Beam costly for USU gymnasts against OSU
It was so close to defeating a ranked team once again.
An all-time team beam score wasn’t enough, though, to lift the No. 22 Utah State gymnastics team over No. 14 Ohio State after it had to count two falls on the beam.
The Aggies (6-6) fell 196.375-195.275 Friday in the Spectrum as OSU (6-4) posted its best score of the season.
It was the second time this season the Aggies have faltered on the beam against a ranked opponent. The first was Feb. 14 against then No. 25-ranked NC State.
“What happened is the exact repeat as to what we did at NC State,” said USU Head Coach Ray Corn. “We went to beam and we looked tentative. We were not aggressive. We did not attack. We lost it there and the old adage is: ‘You don’t win meets on floor. You lose meets on balance beam.'”
After the first two rotations, the Aggies were only trailing by 0.100, but while the Buckeyes were performing well on the floor (49.025), USU was battling the balance beam.
Ashley Barr started USU off with a 9.750, but then the Aggies had two straight falls. Nicole Kilpatrick (9.675) and Jessica Parenti (9.650) managed to stay on, but freshman Meagan Nelson suffered her first fall of the season.
“That’s Meagan’s first beam fall throughout the entire season, and what a sad time that it had to happen, but maybe better now than somewhere down the road,” Corn said.
USU finished with a 47.750 on the beam.
“We were trying to hang on,” Corn said. “We were trying to hurry and get off the equipment and why, I don’t know, because this is probably one of the best beam teams we’ve ever had.”
Kilpatrick said, “I don’t know, beam was just a fluke for us.”
Despite the setback on the beam, the Aggies had no trouble with their floor routines.
“The only thing I asked of the ladies was to go out onto the floor and just shine and still continue trying to learn how to finish a meet off,” Corn said.
Allison Rosenthal and Barr started things off with back-to-back 9.875s, followed by a 9.900 from Parenti.
The Aggies didn’t slack off, though, as Liesel Kohler followed with a 9.850.
Nelson won the event, posting a 9.950, tying both her career-high and the second best ever Aggie floor score.
To cap the floor off, Kilpatrick finished with a 9.900 to give the Aggies a 49.500.
“[Corn] just told us to shine on floor, and floor can be totally one of our best events if we just come together,” Barr said. “It was good that we hit the last event because we’ve been a little sluggish on our last event so this is a really, really good pickup for us.”
Utah State started off the meet strong, posting a season-high 48.950 on the beam. Sophomore Katie Rutherford had a career-high 9.725, followed by Nelson’s career-high 9.875. Kilpatrick led the Aggies with a season-high 9.900.
Moving to the bars, the Aggies had one fall but still posted a 49.075. Barr finished the rotation with a career-high 9.875.
Barr said she was planning on attempting a more difficult routine, but after the fall, decided to go back to her original one.
“I’m confident in my routine, but it is stressful because you’ve already had one fall and you don’t want to let the team down,” she said. “It’s also good pressure because it motivates you and keeps you going.”
Buckeye Jill Weber (39.450) won the all-around while Kilpatrick (39.225) finished second.
For the Aggies, the outcome was disappointing because they had the opportunity to score in the mid 196s, Corn said.
“I was looking forward for a big upset win against No. 14-ranked Ohio State and they are very good,” he said. “I mean, they came in here, it didn’t matter what time it was, they were undaunted. Nothing even bothered them and they worked the equipment like machines.”
Kilpatrick said the win would have been important not just for the team, but also for the team’s
reputation.
“It’s not only a confidence booster, but it’s to show other teams in the country we’re a really good team and prove our ranking,” she said.
Although the meet was moved to 11 a.m. due to a scheduling conflict, attendance was still 1,405.
–slbk5@cc.usu.edu