BYU NewsNet - Gymnastics Places 2nd in New Hampshire Meet

By Lisa Harding

BYU finished second in a tri-meet against the University of New Hampshire and the University of Pittsburg on Saturday night. The Cougars posted a 191.20 behind UNH's season-high of 192.4, with Pittsburg landing in third with a 190.075.

The Cougars started the night on floor and stuck five solid routines, yet the judging did not reflect the team's efforts. Heidi Poulson-Rasmussen topped the line up with a 9.625 to boost the team total to 47.425.

"Floor actually went really good," sophomore Kiki Barrett said. "The judge's scores didn't really show how good some of our routines were."

Vault provided some challenges for the Cougars when they learned upon arrival to the meet that they would have to make some changes in the landing mats that they had been using in practice. This can be a difficult obstacle to overcome and can shake even the best-trained athlete's mental toughness. However, the vault line up made the necessary adjustments and gave their best effort, leaving the event with a 47.325.

Bars proved to be the strongest event of the night for the Cougars, putting up a team total 48.325. Sophomore McKell Poulson led off the bar team and posted a solid 9.625, giving them the needed momentum to build up scores. Senior Kylee Draper-Marvin anchored the team with a 9.825, the highest score of the night on the uneven bars.

With a few solid bar routines under their belt, the Cougars settled into a rhythm and finished the night with a 48.025 on the balance beam. Barrett made her first appearance in the line up and premiered as the lead-off competitor.

"It was my first time in the beam line up," a pleased Barrett said. "I knew I could do it, it was so awesome. I hope to keep my position."

Experience in the line up led to higher scores for the Cougars, with beam veterans Alethea Boon and Hayley Jensen both earning a 9.750.

When the chalk dust finally settled for the night, the Cougars walked away with a strong resolve to improve their performance.

"Honestly, we had a rough meet and we need to pull together more," Barrett said. "But, we really put up a good fight in the end."

"It was a good meet to get out of the way," BYU assistant coach Dawn Cattermole said. "We had to adapt to a different environment, and we realized we still have a couple of kinks to work out."

"I think our scores reflect how we've been doing in practice," Poulson said. "If we want to score a 195, we have to start working out like a 195 team."

The Cougars' next competition brings them closer to home as they go head-to-head with the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah University on Friday night in Cedar City. This leaves them only two days of practice this week to clean up their routines.

"Our team goal after this meet is to pick up our intensity and step it up in practice," sophomore Melissa Hough said. "It's not fun to mess up on the little things and we're going to get back in the gym and fix that."

The Cougars will return to their home equipment on Feb. 8 when they take on the University of Utah in the Marriott Center.