Gymnastics squad places fifth at WAC championship meet
The Utah State gymnastics team took fifth place at the Western Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday in San Jose, Calif., matching their predicted finish in the preseason poll with a score of 191.850.
Boise State led the meet with 195.700, winning their third championship over the last four years. Last year’s champions, Southern Utah University, took second place with 194.825.
“We had a great warm-up, so we were kind of surprised that we competed the way we did,” USU head coach Jeff Richards said.
Aggie senior Jackie Dillon tied for seventh place in all-around competition with a score of 38.600. Freshman Rachel Vaske took ninth place with her score of 38.250. Senior Lyndsie Boone finished in 11th with a score of 38.100.
The Aggies had a bye on the first rotation, but joined in the action on the second rotation, starting with floor exercises.
With a team total of 48.450 on floor, Dillon was the top finisher for the Aggies with a score of 9.800. That put her in eighth place for floor overall. Vaske opened on floor with a 9.575, followed by freshman Cammi Muhr with a 9.775, just shy of her career-best score.
The Aggies moved to the vault for the third rotation. The team scored a season-high in last week’s meet, but had the season-low Saturday with a total of 96.225. led off by junior Rebecca Holliday and her score of 9.100.
The vault got off to a rough start as the first two girls did not have complete routines. Junior Rebecca Holliday led off with a 9.100, followed by a 9.050 by Muhr. Freshman Paige Jones was USU’s top vaulter, scoring a 9.725 to tie for 15th place. Boone landed a 9.650 before Dillon closed out the lineup with her score of 9.700.
“We had a pretty rough vault rotation,” Richards said. “After the falls, their faces were a little bit devastated.”
The Aggies had their second bye of the meet on the fourth rotation before moving to the bars for rotation five. Vaske started the lineup off with a 9.625, before a 9.650 by sophomore Amanda Watamaniuk. Boone landed a 9.725 and Dillon followed with a 9.750, putting her in the position to tie for 10th place on bars overall. Junior Nicole Simoneau rounded out the rotation with a 9.725, only the fourth time this season that she did not post at least a 9.800.
For the sixth and final rotation, the Aggies headed to the beam, where Boone opened with a 9.025. Junior Haley Hogan held the Aggies’ top score with her 9.675. Dillon then posted a 9.350 before an 8.600 by Muhr to close out the meet. That left USU with a total of 47.175 on beam, contributing to the final score of 191.850.
“It was a real ‘fight through’ kind of night,” Richards said. “They showed a lot of heart and really persevered.”
The WAC championship meet was the final night of competition for the Aggies as a team this season, but are hoping a few girls will move on to regional competition on a personal level. Regional qualification scores will be submitted Monday morning with the announcement following soon. Both seniors should be moving on.
The Aggies are already looking forward to next year’s season.
“We’re only losing two girls and have a good group of young ones coming in next year,” Richards said, “so that will be good.”
– megan.allen@aggiemail.usu.edu