No. 6 BYU tops Utah State in MRGC opener

LOGAN, Utah – The No. 6 BYU gymnastics team topped Utah State 194.575 to 193.950 in the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference opener Friday night at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

"Last week's loss felt like a win and this week's win feels like a loss," BYU head coach Guard Young said. "We did not do what we need to do to be one of the top teams. The judging was very tight from the very first routine and when the judging is like that we have to dig down deeper and let those performances come up. I think we let that get to us a little bit."

Captains Natasha Marsh and Shannon Evans claimed the top score in two events as Marsh scored a 9.775 on bars and Evans posted a 9.875 on vault. Utah State's Madison Ward-Sessions claimed the other three honors as she scored a 39.225 in the all-around while Evans came in second with a 39.125.

The Cougars started the night on the parallel bars and earned a 48.625 on the event. The captains led the way as Marsh scored a 9.775 and Evans tallied a 9.750. Helody Cyrenne and Gabrielle Hubbard followed with a 9.725 and 9.700, respectively. Abby Boden also scored in the top five with a 9.675. After one rotation, the Aggies held the lead, 48.675 to 48.625.

On vault, BYU scored a 48.950 as Abbey Miner posted a career-high 9.825 while Evans led the team with a 9.875. Haley Pitou recorded a 9.800, Rebekah Bean scored a 9.750 and Angel Zhong posted a 9.700. The Cougars took the lead after the second rotation, 97.575 to 97.100.

In the third rotation, Evans once again led the way with a 9.850. She was followed by Briana Pearson's 9.800, Abbey Miner's 9.775 and Brittney Vitkauskas' 9.750. Sadie Miner also competed, tallying a 9.250. BYU posted a 48.900 as the Cougars stayed on top 146.475 to 145.150.

In the final rotation, BYU posted a 48.100 on beam with Marsh leading the way with a 9.750. Abby Boden and Shannon Evans followed with a 9.675 and 9.650, respectively. Cyrenne (9.600) and Abbey Miner (9.425) closed out the top scores.

The Cougars return to the Marriott Center on Friday, Jan. 25, at 11 a.m. MST as they host Utah State for the annual Kids Meet. The meet will be broadcast live on BYUtv and live stats will be available on StatBroadcast.com.

Meet Milestones

Abbey Miner scored a career-high 9.825 on vault.
Shannon Evans posted a 9.875 on vault to tie her career best that was previously set in 2017.
Haley Pitou also tied her career-high on vault with a 9.800.
Gabby Hubbard performed her first time on bars to set her career-best at 9.700.
Sadie Miner's 9.725 on floor sets her career high.