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Gymnastics finishes third at 2009 NCAA West Region Championships
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The No.19 Boise State gymnastics team earned their highest NCAA Regional Championship finish in school history, placing third at Saturday night’s NCAA West Region Championship with a 195.40. Their team score set a new school record for best regional competition team score while they also notched their seventh-best performance of the 2009 season.
Although the Broncos earned their best all-time regional finish, it wasn’t enough to advance the team to the 2009 NCAA Championships held April 17-19 in Lincoln, Neb. The No.2 University of Utah posted a meet-winning score of 197.675 while No. 14 Illinois snagged a second-place finish and the final advancing spot with a 196.70 team score. The Broncos edged out No.11 Auburn who finished fourth Saturday night at the Bank of America Arena with a score of 195.250. The host team, Washington, and fellow Western Athletic Conference team, San Jose State, tied for a fifth place finish with team scores of 194.80.
The Broncos finished third as a team on bars and beam with scores of 48.975 and 48.90, respectively. They also placed fourth on floor with a 48.80 and fifth as a team on vault with a 48.825. Sophomore Hannah Redmon earned the highest individual placing by a Bronco, finishing in ties for sixth-place on bars and floor.
After sitting out with a bye in the first rotation, the Broncos leapt into the Boise State record books on bars in the second rotation, notching the best NCAA Regional team bars score in school history with a 48.975.
The team score also marked the fourth-best for the Broncos this season. Also launching themselves into the record books, redshirt junior Taylor Jacob and Redmon each scored a 9.850, good for a tie for No.3 in all-time regional marks by Boise State as well as a tie for sixth-place in Saturday’s competition.
In the third rotation, BSU earned a 48.90 on the balance beam, placing the Broncos in third in the team standings after two events and a bye for each team. On beam, the Broncos posted their third-highest team score of the season, as well as the third-best score at a regional meet in school history.
Newly crowned WAC beam champion Kelsey Lang led the Broncos for the second-straight meet, earning her third-best score of the season with a 9.825 tying for 11th in Saturday’s meet. The mark ties her for No.8 all-time in Boise State’s regional competition individual scores.
Freshman Lindsay Kazandjian earned a 9.80 while tying with Dziawura for 15th place. Sophomore Sarah Smith was the lead-off for the Broncos, tying her season-best of 9.750 and placing 22nd. Jacob earned a 9.725 to tie for 23rd place while Neroes posted a 9.225, good for 38th place.
After sitting out on a bye, the Broncos geared up for the floor exercise where they earned a 48.80, good for No.7 all-time in Boise State regional competitions. Redmon led the team in her second event of the night where she tied her second-best score of the season with a 9.875.
The mark placed her in a tie for sixth place while also tying her for the fourth-best by a Bronco at the regional championships all-time.
Junior Yvette Leizorek tied her third-best score of the season with a 9.80 to finish second for the Broncos and tie for 21st-place. Kazandjian placed 27th with a 9.750 performance, tying her fifth-best score of the season. Smith earned a 9.725 to place 30th while freshman Fiona Leslie and earned a score of 9.650 to tie for 34th-place. Lang rounded out the Broncos with a 9.575 and a 36th place finish.
The vault has been a strong event for the Broncos this season, but Saturday night they struggled a bit, scoring only their seventh-best mark of the season with a 48.825. The team mark ranks second all-time in regional competitions, however. Senior Shaniece Craft led the Broncos in her final competition as a Bronco, tying for ninth-place with a 9.825. Her mark tied her for No.4 all-time in the Boise State regional meet history.
Redmon was the next highest Bronco, earning a 9.80, good to tie a No.10 spot in all-time Boise State regional competitions and place in a tie for 13th place overall. Leizorek earned her second-best vault score of the season when she hit a 9.750 and tied for 22nd place. Neroes completed her career as a Bronco with a matching score. Junior Ruthie Pennington posted a 9.70 to place 34th while redshirt freshman Chelsee Apple placed in 38th with a score of 9.60.
The University of Utah’s Kristina Baskett won the all-around title, scoring a 39.650. Baskett earned sole possession of the vault title with a 9.950 performance while sharing the floor title with teammate Annie DiLuzio with the same score.
Utah’s Jamie Deetscreek shared the beam title with Allison Buckley with a 9.950 score. Finishing as an event winner who is not a part of an advancing team, San Jose State’s Thomasina Wallace earned a berth to the NCAA Championships as an individual competitor with her win on bars with a 9.950.
Wallace was joined by Veronica Porte in advancing as all-around competitors at the championships when they snagged the fifth place and eighth place spots at the regional meet. Utah earned the top-three places, while Illinois placed fourth, sixth and seventh, allowing the pair of Spartans to advance to the championships.
The Broncos complete their season with a 23-7 record as well as a 14-1 record against WAC opponents. who have been an integral part to the success of the 2009 Boise State gymnastics program.
COURTESY BRONCOSPORTS
