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.
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.