BYU gymnastics beats Boise State in home opener
Laveni Vaka
BYU gymnastics scored a 198.475 to secure a victory over Boise State (195.250) Friday night at the Marriott Center.
“We are super excited to be back in the Marriott Center, brand new set up, and the ROC presence was unreal,” head coach Guard Young said.
Sophie Dudley started the Cougars off strong on the vault with a score of 9.725. Following Dudleyb, was All-American Elease Rollins, finishing with 9.625 on vault. Freshman Kylie Eaquinto earned the highest vault score for the Cougars with a 9.825.
The Cougars were trailing behind going into the second rotation on the uneven bars. Allix Mason and Sydney Benson opened up uneven bars and each recorded a score of 9.825.
Anyssa Alvarado, the captain of uneven bars, helped secure the lead in the second rotation. Alvarado earned the highest bars score at the meet with a 9.925, earning first place at the meet.
“I was a little bit nervous, the stakes were a bit higher, but I just try to be as confident as I can because we prepared so well in the gym,” Alvarado said after her performance on bars.
The BYU lineup for the beam rotation included Allix mason with a score of 9.800, Madison Raesly-Patton and Lauren Ono rounded their scores with a 9.600, sophomore Mina Margraf with a 9.225, and Sophie Dudley with a 9.500. The “beam queen” Elease Rollins closed out the rotation for the Cougars with a score of 9.900.
Despite faults in the balance beam rotation, Guard had a positive outlook. “We are on the beam now, let’s put those skills down,” Guard said. “We are gonna analyze it and go back into the gym and attack it.”
The last rotation of the night was floor, where BYU brought the heat. Rebekah Ripley performed her viral routine “Barbie Girl” by Aqua. Ripley scored a 9.925, earning her first overall on floor. BYU finished with a score of 49.250.
The Cougars have shown to continually improve each meet. BYU will be on the road for the next two weekends for tournament play. The next home game will be Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. in the Marriott Center.
