Feb. 14, 2003

Final Stats

RALEIGH, NC - Utah State gymnast Meagan Nelson won the all-around competition (39.225) and teammate Jessica Parenti took second (39.075) as the Aggies finished in second place at NC State's Hearts Invitational Friday. No. 25 NC State won the meet with a team score of 195.575, USU was second (194.350), William and Mary finished third (193.175) and Rhode Island was fourth (190.825).

"We competed extremely well on the floor exercise, vault and bars," said head coach Ray Corn. "We haven't had to count a fall on beam in three meets, but we didn't finish the meet tonight. We need to be aggressive every time we walk out onto the floor."

Nelson, Parenti and senior all-around competitor Nicole Kilpatrick posted six top-three finishes among them. Parenti tied for first on bars (9.875) and led the Aggies with a second-place finish on beam (9.825). Kilpatrick was second on vault (9.875) and tied for third on floor (9.850). Nelson tied for first on floor (9.875) and finished third on vault (9.825). She is the first gymnast in USU history to score higher than 39.000 in the team's first six meets of the season, and is tied with Christy Denson for 39.00-plus all-around scores in consecutive all-around appearances (1999).

Friday, USU never trailed in the meet and went into the final rotation with a .600 lead, but the Aggies had to count two falls on beam. However, USU won bars, as the Aggies topped the 49.000 mark on bars for the third consecutive meet (49.100). Additionally, the team's vault score of 48.725 and floor score of 49.100 are its second-best of the year in each of those events.

Freshman Ashley Barr posted career highs on vault, bars and floor, and her 9.850 took third on bars. Sophomore Katie Rutherford's 9.700 on vault was also a career high.

The Aggies are now 5-5 on the season. USU hosts BYU Friday, Feb. 21 in a 7 p.m. meet in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

TOP THREE BY EVENT NC STATE 195.575 UTAH STATE 194. 350 WILLIAM AND MARY 193.175 RHODE ISLAND 190.825

VAULT (NCSU 48.800, USU 48.725, CWM 47.800, URI 47.550)1. Molly Pennington (NCSU) 9.900,2. Nicole Kilpatrick (USU) 9.875,3. Meagan Nelson (USU) 9.825
BARS (USU 49.100, NCSU 48.825, CWM 48.175, URI 47.200)1T. Jessica Parenti (USU) 9.875,1T. Marlyn Mandy (NCSU) 9.875,3. Ashley Barr (USU) 9.850
BEAM (NCSU 48.725, CWM 48.275, URI 47.700, USU 47.425)1. Cara Dougherty (NCSU) 9.875,2. Jessica Parenti (USU) 9.825,3. Leah Sabo (NCSU) 9.800
FLOOR (NCSU 49.225, USU 49.100, CWM 48.925, URI 48.375)1T. Meagan Nelson (USU) 9.875,1T. Cori Goldstein (NCSU) 9.875,3T. Nicole Kilpatrick (USU) 9.850,3T. Marlyn Madey (NCSU) 9.850,3T. Leah Sabo (NCSU) 9.850,3T. Emma Cross (CWM) 9.850
ALL-AROUND1. Meagan Nelson (USU) 39.225,2. Jessica Parenti (USU) 39.075,3. Leah Sabo (NCSU) 38.675