No. 14 BYU challenges No. 13 Oregon State

PROVO -- Focused and driven by its recent success, No. 14 BYU prepares to do battle against No. 13 Oregon State Friday at 7 p.m. in the Gill Coliseum.

"It is extremely hard to beat Oregon State in a home meet," said BYU coach Brad Cattermole. "This meet is going to come down to who can stick their routines."

Cattermole said it will be an exciting challenge to compete against a team of Oregon State's caliber and talent. He sees this as an opportunity for the Cougars to refocus and to come back to reality, considering their recent success.

Having won its last four meets, BYU now sits at 8-3. The Cougars have also set some team and personal career bests. In its last meet against Texas Woman's University and Air Force, BYU set a all-time high of 197.550, scoring season highs in all four events, 49.425 on vault, 49.400 on bars, 49.100 on beam and 49.625 in the floor exercise.

The record-breaking score allowed the Cougars to leap through the rankings from No. 24 to No. 14. Junior Jaime Mabray also landed a perfect 10.0 on vault -- the second in BYU history in vault.

"The girls support each other - if one makes a mistake, she keeps going," Cattermole said. "That's how you improve, and that's why they're so good."

Oregon State creates a highly professional environment at all of its home meets, Cattermole said. This will serve as a good assessment of the team's progress and ability to handle pressure.

"It will be set up like Regionals or Nationals," he said. "This is the ideal time in the season for the meet."

But Cattermole said he's looking forward to the meet and isn't really concerned with the girls' nerves. The Cougars are working hard and are looking comfortable in their presentation.

"We're more concerned with hitting our routines, not with winning or losing," he said. "If we can score another 197, I could care less about the outcome of the meet."

Following the meet against Oregon State, the Cougars will return for their final home meet of the season, challenging Southern Utah March 9 at 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse.