BYU NewsNet - BYU Gymnastics Prepares to Battle Oregon State

By LISA HARDING

The BYU women's gymnastics team is on the road again this week, taking on the Oregon State Beavers tonight in Corvallis, Ore.

The Cougars are coming off of their second highest score of the season, scoring a 193.725 against Utah State last week.

This will be the seventh meet of the season for Oregon State, who is currently ranked No. 8 in the nation with a regional qualifying score of 195.485. The Cougars only have four meets under their belt thus far, not enough to merit an RQS.

The last time these two teams met was in a quad meet in 2006. The Beavers walked away on top, beating the Cougars with a hefty two-point margin. Oregon State will prove to be a formidable foe, as they are coming off a major win against Stanford last weekend. The Beavers racked up a team score of 196.700, the forth-highest score earned by any team this season.

BYU expects tonight to be another night of improvements. Their scores have been building steadily since their first meet of the season. Vault and floor have been especially strong for the Cougars and the team is coming off an impressive floor score of 49.075 in their last meet. This is in part due to a newly rearranged floor line-up that included senior Dayna Smart-Allen for the first time this season.

The team has been playing with event line-ups in every meet so far, looking to compensate for the absence of heavy hitters Alethea Boon and Smart-Allen who were sidelined with preseason injuries. Both gymnasts have made steady comebacks and are slated to compete in their respective events this evening. Boon will be the only all-around competitor for the Cougars. Her main competition will be Jamie Lanz, a junior for the Beavers who is currently ranked No. 16 in the country.