DENVER – No. 18 BYU took third place with an overall score of 194.875 against No. 11 Denver (196.750), Ball State (195.450) and Bowling Green (194.525) Saturday night at Hamilton Gymnasium.

"It was a great gymnastics environment tonight with a sellout crowd and four teams going on at the same time," head coach Guard Young said. "The girls will have to learn how to handle that type of environment. You either win or you learn, so we’re going to learn from this."

Despite the loss, the Cougars earned a season-high 48.975 on vault while freshmen Avery Bennett and Haley Pitou set career highs on vault and bars, respectively.

BYU started the night with a strong performance on bars. Senior Brittni Hawes posted a season-high score of 9.925, followed by Pitou's career-high 9.875. Sophomore Shannon Hortman Evans earned a 9.850, giving the team a score of 49.150 for second place. Denver ended the first rotation with a 49.275 on vault, with Ball State earning a 48.550 on beam and Bowling Green receiving a 48.100 on floor.

"The bars team was spectacular," Young said. "They struggled in the warm-ups, and so seeing the girls put that aside was amazing. I am very proud of their performances."

In the second rotation, Natasha Trejo Marsh anchored the Cougars on beam with a 9.825. Abby Boden and Hannah Miller both performed well, earning a 9.750 and 9.700, respectively. However, three falls on the event brought the team's score down as BYU ended the rotation at 96.700. Denver continued to lead after the second rotation with a 98.025, with Ball State jumping to second (97.350) and Bowling Green coming in third (97.050).

Currently ranked eighth in the nation on floor, the Cougars started the third rotation strong. Briana Pearson opened the event with a 9.850, matching her season-high score. Evans and Kyleigh Greenlief both also posted a 9.850, matching another season-high score for Greenlief. Seniors Jill van Mierlo and Mackenzie Douglas both added scores of 9.825. BYU finished the rotation with a floor score of 49.200 and overall total at 145.900 for third. Denver maintained its lead at 147.400, followed by Ball State's 146.425. Bowling Green fell to fourth at 145.775.

The Cougars ended the meet on vault with a season-high score of 48.975.  Bennett set a career high with the team's highest event score of the night, 9.875. Van Mierlo matched her career high on vault with a 9.825, setting a season-high score on the event as well. Angel Zhong earned a 9.800, bringing the Cougars' final score to 194.875. Denver ended the meet on top with 196.750. Ball State took second with a 195.450 and Bowling Green earned fourth with a total of 194.525. 

BYU at Denver Final Results

BYU heads to Cedar City, Utah, next week to take on Southern Utah University. The meet is scheduled to take place on Friday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. MST in Centrum Arena. Live streaming will be available. 

PROVO, Utah - No. 18 BYU gymnastics continues its record-breaking season on the road in Colorado against No. 11 Denver, Bowling Green and Ball State on Saturday night.

"I like our high-scoring gymnastics," head coach Guard Young said. "We're competing with some of the bigger teams out there. I hope we can go and perform just like we did last week so we can earn some of those same big scores."

After three weeks of home meets, the Cougars head to Denver to compete in their second away meet of the season. The Pioneers beat Utah State last week 196.675 to 195.000. On Sunday, Bowling Green set a season-high score of 195.500 against Western Michigan while Ball State beat Kent State with a season-high 195.600 to 193.600.

Last Friday, BYU set a season-high score of 196.450 against Air Force, the team's highest overall score since 2005. Five Cougars set new career-highs: Shannon Hortman Evans in all-around (39.300), Abby Boden on bars (9.825), Abby Miner on vault (9.750) and floor (9.850), Haley Pitou on bars (9.725) and Angel Zhong on bars (9.775) and beam (9.750). 

Mackenzie Douglas' career-high 9.925 on floor led to her third-consecutive week as Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference Floor Specialist of the Week. Natasha Trejo Marsh and Evans both matched career-high scores on bars, leading to their titles as MRGC Bars Specialists of the Week.

The meet is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. MST at Hamilton Gymnasium in Denver. The meet will have live stats available.