Cougars Chalk Up Another Win

PROVO -- The seniors left their final mark at the Smith Fieldhouse Tuesday as BYU crushed Southern Utah 197.475-196.225.

Senior Night was the last home meet for Trisha Ashton, Brogan Jacobsen, Kari Lords and Megan Pessoa.

"It's not often you get a group of seniors this good," said BYU coach Brad Cattermole. "They compete hard, they do service in the community, they're all good in the classroom."

All four seniors shared Cougar of the Meet, with Lords taking first in the all-around (38.900) and beam (9.950). Jacobsen took first on the bars (9.925) and Ashton tied for first on floor (9.950) and second on beam (9.875).

Junior Kirsten Pauga took first on vault, setting a personal best of 9.925, with teammate Marie-Helene Claveau in second place (9.900).

Freshmen Genevieve Claveau and Candace Bauer showed good standing, both reaching career highs of 9.850 on bars. Bauer was the surprise of the evening, replacing junior Jaime Mabray due to illness.

"With about 30 seconds notice, she jumped up and scored a 9.850," Cattermole said. "That's the strength of this team. Everyone just steps up."

Mabray went on to finish the meet, taking a three-way tie for first on floor with teammates Ashton and Lisa Willis. The 9.950 was a career high for all three competitors.

Other career highs include Willis on bars (9.825) and Kacie Capra on beam (9.850).

The Cougars also scored a new season high on beam of 49.225.

"There's a lot of energy in this team," Jacobsen said. "We're peaking at the right time."

Cattermole said this is always a difficult meet for him, saying goodbye to his seniors.

"You work hard for four years," Cattermole said. "They become like your daughters and you have to let them go."

Ashton said despite nervous energy, the team had extra motivation to fight in the meet.

"We had lots of energy, especially from the seniors," Ashton said. "You just want to perform so well."

Lords said it was a nostalgic once-in-a-lifetime experience.

"This is the last time I get to do this," Lords said. "Part way through it hit me 'I'm going to miss performing. I'm going to miss the crowd.'"

Despite the emotional evening, the Cougars quickly look to the future.

"It's not one of our last meets," Pessoa said. "Usually you have your senior night closer to the end so I think we're still focused on finishing the season."

This win brings the Cougars up 13-4, in preparation for their next meet against Utah State Friday at 7 p.m. in Logan, Utah.