Gymnasts battle fatigue, injuries in falling to Utes and Broncos
The Aggie gymnasts faced a tough weekend of competition, taking on the University of Utah at home on Friday night before heading to Boise State to face the Broncos on Sunday afternoon.
In the end, the Aggies fell to both teams, but competed well. Friday’s meet ended with Utah in the lead, 196.550 to the Aggies’ 193.150. On Sunday, the Broncos came out on top, 195.475 to 192.650.
Utah was not ranked this week after holding the No. 3 spot for two weeks. NCAA rules require teams to have three away meet scores by a certain point in the season before they can be ranked. Their trip to Logan was that third meet and they will likely return to the rankings Monday. Boise is currently standing at No. 13.
It made for a long weekend for the gymnasts, and head coach Jeff Richards said you could see that in their faces, but they did a good job of hiding it as they performed.
“You could see they were a little tired, but they were doing well and fighting hard,” he said.
Friday’s meet got off to a rough start when junior Rebecca Holliday was injured during her warm-ups on the vault. She hyperextended her knee and was not able to compete. There was not time to put someone else on the rotation so the team was forced to compete only five girls, as opposed to the regular six.
“She said she would be fine to compete in bars, but I told her that this is where team comes in to play,” Richards said. “Is competing really the best thing? Or is it better to be selfless and let someone else step up and have their chance?”
Senior Jackie Dillon said she felt a bit of a weird vibe during Friday’s meet, but that it all pulled together alright.
“Becca started out with her hurt knee and that kind of threw us off a little but we pulled together and kept it going,” she said.
Holliday did not compete Sunday, but is hoping to be ready for the meet this Friday.
Even though neither meet resulted in a win for the Aggies, there were plenty of personal successes. On Friday, both senior Jackie Dillon and freshman Rachel Vaske earned career-highs on their all-around scores.
“I’m very proud of myself,” Vaske said. “I was sick and couldn’t work out with the girls Monday and Wednesday, I just had Thursday of working out by myself. I’m pleased with my performance.”
Both meets resulted in new high scores on the beam for the team this season. They earned an overall score of 48.075 on Friday, only to top it Sunday with a 48.200.
“We’re getting a lot more confident and it’s definitely showing on beam,” Vaske said. “The beam can either make you or break you.”
Sunday’s beam scores were consistent for everyone. There was only one fall and that score ended up being the one that was dropped.
“We got our stuff together and got the scores we needed, five for five,” junior Nicole Simoneau said. “We expected the scores to be higher, but we don’t have any control over that.”
Simoneau earned her ninth bars title of the year on Sunday with a score of 9.800.
“There’s not much to say,” she said. “I just did my routine the way I know how to do it.”
Richards said, “Nicole is a fighter. She always persists and is just a rock.”
Overall, the team felt like Sunday went well, even if they didn’t have the scores to show it.
“It’s an OK score, but it’s disappointing, it really is,” Richards said. “We performed much better. We were aiming for the 193.5, and felt like we’d earned that.”
With only two meets left in the regular competition season, the Aggies are feeling good and feeling confident.
“We’re where we want to be,” Richards said. “Our routines are coming together, and the girls are looking and feeling more confident.”
The Aggies return to the Spectrum on Friday, March 4, for the last home meet of the year. This will be senior night for Dillon and Lyndsie Boone.
“It’s always a bittersweet thing, having that last home meet, but I think they’re really excited,” Richards said.
– megan.allen@aggiemail.usu.edu