PROVO -- The No. 36 BYU gymnastics team battled No. 2 Utah Friday night in the Marriott Center, falling to the Utes 193.925-196.700 in the Deseret Duel Rivalry Series. The Cougars continue to improve their score, with tonight's score being their best this season.

"I was very pleased with how we fought and stayed in the game," said BYU head coach Brad Cattermole. "People can get rattled when Utah is around, but our kids did a great job."

The Cougars began the night on the vault, quickly proving their strength by posting a team score of 48.700. Senior Dayna Smart-Allen, currently ranked No. 21 nationally on the vault, led BYU in the event with her season-best score of 9.875. Senior Alethea Boon bolstered the team score with her season-best 9.850.

Senior Kylee Draper-Marvin, No. 22 on the bars, led a strong BYU bar rotation with a score of 9.800. Despite a few slips by the Cougar squad, the team achieved a score of 48.650. Sophomore Melissa Hough's strong performance of 9.775 improved the team score, while sophomore McKell Poulson stuck a season high 9.750.

"McKell Poulson fought like a son-of-a-gun to stay on the bars, and she stuck a great landing," Cattermole said.

Moving to the balance beam, the Cougars made several key landings to post a team score of 47.875. Smart-Allen led BYU on the beam with a solid 9.800 performance. Junior Hayley Jensen proved her strength with a score of 9.750.

The Cougars concluded the night on the floor, the team's best event of the evening. Jensen led the team with a career-best score of 9.825, which catapulted her to tie for the individual title in the floor rotation. Sophomore Heidi Poulson not only pleased the crowd with her entertaining performance, but scored a season-high 9.700. Sophomore Kiki Berret also led the team with her season-high of 9.750.

"I think we're moving in the right direction," said Cattermole. "The girls are getting better and better, and working really hard in practice. I think that will pay off throughout the season."

BYU will travel to Logan, Utah, next Friday to take on the Utah State Aggies and the New Hampshire Wildcats. The Cougars will next be in action at home on Feb. 27, when they will face Southeast Missouri State.

Meet: UTAH Utes - BYU Cougars 20080208
Date: 2/08/2008
# Team Name Vault Bars Beam Floor Final
1 Univ of Utah Utes 49.325 49.250 49.050 49.075 196.700
2 BYU Cougars 48.700 48.650 47.875 48.700 193.925
Individual Results on Vault
1 GOLDMAN, Danielle 9.525
2 RASMUSEN, Heidi POULSON- 9.625
3 BERRETT, Kiki 9.650
4 JENSEN, Hayley 9.700
5 BOON, Alethea 9.850
6 ALLEN, Dayna SMART 9.875	
Team: 48.700 
Individual Results on Bars
1 POULSON, Mckell 9.750
2 JOHNSON, Madeleine 9.700
3 HOUGH, Melissa 9.775
4 DONEHUE, Megan 9.625
5 DRAPER-MARVIN, Kylee 9.800
Team: 48.650 
Individual Results on Beam
1 JOHNSON, Madeleine 9.275
2 GALLUP, Kaylee  9.425
3 BOON, Alethea 9.200
4 JENSEN, Hayley 9.750
5 DRAPER-MARVIN, Kylee 9.625
6 ALLEN, Dayna SMART- 9.800
Team: 47.875
Individual Results on Floor
1 GOLDMAN, Danielle  9.675
2 BOON, Alethea  9.625
3 BERRETT, Kiki  9.750
4 RASMUSEN, Heidi POULSON-  9.700
5 DRAPER-MARVIN, Kylee 9.750
6 JENSEN, Hayley  9.825
Team: 48.700

PROVO -- The No. 36 BYU gymnastics team will go head-to-head with No. 2 Utah in the first home meet of the season on Friday at 7 p.m., as part of the Deseret Duel Rivalry Series.

"What we're attempting to do is score the highest we can," said BYU head coach Brad Cattermole. "I am looking forward to this meet to see how well the gymnasts perform. We are getting better and better."

Last week the Cougars scored 193.350 in a quad meet against in-state foe Southern Utah, Boise State and CS Fullerton, but plan to improve the already solid team score. BYU plans to keep progressing throughout the season. On Friday, five Cougar gymnasts surpassed career-best scores in at least one event.

"We are trying to improve every meet we go to," Cattermole said. "We are continuing to get some of the girls back and healthy. That and continually progressing is what I am concerned with the most."

Senior Dayna Smart-Allen will help lead the Cougars in their goal of improving performance. After only competing in one meet this season, Smart-Allen is ranked No. 14 on beam and No. 21 on the vault. On bars, senior Kylee Draper-Marvin also proved her strength grabbing a No. 22 national ranking on the event.

Friday's meet marks the first time BYU and Utah gymnastics teams have met under the newly created Deseret Duel series, but this actually is the 83rd time the two teams have met in program history. The Utes hold an 80-2 advantage in the series. The last time the Cougars topped the Utes was in 1998 in the Marriott Center.

Cattermole, though, said he is not focusing on the much talked about in-state rival. He is focused simply on his team's performance on Friday.

"I don't really pay that much attention who we are going against from week to week," Cattermole said. "It is more important to me how we score because that is how you get to Regionals and Nationals. There is no defense to get them off of their game. We just want to do the best we can."

The meet will be held in the Marriott Center. Fans who are not able to attend can watch the action live on BYU-TV or keep up with scores through live stats found at http://www.byucougars.com/Schedule.jsp?SP=152&YR=2007.