Titans Can’t Catch Boise St., Utah St.

Cal State Fullerton went into Saturday’s Big West Conference women’s gymnastics championships in Titan Gym with limited expectations.

After all, defending conference champion Utah State was ranked 18th nationally and Boise State 23rd.

Those two teams took the top spots, as expected, but Boise State edged the Aggies for the team title, 195.475 to 195.20. Fullerton settled for third place (192.325) in the four-team field that also included UC Santa Barbara (187.925).

Julie Knight, the Titans’ associate head coach, was named conference coach of the year. Knight was in charge of the team this season while Coach Lynn Rogers concentrated on fund-raising for the athletic department.

The Titans’ Megan Berry took sixth in the all-around with a 38.575 score. Her season average is expected to qualify her for the NCAA West Regional at Oregon State. Utah State’s Christy Denson won the all-around (39.400) and the balance beam.

“Megan did her job, and she should qualify,” Knight said. “We won’t know for sure until Monday when all the scores are in, but it looks good. There was a lot of pressure on her in this meet. She needed a good meet to keep some people who were below her from moving ahead of her, and she got it.”

Berry said she was pleased. “I was really excited and nervous at the same time, not knowing what to expect,” said Berry, a freshman.

Another Titan freshman, Kellie Francia, tied for eighth in the all-around, helped by a tie for third in the vault. “She has an outside chance of qualifying for the regional,” Knight said.

The Titans made a good showing in floor exercise with sophomore Natalia Acosta finishing in a tie for fourth. Berry tied for sixth and sophomore Marianne Griffen was 10th. All three had their season-best performances in the event.

Titan freshman Katie Antolin finished eighth on the uneven bars. Sophomore Stephanie Vittorio had Fullerton’s best effort on the beam, tying for 11th.

Fullerton will not qualify for the regional as a team for the second consecutive season. Prior to that, the Titans had advanced 22 times in 23 seasons.