SALT LAKE CITY — The BYU gymnastics team closed out their NCAA tournament run with a 196.000 at the Utah Regional, finishing in fourth place Thursday evening.
Utah and Denver tied for first place with a 197.650, sending both teams to Regional Final on Saturday evening at 5 p.m. MT where they will take on UCLA and Minnesota. Stanford earned a third-place finish with a 196.500.
BYU opened the night on the balance beam. Senior Elize Millar-Crossman notched a 9.8 to get things going for the Cougars, followed by career highs from Chloee Hoke (9.875) and Deb Silva (9.825). Sophomore beam queen Brynlee Andersen anchored on beam with a team-high 9.9. With six stuck landings, the Cougars finished with a beam score of 49.150.
After the first rotation, Utah led with a 49.575, followed by Denver’s 49.400, Stanford’s 49.250 and BYU’s 49.150.
The Cougars found their rhythm on floor in the second rotation. Senior Olivia Matern notched a 9.825, followed by Sophie Dudley’s 9.850. Heidi Schooley-Meyers earned a 9.8 and Kylie Eaquinto and Brynlee Andersen closed out the rotation with a pair of 9.850s. With five scores above 9.8, BYU earned a team floor score of 49.175.
The Utes held onto their lead after rotation two with an overall score of 98.975. The Pioneers followed closely behind with a 98.800, and the Cardinal came in third with a 98.550. The Cougars rounded out the group with a 98.325.
Dudley opened BYU’s vault rotation with a 9.850, tying her career high on the event. She was followed by three scores of 9.825 from Mya Kirkham, Ava Jorgensen and Eaquinto. Silva tallied a 9.8 before Anna Bramblett-Wilde scored a career-high 9.8 in her first time competing on vault this season. The Cougars finished with their third-highest team vault score of the season at 49.125.
After a perfect 10 from Olympian Grace McCallum, Utah pulled away heading into the final rotation of the evening with a 148.475. Denver held onto second place with a 148.125. BYU pulled ahead of Stanford after the Cardinal counted a fall on beam, scoring a 147.450. Stanford rounded out the group with a 147.150.
BYU finished their final meet of the season on the uneven bars. After a fall by Kirkham, Addilyn Glazier and Alilah Alvarado scored a pair of 9.8s. Jorgensen tied her career high with a 9.850 and Eaquinto scored a 9.850 of her own. With another fall by Bramblett-Wilde in the anchor spot, the Cougars scored a 48.550 on bars to finish the competition.
Despite pulling ahead of Stanford after rotation three, the Cougars ended their final meet of the season with a fourth-place finish and a score of 196.000.