Gymnastics settle for third to end year
Friday night was a bitter night for Utah State’s gymnastics team as they came in third place, with a score of 194.300, at the Western Gymnastics Conference finals.
“We just didn’t have it tonight,” Utah State Head Coach Ray Corn said after the meet.
The team headed to Boise for the finals on Thursday. Along with Utah State (ranked at No. 30 in the nation) came No. 33 Boise State, No. 28 Southern Utah University and No. 48 Cal State Fullerton.
Utah State had beaten Southern Utah twice and both Boise and Fullerton once.
In the end, Boise came in first place with a 196.675, Southern Utah took second with 194.600, Utah State third and Fullerton ended in forth with 194.100.
Utah State could have made it to second place, but it came down to Southern Utah’s last performer on the beam.
For Southern Utah, Leah Sakhitab received a 9.900 on the beam to place her in second place overall on the beam, bumping her team up to second place with a score of 194.500 to Utah State’s 194.300.
The team began its night on the uneven parallel bars, where they experienced two falls. Top competitors for the team included Ashley Barr who contributed to the team tying her career high of 9.875 with a solid performance.
Alex Martin and Co-Captain Rachel Ropelato also helped out with their 9.85 each.
“We really, really struggled on the bars,” said Corn of the teams performance.
Barr managed, however, to get second place overall on the bars. Martin and Ropelato had a five-way tie for third place.
“We really weren’t nervous,” said Barr about their performance. “Or at least I didn’t feel nervous.”
The team then headed to the beam for their second rotation. Although they did fairly well, they did experience one fall.
Stepping up for the team was Liesel Kohler with a 9.825. Stacy Stewart helped with her 9.775, Martin with a 9.75 and Ropelato got a career high of 9.75.
Utah State got its second highest event score for the night on the beam with a 48.775.
Next on the agenda for the Aggies was the floor event. Top competitors on the floor for the team included Kohler, putting up a 9.9 to help the team and also land her in a four way tie for third place overall on the floor. Martin had a 9.85 and Barr helped with a 9.825.
After seeing the team make several mistakes not only on the bars but the beam and floor as well, it was clear that the team was making a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes Corn said.
Mistakes never made before, and mistakes Corn hopes his team won’t make again, were suddenly and sporadically happening.
“We were making mistakes all over the place,” said Corn.
The teams lack of experience in large meet situations may have played a role in the Aggie’s mistakes Corn said.
The team then went on to their final and best event of the night, the vault. They got the top vault score of the night.
Gretchen Goerlitz stepped up with her 9.85. Her score put her in a tie for third place overall on the vault. Rachael Mandy helped out with a 9.825, Ropelato with her 9.8 and finally Martin with her career high of 9.775.
In the all-around, Utah State had four competitors for the second time this season. The usual Martin and Goerlitz freshman duo, added Ropelato and Barr to the mix.
Martin received a 49.175 and came in third place, while Barr in her first all-around big meet competition came in forth with her 39.075. And will we see Barr as one of the all-arounders again?
“I hope so,” Barr said of the possibility of her continuing as an all-around performer. “I’ve worked my butt off to be.”
Utah State finished its season with an overall record of 9-12.
-vivr@cc.usu.edu