanacht followed behind.

For the most part the bars routines were steady. Junior Brogan Jacobsen hit a career-high bar routine with a 9.900 and junior Kari Lords, who sprained her ankle two weeks ago, stepped up as the last competitor to keep the Cougars in the meet. Her "watered-down" bar routine scored her a 9.650, dropping Jaime Mabray's 9.325. Lindsay Butterfield tied her career-best of 9.900.

Utah's Kim Allan took first on the bars with a 9.950, and teammate Eberle came in second with a 9.925. BYU's Jacobsen and Butterfield, along with Utah's Dominique D'Oliveria tied for third with 9.900.

The beam proved to be a challenge to the Cougars. The first four competitors performed well, but didn't receive high scores. BYU's last two competitors both fell, putting BYU further behind in the competition.

"I thought that we had it on beam," Cattermole said. "I didn't expect our last two girls to fall."

Sophomore Kirsten Pauga placed third on the beam with a 9.850. Utes Melissa Vituj and Eberle took first and second respectively.

After Utah's Annabeth Eberle received a perfect 10.0 on her floor exercise, the Cougars knew they would have to nail their floor routines. Like clockwork, the Cougars rallied together to score a 49.450 on the floor, to pull BYU into the 196 range.

Sophomore Jaime Mabray scored a career-high on the floor, placing her third on the event. Utah's Eberle won the floor competition with her perfect 10.0 and teammate Vituj took second with a 9.975.

Kirsten Pauga placed third in the all-around with a career-high total of 39.375. She received the Cougar Award in recognition of her stellar performance. Utah's Eberle and Vituj took first and second respectively.

The Cougars will now wait to find out whether or not they will go to regionals. Regionals will be held on April 12.

Team Results

BYU 196.025

Utah 197.4

Individual Results

All Around

1. Annabeth Eberle (Utah) 39.750

2. Melissa Vituj (Utah) 39.625

3. Kirsten Pauga (BYU) 39.375

Vault (BYU 49.2; Utah 49.475)

1. Annabeth Eberle (Utah) 9.950

2. Veronique Leclerc (Utah) 9.925

3. Kristen Riffanacht (Utah) 9.900

Other BYU Scores

Trisha Ashton 9.875

Jaime Mabray 9.875

Kirsten Pauga 9.875

Megan Pessoa 9.8

Lindsay Butterfield 9.775

Meghan Donahue 9.725

Bars (BYU 49.075; Utah 49.525)

1. Kim Allen (Utah) 9.950

2. Annabeth Eberle (Utah) 9.925

3. (tie) Brogan Jacobsen (BYU), Lindsay Butterfield (BYU) and Dominique D'Oliveria (Utah) 9.900

Other BYU Scores

Lisa Willis 9.825

Kirsten Pauga 9.800

Kari Lords 9.650

Jaime Mabray 9.325

Beam (BYU 48.3; Utah 48.8)

1. Melissa Vituj (Utah) 9.9

2. Annabeth Eberle (Utah) 9.875

3. Kirsten Pauga (BYU) 9.850

Other BYU Scores

Lindsay Butterfield 9.8

Meghan Donahue 9.775

Lisa Willis 9.650

Jaime Mabray 9.225

Trisha Ashton 9.175

Floor (BYU 49.450; Utah 49.6)

1. Annabeth Eberle (Utah) 10.0

2. Melissa Vituj (Utah) 9.975

3. Jaime Mabray (BYU) 9.950

Other BYU Scores

Candace Slater 9.9

Lisa Willis 9.875

Lindsay Butterfield 9.875

Kirsten Pauga 9.850

Brogan Jacobsen 9.775

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