Ags fall at BYU

It was a disappointing finish for Utah State Thursday night in Provo as they fell to BYU by less than one point for the second time this season. The Aggies finished with 192.55 while the Cougars posted a score of 193.52.

“We were kind of asleep in the first couple rotations,” Corn said. “The girls performed hard, but we were just out of sync.”

The Aggies fell behind from the beginning and had a hard time climbing back into the meet. Utah State Head Coach Ray Corn said after the first rotation, the Aggies were .65 behind.

“We managed a 48.075 [on the bars],” Corn said, “but BYU vaulted the lights out of the place.”

The Cougars started with a 48.750 on the vault and seemed like they were going to keep going strong.

“But then, the unseemly happened,” Corn said, “BYU had four falls and counted only three.”

However, although it seemed like the win for the meet was being handed to them, the Ags couldn’t capitalize on the falls.

Corn said the Aggies “botched” up the vault, scoring only a 47.775. Part of the problem, he said, were some of the low starting values. Also, junior Alex Martin strained her ankle during warm up and Corn said that affected her vault.

But the meet wasn’t over yet.

“Utah State came roaring back on the balance beam,” Corn said. “That is certainly, in my opinion, the highlight of the night.”

The Aggies scored a 48.525 on the beam, but it wasn’t enough as BYU had strong performances on both the beam and the floor exercise.

USU’s Meagan Lewis won the all-around with a score of 38.775.

Corn said a win over BYU was definitely something the Aggies were capable of, but with mistakes in both bars and vault, it made it impossible.

“I just don’t think we’re deep enough right now,” he said. “I don’t think we’re strong enough to win these matches.”

Corn said he is going to give his team the next three days off, hoping, he said, to get some of the injured players back into the rotation.

-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu