Road Trip Concludes with In-State Foe

PROVO -- Coming off meets in Texas and Missouri, the No. 19 BYU gymnastics team will finish off a three-meet road swing with in-state rival Southern Utah Monday night.

"This is the time of year you have to hit your routines," BYU coach Brad Cattermole said. "We need to get excited and get after it. We need to find a way to work through things and hit."

After being ranked No. 23 last week, the Cougars jumped up four spots to No. 19, their highest ranking since they ended the 2005 campaign at No. 11. In Monday's rankings released by Troester Consulting, BYU has a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 193.790. An RQS is an average of six select meet scores. Of the four teams in the state, only perennial-power and No. 5 Utah has a higher RQS.

Cattermole's squad is coming off a victory over Southeast Missouri State last weekend in which it posted its second-highest total of the season on balance beam. The Cougars recorded a 49.050 behind Dayna Smart's 9.900 and Lisa Willis' career-high 9.875. Senior Kacie Capra-Callens was also strong on the event with a season-best 9.850. Junior Aimee Walker-Pond led the team on bars with a season-high 9.775.

SUU is coming off a season-best performance of 194.575 against Utah State last weekend. The Thunderbirds will have another meet with the Aggies Friday night before welcoming BYU to town on Monday. SUU currently has an RQS of 191.380 and is ranked No. 36 nationally. The Thunderbirds are led by all-arounders Leah Sakhitab and Elise Wheeler.

The Cougars will see an old friend Monday in Cedar City. Former BYU All-American Kari Lords is in her first season as an assistant coach to Scott Bauman at SUU.

Start time is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Centrum. Live stats will not be available.