BYU gymnastics celebrated Valentine's Day Friday night by defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers 195.675 to 195.000.
Fans and gymnasts alike showed up and showed the love at the gymnastics meet Friday. A pink Marriott Center is quite a sight, fans were decked out and all the gymnasts were covered in glitter, but the Cougars told the subtle story of the night.
The tiny details told the love story of the gymnasts and their craft (and of course, Valentines Day). The rhinestone heart on the front of the leotards hid a tiny message within it: “Love one another.”
Upon a closer look, there was even more, the sleeves and underarms contained the same written message in a stunning script. Then written on the back, perhaps the simplest way to send the message: “John 13:34.”
The Cougars had a stellar night at the Marriott Center.
Jadyn Harsh scored a new career high on the vault, a 9.850. Sophie Dudley and Heidi Schooley-Meyers both hit a new season high score on the floor exercise, with a 9.875 and 9.850 respectively. And with those new floor scores the team brought home its highest floor score of the season — a 49.325.
Schooley-Meyers and Eliza Millar-Crossman had a lot to say about why they love gymnastics.
“You’re hunting for perfection," Schooley-Meyers said. "You keep going, trying to get that 10. It just makes you love it.”
“We train to make hard things look easy," Millar-Crossman said. "We love to make these really hard things that we’ve been working on for 15 years look so easy. Performing is the funnest thing I’ve ever done.”
“They feed off the crowd and just perform with so much joy," said assistant coach Brogan Evanson.
The BYU gymnastics team proved that they have the love, the drive, and the skills to compete in the big leagues of the Big 12.
Schooley-Meyers’ parting words perfectly summarized what drives her in her career: “I’ve always dreamed about repping the Y.”
Love is what drives them — and love is what brought home the winning score for the Cougars.