BOISE, Idaho — The Boise State women's gymnastics team put on a show Wednesday in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Regional Championships, defeating conference-foe BYU 196.700-196.125.
After going 1-2 against the Cougars in the regular season – including a 196.575-196.000 loss on March 18 – the Broncos bounced back to punch their ticket to Thursday's second round.
Boise State will meet No. 4 UCLA, No. 13 Missouri and Stanford in Los Angeles on Thursday at 8 p.m. MT. Wednesday's appearance at Pauley Pavilion marked the Broncos' 15-straight trip to the NCAA Regionals.
196.700 marks the highest first-round score at an NCAA regional competition since 2019, when the current gymnastics format was adopted, according to Boise State Athletics. The Broncos once again raised the bar, topping the program-best score of 196.425 at an NCAA regional meet set in 2022.
Boise State sealed the deal on beam, setting a round-one event record score of 49.425. Bronco senior Adriana Popp scored a regional-record 9.925 on beam, while Alyssa Vulaj and Emily Lopez both posted scores of 9.900.
"I could not be prouder of this team," Boise State head coach Tina Bird said. "We had so much fun today! They let loose and performed at the level they are capable of."
Senior Talia Little and sophomore Emma Loyim finished off the Broncos' record-setting beam score with a 9.850.
On the bars, Lopez and Courtney Blackson led the way to give Boise State an advantage after the first session. The Broncos topped the Cougars 49.025-48.875 to claim round one. Boise State's scores from bars are listed below:
- Lopez: 9.900
- Blackson: 9.875
- Erin Morden: 9.775
- Little: 9.750
- Elaina McGovern: 9.725
- Kylee Hamby: 8.425
On the vault, Boise State scored its second-highest score in a regional competition, and outdid BYU 49.225-48.875. Blackson's mark of 9.950 tied her career-best and the second-best vault score by a Bronco at a regional.
On the apparatus, Vulaj posted a 9.900 and Lopez tallied a 9.850. Boise State's average vault scores are listed below:
- Blackson: 9.950
- Vulaj: 9.900
- Lopez: 9.850
- Popp: 9.800
- Sydney Kho: 9.725
- Emma Loyim: 9.575
BYU barely edged Boise State 49.050-49.025 on the floor. Entering the third rotation, the Broncos led the Cougars by a close score of 98.250-97.950.
49.025 marks Boise State's ninth-best score at an NCAA Regionals competition. Blackson and McGovern both posted a score of 9.850. Loyim hit a 9.800, Vulaj a 9.775, Brantley Lucas a 9.750 and Sydney Leitch a 9.725.
See all of Wednesday's scores by clicking here.
"Emily [Lopez], Courtney [Blackson] and [Adriana] Popp were superstars today and their performances elevated the entire team," Bird said.
Bronco Nation can find ESPN+ streaming links for Thursday's meet here.
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