‘It was amazing.’: Boise State gymnast makes history with perfect score on uneven bars
Boise State gymnast Emily Lopez didn’t think anything of it when she stuck the landing after her effort on the bars against visiting BYU back on Feb. 17.
“It felt like any other routine,” she said.
Boise State gymnastics coach Tina Bird thought otherwise. She knew the routine was anything but, well, routine.
“I knew it was a pretty darn good routine, so I got the rest of the girls to start yelling, ‘10, 10, 10!’” Bird said. “You always feel like it’s the elusive unicorn. You hope but you never think it’s actually going to happen.”
Bird has watched the same act play out time and again. One of her gymnasts performs what looks like a flawless routine, only to have the hope of a perfect score cruelly ripped away by the judges.
Lopez’s story had a much happier ending. After waiting for what she said felt like an eternity, both judges held up 10.0, and she etched her name in the Boise State record books.
The junior from Mission Viejo, California, became the first Bronco gymnast to earn a perfect score on the uneven bars. She’s the fifth Bronco to earn a 10 in program history, and the first to do it since Ciera Perkins earned a perfect score in vault in 2015.
Three former Broncos earned a 10 in vault: Perkins, Julie Wagner (1993) and Leslie Mott (1996). Marie Lucas earned a perfect score on the beam in 2002.
“I saw the scores and my legs gave out a little bit,” Lopez said. “Tears instantly came to my eyes. I’ve had a couple close calls this year, and I wasn’t ever expecting to get a 10, so when I did get it, it was amazing.”
Bird said bars is one of the most difficult events to earn a perfect score in because it’s so technical in nature that the slightest curvature of the back on a hand stand can cost a gymnast a fraction of a point.
“You can hit a hand stand but maybe your ribs are out a little bit or you’re a little piked in the hips,” Bird said. “ ... I think judges have been scared to give out a 10 in the past because they think they’re going to get scrutinized for it, but some of that is changing.”
More than one talented gymnast at Boise State has fallen short of a 10 on bars. A long list of Broncos have scored 9.975 in the event, including Emily Muhlenhaupt, who did so five times during her career but never managed to get a perfect score. Muhlenhaupt owns the program record with 22 career wins on bars.
Lopez said Muhlenhaupt texted to congratulate her after the meet against BYU. The sheer amount of talented gymnasts who have had their hopes of a perfect score just fall short wasn’t lost on her.
“It’s really an honor to get that score,” Lopez said. “I’ve been putting in numbers in the gym and giving 100% effort every day, so it was really cool to see it all come together in a meet.”
Bird said the most impressive part of Lopez’s perfect score was that she didn’t dwell on it. She celebrated with her teammates, wiped away tears and went on to earn a 9.875 on beam and a 9.9 on vault that night.
Lopez has competed in all three events all season, and she has stuck more landings on vault than anyone on the team, Bird said.
“She’s just ‘Steady Eddy.’ Actually we call her ‘Steady Emmy,’” Bird said. “We wouldn’t be the same team without Emily. She’s even-keeled and always on point.”
Lopez said earning a 10 on bars was the most memorable moment thus far of her gymnastics career, which began when she was 3. She has two years of eligibility left, including the extra year the NCAA offered athletes because of COVID-19.
She doesn’t know whether she’ll take the extra year, but she wouldn’t mind adding more perfect scores to her resume before leaving.
“I just want to stay consistent in the gym, take it day by day and see how my body feels,” said Lopez, a marketing major. “Another 10 would be great, and hopefully a couple of my teammates can get one, too.”
