BYU gymnastics recorded 10 individual career highs and scored their highest mark of the season, but still fell to Denver Friday night in the Smith Fieldhouse.
The Cougars score of 196.425 was not good enough to beat Denver’s 196.550, but head coach Brad Cattermole was not disappointed.
“It was a great meet, we finally competed like we do in practice,” Cattermole said. “On the floor we struggled a little bit because we still had last meet’s struggles on our mind. I’m sure we’ll come out of that in the next meet or two and we’ll be back to looking really good on the floor.”
Overall, the night belonged to senior Raquel Willman Hatch, who scored a career high 39.425 and won the all around. Right behind her, Makenzie Johnson finished with a 39.375, another career high.
On the vault, BYU was led by Elaine Kulczyk, who matched her own career high of 9.875 and helped the Cougars score a 49.100, good enough to beat Denver’s 49.075. Johnson and Hatch chipped in, each scoring a 9.825.
The Cougars also topped the Pioneers on the uneven bars, scoring a season best 49.325. The Pioneers scored 49.300. Hatch, Johnson and Kulczyk all had career bests, scoring a 9.950, 9.875 and a 9.850, respectively.
The amazing individual performances continued for the Cougars on the beam, where Summer Raymond and Ashley Follet both recorded their own career highs. Raymond tallied a 9.900, followed by Follett with a 9.800, but BYU’s overall score of 49.075 was not good enough to top Denver’s 49.200
On the floor routine, two Cougars recorded their career highs. KayCee Gassaway scored a 9.775 and Johnson scored a 9.900. Hatch secured her top all-around spot with a mark of 9.850. Again, the Cougars finished with a season high (48.925), but failed to top Denver (48.975).
BYU stays home, and will seek revenge against previous opponent Utah State, who visits the Smith Fieldhouse next Friday.
