With two athletes going all-around for the first time in their NCAA careers and only five competitors on beam, Brigham Young's 10th-ranked women's gym team managed its second-highest score of the season in defeating 20th-ranked Stanford 193.225-189.975 at the Marriott Center Saturday night.
"That's all right. We'll take that," beamed Cougar coach Brad Cattermole of the score. "Every week it's something," he said, "but we'll be back at as full strength as we can next week (when second-ranked Utah visits on Saturday)."This was pretty good with only five kids on beam and to count a fall on beam," Cattermole added.
He left Leslie Durfey out of the lineup for disciplinary reasons, and Cassie Pauga is out for the season with anterior/posterior cruciate ligament damage and bone bruises to both knees.
Sophomores Liz Crandall and Cristen Cosgrave made their NCAA all-around debuts, Crandall vaulting for the first time (9.65) and Cosgrave scoring 9.6 her first time on bars.
Junior Nanette Thornock won the all-around, scoring a season-best 38.975. Cosgrave took second (38.825). Crandall tied Card Jene Elzie (third, 38.675).
Cattermole said Cosgrave's bar set was watered down from what she'll do later, but she hit it the first time back from a broken finger. Of Crandall, he said, "We're really happy with her vault. After two years, she's finally started to get a clue." Crandall, an ex-national-team member, did roundoff-entry vaults in internationally and had trouble adjusting. The NCAA outlaws the dangerous vaults.
Crandall's floor score (9.475, petitioned up to 9.5) was several tenths lower than her best (9.725 in '94). "I didn't quite understand it," Cattermole said. He noted only a piked-down double-full twist as a major problem.
Stanford, too, has had personnel troubles, but coach Breck Greenwood said the Cardinal came into the meet in its best shape of the season. It just didn't stay that way as chronic aches took two women out of the meet partway through.
Stanford was also minus assistant coach Lisa Mitzel-Izzy, the former Ute, home with appendix problems that did not require surgery.
"We're about where we want to be," said Cattermole. Both he and Greenwood are trying to bring their teams along slowly to peak for the NCAA regional and NCAA Championships in Utah April. "The scores are going to come," Cattermole said, adding, "We've always peaked too soon," he said.
Walker won vault (9.8) and floor (9.875), Crandall beam (9.75) and Juliet Bangerter bars (9.875), a Cougar sweep.