Minion falls short of nationals
Through five rotations, freshman Jasmine Minion was in the lead on vault after she nailed a 9.900, a career best. But she fell to second place after the University of Utah’s Christina Baskett edged Minion with a 9.925 to claim the event win and qualify for nationals, Saturday, at the NCAA Regional Tournament. “It was a tremendous vault that Jasmine threw,” gymnastics coach Ray Corn said. Minion, who scored the highest for the Aggies, came in a three-way tie with Michelle Stout of Arkansas and University of Utah’s Ashley Postell. No Aggies qualified for the national tournament, but with the six individuals who competed in the regionals, Corn said the gymnasts represented Utah State very well. “We learned that we need to look better and professional,” he said. “We learned that we need to stay on the equipment.” The University of Utah won the regional meet and also cheered on the Ags as they competed in their events, Corn said. “It’s a hard meet to compete without your team and it’s no fun to compete without them,” he said. Senior Megan Tschida accomplished a 9.850 on the floor exercise, tying for 14th place. Freshman Nicole Simoneau placed in a three-way tie for eighth, tallying a 9.800 on the uneven parallel bars. Freshman Lyndsie Boone suffered two falls on the balance beam, as she was “extremely nervous” while on the equipment, Corn said. “It was a difficult upgraded beam routine for Lyndsie and she just didn’t negotiate the score.” Boone was 42nd on beam, with an 8.275. For junior all-arounder Nicki Felley, the gymnast had to compete throughout all her events with a bruised heel, which affected her scores, Corn said. “Her bruised heel was incredibly bothering her,” Corn said. He said Felley was “shaky on bars” and had a fall on beam and a fall on the floor exercise. “Her minor mistakes winded out of her sails,” he said. Felley scored a 36.975 and placed 21st in the all-around, while sophomore Heather Heinrich scored a 37.650 – good enough for 19th place. Heinrich suffered a fall on bars as she tallied a 8.750, tied for 29th on the beam with a 9.575, tied for 28th on vault with a 9.675 and scored a 9.625 on floor. “If our whole team can do it right and compete like Minion, Tschida and Simoneau, we then can compete with anyone,” Corn said. University of Utah won the team title with a 196.950, while host Minnesota placed in third with a 195.275.
-candice.sandness@aggiemail.usu.edu