BYU gymnastics finished in third place at the Tempe Regional with a score of 196.250 on Thursday afternoon, Apr. 2, at Desert Financial Arena.
The result concludes BYU’s season and determines which teams will advance to the next round of NCAA competition. Michigan State won the session with a score of 197.350, highlighted by a perfect 10.0 on vault, while Georgia placed second with a score of 197.125. Southern Utah University rounded out the group in fourth place with a score of 195.725.
Michigan State and Georgia will move forward to compete in the Tempe Regional Final scheduled for Saturday, Apr. 4, where they will face off against two teams from tonight’s semifinal between Florida, California, Penn State and Arizona State.
For BYU seniors Kylie Eaquinto and Alilah Alvarado, this meet marked their final competition as Cougars. Eaquinto earned an all-around score of 39.325 and anchored several rotations for her team; Alvarado contributed notably on beam with a score of 9.8.
The Cougars began their regional effort on balance beam where juniors Alilah Alvarado and Chloee Hoke each posted scores of 9.800 to start the rotation strong for BYU; Eaquinto followed closely behind with a score of 9.825 while Brynlee Andersen-Broekman closed out the event also scoring a 9.800.
On floor exercise during the second rotation, four Cougars—Scarlett Sonnenberg, Daisy Stephenson, Andersen-Broekman and Eaquinto—each scored matching marks of 9.850; Deb Silva added another solid performance with her own mark of 9.800.
In subsequent rotations BYU continued to post competitive numbers: career-highs came from Scarlett Sonnenberg (vault) and Ava Jorgensen (vault), both achieving scores of 9.875 in that event; Jorgensen repeated her top form on uneven bars as well later in the meet.
With this third-place finish at regionals concluding their season, BYU gymnasts reflected positively on their performances throughout postseason play.
