No. 15 BYU Looks for Season Sweeps Against Missouri and Boise State
PROVO -- In a rematch of an early season competition, the No. 15 BYU women's gymnastics team will take on the Missouri Tigers. The meet will take place Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Smith Field House.
On Monday, BYU will travel to Boise State and compete against the Broncos. Both meets will be rematches and the Cougars took the first meeting in both cases.
BYU met Missouri earlier in the year at the State Farm Cat Classic, where BYU scored a 194.950 to win the meet. Missouri freshman Alisha Robinson leads a team that doesn't have a single senior.
"Missouri is a real good up-and-coming team," BYU head coach Brad Cattermole said. "They have a lot of young kids doing some fancy stuff."
The Cougars look to bounce back from a disappointing loss to arch-rival Utah. The Cougars competed hard and performed well, but it wasn't enough to overcome Utah's depth and consistency.
BYU's struggles on the balance beam came back to haunt the Cougars again in the meet against Utah. But Cattermole feels the Cougars have put the problems in the past.
"Balance beam is coming along better," Cattermole said. "They've really been putting in the effort and it's paying off."
All the Cougars that have had trouble in the meets have been nailing their routines in practice, Cattermole said.
"The more success they have, the better they will be," Cattermole said. "It's just a matter of confidence now."
Not all was bad about the loss against Utah though. Senior Jeni Lopez had a career night, scoring a 39.175 in the all-around.
All-American Kelly Parkinson-Evanson also performed well in the all-around, scoring a 39.400. She took third place in the all-around, but she probably could have won the all-around if she didn't have an uncharacteristic stumble on the floor.
Following the Missouri meet, BYU will hit the road for the Monday meeting with Boise State. The Cougars won the first matchup between the two teams just two weeks ago.
"Most teams, like Boise State, are better at home," Cattermole said. "They seem to be a lot more energetic at home."
Jamie Johns led the Broncos in the previous meet with an all-around score of 38.950. In different surroundings though, Cattermole knows anything can happen.
"Everything they do is tied to the amount of energy they have," Cattermole said. "When they are at home, the fans give them that energy and they just feed off of that."
The Cougars will need to finish out the season without senior Mindi Hilton. Hilton, an excellent performer on the uneven bars, injured her wrist in practice and will need surgery.
Hilton overcame previous surgeries to her shoulder and wrist to compete in four meets on bars, with her highest score of a 9.875 coming against Utah State. Cattermole said it is not sure yet whether Hilton will attempt another comeback.
Next Friday, the Cougars will return home to compete against Southern Utah. It will be another rematch for BYU, as the Cougars defeated the Thunderbirds at Southern Utah at an earlier meet this season. The meet will take place at 7 p.m.
