CEDAR CITY, Utah — No. 11 BYU triumphed over No. 18 Southern Utah, 197.075-196.550, on Friday in Cedar City, equaling the 10th-highest score in program history. 

MEET RESULTS

Not only is 197.075 the highest score of the season for the Cougars, the team celebrated new season-high tallies on the uneven bars, vault and floor, including four career-high marks.

“SUU really knows how to run a fun, high energy gymnastics meet,” head coach Guard Young said. “They have fans who appreciate good gymnastics. It is an intimidating environment for the girls, but their fans do a great job at supporting both teams. Great team. Great meet. Hats off to them.”

A major highlight occurred when senior Abbey Miner-Alder trumped current MRGC Gymnast of the Week, Karley McClain, in the all-around. McClain finished with a 39.225. Meanwhile, Alder crushed her previous career high (39.375) and notched an impressive 39.500.

Young coaches the team to come out like “lightening” and the girls did just that, earning a 49.375 on the uneven bars, the eighth highest bars score in program history. Seniors Angel Zhong and Abbey Miner-Alder both snagged 9.850 scores with Alder matching her career high. Sophomore Anyssa Alvarado and junior Abby Beeston helped the score climb with 9.875 scores. Senior Abby Boden-Stainton topped it off with her career-high score of 9.925. This would win her the uneven bars title. 

Heading to the vault, BYU led by .400. The team carried its momentum into the second rotation, achieving yet another season-high total of 49.100 on the apparatus. Senior Haley Pitou and Zhong led the rotation by tying their season-high scores of 9.800. Freshman Allix Mason celebrated the first career-high score of the night, a 9.825. Alder would finish with a 9.850, the highest vault score of the meet, collecting the title alongside SUU’s Morgan Alfaro and Rachel Smith. 

The Cougars did not skip a beat on the floor, as they notched a 49.400, a season-high score. At this point, BYU celebrated season-high tallies on all three events and led by a wide margin of 147.875-147.275. The team boasted two more career-high scores from senior Jordan Danbury-Matthews, a 9.875, and junior Brittney Vitkauskas, a 9.925. Alder mimicked the 9.925, earning the pair the floor title for the night. 

Starting the final rotation, the Cougars held a daunting .600 lead over the Thunderbirds. All gymnasts earned a 9.775 or higher. Freshman Sophia McClelland and sophomore Lexi Mather contributed scores of 9.850, topped off by Alder’s score of 9.875. This would earn the all-arounder her third event title of the night. In the end, BYU earned a solid 49.200 on the event and its fourth consecutive win over SUU. 

“I’m really happy for Abbey Miner-Alder,” Young said. “With some COVID-19 protocols, she ended up coming in as an alternate on bars, which put her into the all-around. I know she was itching to get back in the all-around and that was a pretty impressive score. I’m proud of her for coming in at the last minute and winning that meet."

Coming up, the Cougars will host Boise State and Air Force Academy in a tri-meet on Friday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse.

PROVO, Utah — After a close loss in Los Angeles against No. 10 UCLA, the No. 11 BYU Cougars make their way to Cedar City to face MRGC rival No. 18 Southern Utah University.

MEET NOTES

The Cougars currently hold a three-meet winning streak over the Thunderbirds. Just last Friday, the MRGC rivals battled at BYU’s home opener in the Smith Fieldhouse where BYU walked away with a major advantage, 196.825-196.175, while posting a season-high score.

Additionally, at the start of the season on Jan. 9 at the Rio Tinto Best of Utah NCAA Gymnastics Meet in West Valley City, Utah, BYU placed second (195.700) to the University of Utah, with Utah State placing third and SUU fourth (194.325.)

“Right now we’re on auto-pilot mode,” head coach Guard Young said. “We get up, warm-up, compete and move on to the next arena. It was really nice to have a 2 p.m. meet (at UCLA) and we could sleep in before we bus it to Cedar City today.”

Meet Information

• When: Friday, Feb. 12
• Time: 7 p.m. MST 
• Location: America First Event Center
• Live Stream: https://pluto.tv/live-tv/southern-utah
• Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=suta

THE COUGARS. On Wednesday, BYU faced UCLA of the Pac-12, losing by a small margin of 196.600-196.325. Heading into the final rotation, the Cougars trailed by only. 075. Ending on beam, the lineup achieved the second-highest beam score of the season, a 49.225. This score stands as the 10th-best beam total in program history. A highlight included sophomore Lexi Mather celebrating a new career-high score of 9.875 on beam. Within the MRGC, senior Abbey Miner-Alder earned MRGC Floor Specialist of the Week. 

THE THUNDERBIRDS. In their previous matchup against the Cougars, the Thunderbirds fell by a margin of .650. However, Karley McClain took home the all-around title, boasting a 39.375. On top of this, she stands as the MRGC Gymnast of the Week for four consecutive weeks. In the conference, SUU sits at No. 18 in the nation. The team ranks highest on the uneven bars, currently sitting at No. 12 on the apparatus.