BYU falls to No. 6 Utah in Deseret First Duel meet

PROVO, Utah – BYU gymnastics earned a 193.350 score in its second-place finish to No. 6 Utah in the Marriott Center on Friday night.

“I see a big upside to this team,” BYU head coach Brad Cattermole said. “I’m not disappointed in our future. I think we’ve got a bright future with this team and I’m excited to keep going here.”

Utah scored 196.900 in the win over BYU. The Utes scored a 9.900 over five times in the four different events, the highest being a 9.925 twice in their round at the vault.

Makenzie Johnson led BYU in the vault, its first event with a 9.775. Jordan Schult and Eliane Kulczyk earned a 7.750 in the vault. Jill Van Mierlo, Sin To and KayCee Gassaway closed out the first round for BYU to combine for 48.700.

The Cougars’ second round was the bars where Kulczyk led the team with a 9.875, which tied her career high and was the highest score of the night for BYU. Gassaway and Emily Vidmar received a 9.775 and 9.725, respectively, to add to the total of 48.200.

On the beam, Van Mierlo and Johnson both tied for a 9.750 to help the team earn a 47.525 total. Vidmar notched a 9.650 for the third highest score.

BYU closed out the meet on the floor where it scored 48.925, led by Vidmar’s 9.825. Van Mierlo earned a 9.800 and the rest of the Cougars in that round scored over 9.700 to make it their best all-around event of the night.

Johnson and Van Mierlo both participated in every event for BYU, earning 38.400 apiece. Johnson's highest events were the vault and the floor exercise where she scored a 9.775. Van Mierlo earned a 9.800 in the floor exercise.

The Cougars will participate in the Ozone Invitational in Knoxville, Tennessee on Jan. 17 for their second meet of the season.