PROVO -- The BYU gymnastics team scored a key victory on the road at Oregon State, defeating the Beavers 194.400-192.950. The Cougars performed with consistency throughout the meet, winning each event en route to the commanding victory over the Beavers.
"It was a very good early season meet for us," head coach Brad Cattermole said. "The icing on the cake is to beat Oregon State at Oregon State. Winning here is incredibly difficult to do and we're just real excited to have done it."
The Cougars were led by Kelly Parkinson-Evanson, who won the all-around at the meet with a score of 39.250. Parkinson-Evanson scored her highest of the night on the floor with a 9.900, leading the rest of the Cougars to a team score of 49.150 on the event. BYU scored its best on the floor, with four gymnasts scoring 9.800 or better.
Jeni Lopez was the other Cougar to compete in all four events, scoring a solid 38.475 to complement Parkinson-Evanson's performance. Freshman Jaime Mabray continued her strong start of her collegiate career by competing in every event but the bars, and Cattermole was extremely pleased with Mabray's performance on the balance beam.
"Jaime did an outstanding beam routine (9.800) and probably should have gotten a better score," Cattermole said.
Cattermole knows that gymnastics is all about scoring, and the 194.400 is a good score this early in the season. Oergon State is a very tough gym for visiting teams to score well in and the Cougars hope the early victory is something they can build on.
"We understand that whether you win or lose isn't what it's all about," Cattermole said. "But people don't understand how hard it is for visting teams to win here at Oregon State. They are just a very good team."
Oregon State took second at the NCAA Regional meet last year and knocked third-place BYU out of the NCAA National Championships. Tonight's win provides a measuring stick for the Cougars, knowing where they stand in the region this early in the season.
BYU travels to Missouri next weekend for the Cat Classic in Missouri. The Cougars won the Cat Classic last year and are hoping for the same success this year.
PROVO -- The BYU women's gymnastics team looks for a key early season victory when it takes on Oregon State Friday night. It will be the second meet for the Cougars, who competed against North Carolina State and Kentucky in the Bahamas two weeks ago.
While the meet in the Bahamas was very early in the season, head coach Brad Cattermole was pleased with what he saw and is confident going into the meet with Oregon State. But Cattermole knows winning won't be easy, especially against a tough Oregon State team that edged out the Cougars last season in the NCAA Regional tournament.
"Winning on the road in gymnastics is very difficult to do," Cattermole said. "Oregon State is a very good gymnastics team. They've proved it year in and year out."
Kelly Parkinson-Evanson leads the Cougars into Friday's meet with the Beavers, but the rest of BYU's lineup is filled with talent. Jeni Lopez will join Parkinson-Evanson in competing in all four events, and freshman Jaime Mabray has surprised Cattermole with how quickly she is improving. Overall, Cattermole just wants to get going with the big meets.
"Usually it feels like we need more time," Cattermole said. "Now we don't feel like that. We're tired of practicing and we need to get a meet."
Oregon State took second in the NCAA Regionals last season just ahead of BYU. The 2002 Oregon State gymnastics team lost four seniors from that lineup, but have brought in talented freshmen and some gymnasts have healed from previous injuries. The two teams should be very competitive and make for a great early season meet.
"We could beat them and they very well could beat us," Cattermole said. "We like these type of meets."
