PROVO, Utah – Coming out on top on senior night, No. 14 BYU beat both University of Washington and Illinois State at the Marriot Center on Friday night.

MEET RESULTS

"We had a good performance tonight," said head coach Guard Young. "But we have bigger goals than just winning a gymnastics meet on Senior Night. We are vying for a conference championship and going to make a run at the NCAA tournament."

Sadie Miner Van-Tassell tied her all-around career high with a score of 39.525 to take home the title. Along with the all-around title, Miner-Van Tassell also notched the highest score of the night on vault with a 9.900. Brittney Vitkauskas and Miner-Van Tassell shared the top spot on the podium for floor with individual scores of 9.925. 

Fifth year senior, Haley Pitou started off the night with a strong 9.800 score on vault for BYU. Elease Rollins followed with a 9.850. Both Lexi Griffith and Sydney Benson also came out strong with 9.825 each. Miner-Van Tassell ended the first rotation with a 9.900 to post the highest score on the apparatus for the Cougars. BYU finished the first round with a 49.200, Illinois trailed with 47.575 and Washington with a 49.125.

BYU led the scoreboard going into the second round. Lindsey Hunter began by posting a solid 9.800 on uneven bars. Allix Mason followed with a strong 9.825 for the Cougars and Anyssa Alvarado notched a 9.925. Hitting their career highs on the apparatus, Miner-Van Tassell and Pitou continued to shine with a score of 9.925 for Miner-Van Tassell and a 9.975 for Pitou. With the second highest score in BYU history on bars, the Cougars finished with a 49.450. BYU ended the second round with a total score of 98.650. Illinois and Washington followed close behind with 98.225 for the Huskies and 95.200 for the Redbirds.

Lauren Ono started off strong for the Cougars with a score of 9.825 on beam. Mason followed with a solid score of 9.800. With a few slip-ups on the backend of the beam lineup, the Cougars ended the third round with a 147.250, giving up the lead to the Huskies with a score of 147.325. The Redbirds still trailed at 144.000.

BYU finished the night on floor. Senior Abby Beeston began with a solid score of 9.825 for the Cougars. Soaring in their floor routines, Miner-Van Tassell and Brittney Vitkkauskas both posted individual scores of 9.925 for BYU. The Cougars took back the lead in their final rotation with a score of 196.45 to edge out Washington's 195.800 and Illinois State's 192.800. 

PROVO, Utah - No. 14 BYU is back at home to compete against No. 22 Illinois State University and No. 35 University of Washington in the Marriott Center on Friday at 7 p.m. MST.

MEET NOTES

Seven BYU seniors will be recognized at the meet on Friday for their outstanding athletic and academic performances. The 2022 graduating gymnasts are: Abby Beeston, Haley Pitou, Rachel Bain Heaton, Sadie Miner-Van Tassell, Adeline Rieder, Lexi Griffith and Brittney Vitkauskas. 

Most recently, the Cougars and the RedBirds battled in a meet at the RedBird Arena on Feb. 28, 2020. BYU took home the victory with a final score of 196.850 to ISU's 193.275. The last time BYU faced UW was senior night in 2014 where the Cougars won with a score of 196.125 to Washington’s 194.300. 

Meet Information

• When: Friday, March 4
• Time: 7 p.m. MST 
• Location: Marriott Center 
• TV: BYUtv App
• Stats: statbroadcast.com

THE COUGARS. No. 14 BYU took home the top score with a 196.575 in a tri-meet against the Utah State Aggies and the Towson Tigers on Friday, February 25. Senior Sadie Miner-Van Tassell competed for all-around and came away with a score of 39.425 to receive the MRGC Gymnast of the Week honor for the seventh-consecutive week. Brittney Vitkauskas notched a career-high 9.950 on floor to secure the MRGC Floor Specialist of the Week honors and Elease Rollins took home her fourth MRGC Beam Specialist of the season.

THE REDBIRDS. No. 22 ISU posted a season-high score of 195.875 in a road win at Southeast Missouri on Friday, February 25. This team score ranks as the third highest in school history. Three-time defending MIC Gymnast of the Week, Angelica Labat, posted her career-best score of 39.475 to win the all-around, and Alana Laster posted a career-high mark on vault with a score of 9.950.

THE HUSKIES. No. 35 UW posted a 194.300 in a dual meet against the UCLA Bruins on Feb. 27. Skylar Killough-Wilhelm shined for the GymDawgs, posting a 9.900 on beam in the anchor position to share the top spot on the podium for that event on the night. Amara Cunningham also had a great performance of 9.900 on vault, which was the highest score of the night for the Huskies.