Boise State Gymnasts Return to Top of WAC Podium

Redemption is special.  Boise State had that chance last night when they went into San Jose State with the goal of returning the Western Athletic Conference gymnastics trophy to Boise.  Boise State also captured its sixth conference title of the season, second in the nation to Stanford's seven.  With the win, Boise State also widened its WAC Commissioner's Cup lead to 64.50-59.75 for Utah State.

The Broncos started and solid and finished with a flurry in ringing up an impressive 195.70 to turn back a determined Southern Utah team and reclaim the WAC title.  Boise State recorded six All-WAC finishes, with senior Hannah Redmon and junior Amy Glass each scoring individual titles.  Redmon topped all competitors on bars while Glass vaulted to conference glory and was named the WAC Gymnast of the Year.  

After the break, learn how the Broncos did it...



Boise State had a bye in the fourth rotation of the evening, so they could watch Southern Utah finish in the fifth rotation and know exactly what they needed to score to capture first place.  The competition came down to the final gymnast, and Glass needed a 9.025 on vault to give the Broncos a tie.  Glass scored a 9.9 and the Broncos were Champions!  Not only did Boise State win the WAC title but they also captured their third in the last four years.  The gymnastics title gave the Broncos their 31st WAC Championship since joining the conference 10 years ago.  

Southern Utah finished with a quality score of 194.825.  San Jose State, which was hoping to land one of the 32 spots in the Regional Championships, finished third with a score of 193.925.  Sacramento State was fourth (193.550), Utah State fifth (191.850) and Cal State Fullerton rounded out the field with a 191.650.  


Boise State rattled home a 49.175 team score on vault to take the title.  The Broncos were sticking landings and clearly looking like the great team that they are.  Coach Tina Bird and Neil Resnick's team also topped the WAC on bars (48.825) and floor (48.950).  Southern Utah stayed in the hunt with a brilliant collection of routines on beam, finishing with a sizzling 49.325.

Redmon tied Southern Utah's Alyssa Click with a 9.850 on bars to earn her sixth bars championship of the season and the 11th in her brilliant career.  Redmon is now tied for fifth all-time in career bar wins.  The Broncos had a slim lead over the Thunderbirds after the first rotation.

Senior Kelsey Lang led the Broncos on the beam with a fourth-place finish of 9.875.  That's a season-best for Lang and gave her confidence heading into Regionals.  Lindsay Kazandjian and Glass each managed 9.825's on the beam.  


Hailey Gaspar and Redmon each landed 9.825 scores in the floor exercises to tie for second on that apparatus.  Senior Sarah Smith also came through with a 9.80 to tie for eighth and the Broncos were one rotation away from the victory.  


Boise State didn't just nervously squeak by on vault; this team has been there too many times to do that.  They confidently stepped up like champions and landed the top three spots in the conference.  Each Bronco was solid in the rotation, led by Glass's 9.9.  Glass moved into a tie for 8th all-time with here seventh vault win.  Redmon was right there with a 9.875 and Gaspar scored 9.850.  Brittany Potvin-Green had a solid 9.80 while Amanda Otuafi and Smith each scored 9.750 for the WAC champs.


Although Glass is ranked eighth in the country in all-around, it was Cal State Fullerton's Alaina Baker who prevailed on this night with a 39.125.  Baker also won the WAC title on the floor with an impressive 9.9.  Brooke Cersosimo of SUU turned in a splendid 9.925 to win the beam.

The NCAA Regional pairings will be announced tomorrow.  Boise State will likely remain at #13 and will enter the Regionals April 2 as the third or fourth best team in their region.  Only the top two advance to Nationals.





Freshman of the Year: Julia Greer, San Jose State
Gymnast of the Year: Amy Glass, Boise State
Coach of the Year: Jill Hicks, Cal State Fullerton

Individual Champions
All-Around: Alaina Baker, Can State Fullerton, 39.125
Vault: Amy Glass, Boise State, 9.900
Uneven Bars: Hannah Redmon, Boise State/Alyssa Click, Southern Utah, 9.850
Balance Beam: Brooke Cersosimo, Southern Utah, 9.925
Floor Exercise: Alaina Baker, Cal State Fullerton, 9.900

First Team All-WAC HonorsVault
Amy Glass, Boise State, 9.900
Hannah Redmon, Boise State, 9.875
Hailey Gaspar, Boise State, 9.850

Bars
Hannah Redmon, Boise State, 9.850
Alyssa Click, Southern Utah, 9.850
Thomasina Wallace, San Jose State, 9.825
Michaela Chernoch, Southern Utah, 9.825

Beam
Brooke Cersosimo, Southern Utah, 9.925
Ari Lamb, Southern Utah, 9.900
Lissa Zamolo, Sacramento State, 9.900

Floor
Alaina Baker, Cal State Fullerton, 9.900
Shelly Cooper, Cal State Fullerton, 9.825
Hannah Redmon, Boise State, 9.825
Thomasina Wallace, San Jose State, 9.825
Shannon Coughlin, Southern Utah, 9.825
Hailey Gaspar, Boise State, 9.825
Katie Valleau, San Jose State, 9.825

All-Around
Alaina Baker, Cal State Fullerton, 39.125
Ari Lamb, Southern Utah, 39.100
Lily Swann, San Jose State, 38.800

Second Team All-WAC Honors 
Vault
Shelly Cooper, Cal State Fullerton, 9.825
Cassandra Harrison, San Jose State, 9.825
Brittany Potvin-Green, Boise State, 9.800
Shanice Howard, San Jose State, 9.800

Bars
Lily Swann, San Jose State, 9.800
Ari Lamb, Southern Utah, 9.775
Katie Merritt, San Jose State, 9.775
Nicole Meiller, Sacramento State, 9.775
Lauren Jeffrey, Southern Utah, 9.775

Beam
Alyssa Click, Southern Utah, 9.875
Caitlin Kennedy, Southern Utah, 9.875
Kelsey Lang, Boise State, 9.875

All-Around
Shelly Cooper, Cal State Fullerton, 38.775
Hannah Redmon, Boise State, 38.725
Thomasina Wallace, San Jose State, 38.675