Broncos Sweep Home Quad as Bird Reaches 250 Career Victories

Friday, January 19

Boise, Idaho

7 p.m.

Boise State

195.800

194.975

Air Force

Photo by: Boise State University

Broncos Sweep Home Quad as Bird Reaches 250 Career Victories

1/19/2024 11:20:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics

BOISE, Idaho – The Boise State gymnastics team rallied in the final rotations to sweep its season-opening quad, scoring 195.800 to defeat San Jose State (195.625), Air Force (194.975) and West Chester (191.825) on Friday. The Broncos' three wins gave head coach Tina Bird her 250th career victory, reaching the milestone in front of a crowd of 2,106 at ExtraMile Arena.

The Blue and Orange scored a season-high 48.925 on vault to take the lead after one rotation, with senior Courtney Blackson recording a 9.900 to tie for first. Despite senior Emily Lopez winning on bars with a 9.950, Boise State fell to third after the event.

The Broncos began their climb on the beam rotation, tallying a season-best 49.325. Lopez and junior Emma Loyim both notched a 9.925 to top the leaderboard and move Boise State into second.

In the final rotation, Boise State scored a 49.175 on floor, jumping San Jose State to secure the quad sweep. Elaina McGovern tied for second with a 9.900, matching her career-high.

Lopez recorded a season-best in all three of her events, scoring a 9.950 on bars, 9.925 on beam, and 9.800 on vault. Blackson scored a 9.900 on bars and vault, both season-highs. The Broncos are now 5-2 overall and 2-0 in the Mountain West this season.

Quotables

"I am so thrilled to have earned my 250th career win with this incredible team," said head coach Tina Bird. "And I'm proud of our beam team tonight. They attacked the event with confidence and really showed what they're capable of. Emma's (Loyim) personal best was so much fun to watch."
"Emily Lopez and Courtney Blackson had a stellar night," said Bird. "Alyssa Vulaj continues to turn in high scores for us in vault, beam and floor and Sydney Kho had two solid events with a career-high mark on beam, which is such an important milestone."

Top Broncos

Emily Lopez finished first on bars (9.950) and tied for first on beam (9.925), recording a season-best in both events. She also had a season-best on vault (9.800).
Courtney Blackson tied for first on vault, tallying a season-high 9.900. She also scored 9.900 on bars, another season-best.
Emma Loyim tied for first on beam, matching her career-high with a score of 9.925.
Elaina McGovern tied for second on floor, matching her career-best at 9.900.

Notables

Tonight's sweep marked 250 career wins for Bronco head coach Tina Bird. She has a career record of 250-108-1 in her 17 seasons at the helm of Boise State.
Senior Emily Lopez tallied three season-bests: 9.950 on bars, 9.925 on beam and 9.800 on vault. Her bars score matches Boise State's best individual event score of the 2024 campaign and her beam score ties her career-high and the Broncos' best beam score of the year. The senior has eight career wins on bars and four career wins on beam, putting her career total at 18.
Junior Emma Loyim recorded a season-best and matched her career-high on beam (9.925). This is tied with Lopez for Boise State's top beam score of the year. This marked her third career beam victory and sixth career total victory.
Senior Courtney Blackson scored a 9.900 on vault and bars, both season-bests. Her vault score is the highest of any Bronco this season. The senior has seven vault wins and 11 total wins in her career.
The Broncos tallied a 49.325 on beam and 48.925 on vault, both season-bests for the 2024 campaign.
Junior Elaina McGovern matched her career-best scores on floor (9.900) and bars (9.750).
Freshman Mahleea Werline earned a career-high 9.850 on bars.
Sophomore Sydney Kho scored a career-best on beam (9.825) while matching her career-high on vault (9.750).
Junior Alyssa Vulaj tied her season-best on beam (9.825).
Redshirt junior Dani Nakayama made her season debut, competing on bars.

What's Next
Boise State has a weekend off before returning to ExtraMile Arena for a dual against Iowa State. The Broncos and Cyclones will compete at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 2.