PROVO, Utah – BYU gymnastics opens its season against rival No. 5 Utah in the Deseret First Duel on Friday at the Huntsman Center.
"We’re prepared as a team. Now it’s time to do it for real,” head coach Guard Young said. “We know how to warm up, we know how to hit routines and we just have to do it on that night.”
The Cougars enter the 2018 season after a fifth-place finish at NCAA regionals last year, earning the team’s highest regional score in 12 years and a No. 33 national ranking.
“I always base a meet on performance,” Young said. “We want to come out of the gate with a strong, confident bar routine that gets everyone fired up. We end the meet on balance beam, so we want to see the girls staying calm under pressure, taking their time and not rushing through their routine. That’s what we’ve worked on all semester and what I expect to see on Friday.”
This season’s roster includes 15 returning gymnasts and nine true freshmen. The core senior class and team captains, Jill van Mierlo, Brittni Hawes, Kyleigh Greenlief and Mackenzie Douglas, will set the foundation for performances from the team. Shannon Hortman Evans will continue competing as an all-arounder after earning 2017 MRGC Freshman of the Year. Young also has high hopes for the freshman class becoming strong contributors this season.
The meet begins at 7 p.m. MST at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. It will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks and live stats will be available at UtahUtes.com. For more information on the season outlook, check out the 2018 season preview.