Freshmen score big in Cougar win

PROVO, Utah—Cougar freshmen highlighted Friday night’s meet between the BYU women’s gymnastics team and the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks, helping the Cougars to a 195.150-192.350 victory. BYU's mark is a season high for the team.

"We struggled a tiny bit on the beam and floor, but we continue to improve and continue to get better," BYU head coach Brad Cattermole said. "Our vault was really good tonight, but we can always get better. I'd say it was a solid meet. Not fantastic, but solid."

Freshman Eliane Kulczyk led the Cougars with a 9.875 on the vault, tying her career best. Fellow rookie Makenzie Johnson recorded the best vault of her career for the Cougars, scoring a 9.850. Their marks contributed to a 49.100 BYU score after the first rotation, a season-high for the team on the vault.

Haylee Rollins put up BYU’s top score on the bars with a 9.850. After the first two rotations, BYU led the Redhawks 97.975-96.150.

The Cougars next went to the balance beam, where freshman Summer Raymond scored a 9.800 in her first official routine competing for BYU. Johnson continued her success from earlier in the meet with a team-high 9.850, setting a new career record.

BYU scored meet highs in all of the four events.

Going into the last rotation, BYU led 146.525-144.125. Rollins led the Cougars to victory with a 9.825 for her showing on the floor.

Junior Raquel Willman took first place in the all-around, scoring a 39.000 total with individual scores of 9.775 on the vault, 9.750 on the uneven bars, 9.775 on the beam and 9.700 on the floor. It was her second straight competition above 39.000 in the all-around.

Next up for the Cougars, a trip to Oklahoma City for the Oklahoma Quad Meet Friday at 7 p.m. CST. BYU will compete against Oklahoma and Texas Woman’s, along with matching up against Boise State for the third time this season.

Complete results