BYU takes down No. 5 Denver in 196.200-195.175 win

PROVO, Utah – No. 15 BYU earned a major win at No. 5 Denver on Saturday, walking away with a 196.200-195.175 road victory.

BYU vs Denver Meet Results

The win was the Cougars' first triumph against the Pioneers since 2011, breaking a four-meet losing streak in the series.

"In the past, I’ve seen this group get flustered with scoring that is more subjective," head coach Guard Young said. "I’m just so proud to see how tough and resilient they were. They didn’t even bother looking at the scores. Their mindset was, ‘let’s just go do gymnastics.’ I'm a happy coach right now."

Prior to the start of the meet, Young made a few lineup changes, pulling senior All-American Shannon Evans from vault and floor. 

"Today, Shannon had a sore achilles, so right now we are super cautious with that," Young said. "We had our No. 7 and our backups ready to go in and that’s what we did. Her teammates had her back and it was the right call."

In the first rotation, BYU took on the uneven bars. Scores ranged from 9.525 to senior Shannon Evans’s team high of 9.875. Included in the lineup, junior Helody Cyrenne earned a season-high 9.850, beating her previous 9.800. By the end, BYU held a small .275 lead over DU, pulling a 48.925.

Moving on, the Cougars matched their uneven bars score of 48.925 on vault. A highlight included sophomore Adeline Rieder making a season debut on the event, topping her former personal best of 9.675. Earning a 9.850, her score stood as the highest on the apparatus for the night. BYU widened the gap to lead at 97.825-96.750.

In what consistently stands as BYU’s highest scoring event, the Cougars were again strong on floor and gained a lead of 1.225 points after finishing the third rotation. Junior Abby Stainton and sophomore Rachel Bain started off with scores of 9.825, Bain’s career and season high. Sophomore Brittney Vitkauskas earned the highest tally for the team, a 9.875. 

Freshman Elease Rollins led the team with a career-high 9.900 on the beam in the final rotation. With a 49.125, the Cougars finished the meet 1.025 points ahead to claim the victory.

In the all-around competition, junior Abbey Miner placed second with a score of 38.900, behind DU’s Maddie Karr (39.425).

Next week, the Cougars stay on the road to face Illinois State on Friday, Feb. 28, at 6 p.m. MST in the Redbird Arena.