LINCOLN, Nebraska – BYU senior Sadie Miner-Van Tassell shone in her season debut for BYU gymnastics and helped lead the Cougars to a 195.750-193.925 win over Nebraska.
The meet marked the first time since January of 2020 that the Cougars and Huskers faced each other for a gymnastics meet. The last time the two met, BYU took home the win with another 195.750.
“Nebraska has an amazing athletic department, and they put on a great meet,” said BYU head coach Guard Young. “They are not on our normal schedule, so it was really cool to come to a school with such a fantastic environment and compete at a high level. I am really proud of the girls. Our performances were awesome, and the girls stuck together and did not shy away from their routines. The girls stayed focused and positive and the state of the program is what I am really excited for."
BYU started the night strong on the uneven bars with a final score of 49.100, putting them ahead of Nebraska (48.525) at the end of the first rotation. Senior Abby Beeston and Anyssa Alvarado led the Cougars on the bars, both registering 9.850 scores. Miner-Van Tassell competed on the apparatus for the first time this season and notched a score of 9.800.
The Cougars continued to push to new heights on vault in the second rotation. Miner-Van Tassell finished with a 9.825 to lead the Cougars on vault. They finished the round with a 48.775, keeping them in the lead. The Cougars improved upon their vault score from their season opener last week at the Rio Tinto Best of Utah Meet (48.575) by .2.
BYU soared on their floor routines in the third rotation. Freshman Eliza Millar started the rotation for the Cougars and notched a 9.775. She was followed by Lindsey Hunter who also secured a 9.775. Miner-Van Tassell and Adeline Rieder led the scoring for the Cougars with a 9.850 each, which marked a new career high for Rieder. BYU ended the rotation in first place with a 146.950.
The final rotation of the night for the Cougars was beam. Lauren Ono was first up on the apparatus and notched a 9.775. Miner-Van Tassell continued to shine with the highest beam score for the Cougars with a 9.850. BYU ended the night with a new season high of 195.750, followed by Nebraska with a 193.925.
Miner-Van Tassell won the All-Around with a 39.325, followed by Nebraska’s Emma Spence with a 39.050. Miner-Van Tassell also scored the highest on both vault and beam in the competition.
“This is the first time Sadie competed in All-Around since high school, and I am so proud of her for taking home the win,” Young said. “I am so excited to see what she can do with the rest of this season.”
BYU will travel to Ceder City, Utah, next week to take on Southern Utah University on Friday, Jan. 21. The meet in the America First Event Center starts at 7 p.m. MST.