PROVO, Utah – In the 2024 season, BYU women’s gymnastics finished as the No. 25 team in the nation and made a run to the NCAA Regionals tournament. The Cougars racked up new high scores in their inaugural season in the Big 12 Conference for a season full of highlights.
The 2024 team finished the season with a 196.356 average and a 196.665 National Qualifying Score (NQS) to hold them among the top teams in the nation. BYU reached the top-25 rankings twice this season, coming in at No. 19 in week two and No. 24 in week seven.
The Cougars finished their 2024 season with an overall record of 12-17-1, going 3-5 in Big 12 conference matchups and 2-2 at home in the Marriott Center. They finished ranked No. 24 on the uneven bars, No. 29 on the balance beam, No. 32 on vault and No. 37 on floor.
BYU said goodbye to seven seniors after the 2024 season: Elease Rollins, Allix Mason, Anyssa Alvarado, Lindsey Hunter-Kempler, Sydney Benson, Anna Bramblett and Lauren Ono.
RISING STARS
Brynlee Andersen
Andersen competed on the balance beam at every meet as a true freshman, qualifying for NCAA regional competition as an individual competitor on the appartatus. Receiving 10’s from a judge during two meets this season, Andersen received a career-and-team high 9.975 on beam against Ohio State in the Marriott Center. At her first-ever regionals, she scored a 9.900 the first night against Boise State and a 9.825 her second night. Earning scores above a 9.8 at 13 of the 15 meets this season, Andersen earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week in week 10.
Ava Jorgensen
As a true freshman, Jorgensen competed in three events this season. Competing on vault in all but one meet, she earned a new career-high score of 9.900. Also competing on the uneven bars and floor five times each, she earned career-high scores of 9.825 (bars) and 9.875 (floor). Jorgensen’s floor routine was a hit with BYU’s student section, the ROC, as it incorporated the song “Power” by Kanye West.
COUGAR STANDOUTS
Elease Rollins
A fifth-year senior and BYU’s Beam Queen, Rollins was a staple competitor for the Cougars. Competing on the balance beam in every meet this season and qualifying for NCAA regionals as an individual competitor on the event, she scored a season-high 9.925 twice. She earned five scores above a 9.9 on the beam during her final season as a Cougar gymnast. Rollins also played a role in the vault lineup, competing on the event in eight meets this season and earning a season-high 9.800 on the apparatus.
Anyssa Alvarado
As BYU’s fifth-year senior bars specialist, Alvarado earned a new career-high 9.950 on the apparatus, which she achieved twice this season. With a 9.950 in the opening meet of the season, Alvarado earned BYU’s first-ever Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week honors. Qualifying for NCAA regionals as an individual competitor, Alvarado proved consistent in the backend of the uneven bars lineup for the Cougars, earning scores over a 9.8 in 11 meets this season, with four scores above a 9.9. Alvarado continued to push her limits, doing a new dismount on her routine in her final year as a Cougar gymnast.
Kylie Eaquinto
After her standout freshman season, Eaquinto continued to prove her consistency during her sophomore year. She competed in three events for the entirety of the season, competing on bars in every meet. Eaquinto earned at least one score above a 9.8 in every meet this season, earning a new career-high score of 9.975 with her floor routine. With this new high score on floor, Eaquinto earned Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week in week 11 of the season. She scored season-high scores of 9.875 on vault and 9.850 on bars, proving to be a staple competitor in three lineups for the Cougars.
BYU's 2024 Big 12 Weekly Award Winners
Week 1:
Anyssa Alvarado - Event Specialist of the Week
Week 10:
Brynlee Andersen - Newcomer of the Week
Week 11:
Kylie Eaquinto - Event Specialist of the Week
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
BYU started its season at the second-ever Super 16 Vegas meet, earning a fourth-place finish with a final team score of 195.900. The Cougars followed-up with back-to-back quad meets at the Maverik Center. The Cougars earned a third-place finish at their first-ever ESPN Collegiate Quad with a score of 196.100, and took home a second-place finish at the fifth-annual Rio Tinto Best of Utah meet, with a final score of 195.775. BYU’s overall score would only go up from there.
The Cougars broke 196.000 at 11 meets this season and broke 197.000 twice. At the Super 16 Vegas meet, the BYU bar swingers earned a score of 49.425, which tied for the third-best score on the apparatus in program history.
BYU posted its highest event score with a 49.475 on floor in a quad meet at Washington on March 15. The Cougar floor workers proved competitive this season, scoring 49.325 and above in five meets.
The Cougars' highest overall team score came at their first-ever Big 12 Championships, notching a 197.050 against some of the top teams in the nation. This was BYU's first score above 197 in the last three years.
Bringing the season to a close, BYU accepted an invitation to the NCAA Arkansas Regional, hosted by Arkansas at the Bud Walton Arena. On April 3, the team went head-to-head with Boise State, which ended in dramatic fashion with a 195.750 tie. After tallying all six scores on each event, the Cougars advanced to the second day of regionals on the tiebreaker. BYU finished its 2024 season on Thursday, April 4 with a third-place finish and final score of 196.500.
BYU had five gymnasts qualify for regionals as individual competitors: Sydney Benson (vault), Anna Bramblett (bars), Anyssa Alvarado (bars), Brynlee Andersen (beam) and Elease Rollins (beam).
For the season as a whole individually, Ava Jorgensen and Melissa Earl earned the highest scores on vault with a score of 9.900 each. Anna Bramblett and Alvarado led the team on bars with a 9.950 to tie the second-highest bars score at BYU. On beam, Andersen earned a 9.975 to tie the second-highest score on record for the program. Eaquinto earned the highest floor score of the year with a 9.975 on the apparatus.