
SUU Gymnastics Finishes 2nd in Best of Utah Meet
The Flippin' Birds placed second in the Best of Utah meet on Monday, scoring 196.175. The Thunderbirds outpaced BYU and Utah State, who finished with 195.750 and 196.00, respectively, but fell to the Utes, who maintained their high average with 197.950.
Sophomore Niya Randolph led Southern Utah in the all-around, recording a new season high with a 39.275, good enough to finish fourth. Sophomore Brinlee Christensen took sixth in the all-around with a 38.700. Mackenzie Kelly and Brinlee Christensen tied for one of the top individual finishes in the vault, scoring a 9.850 to take third, and Ellie Cacciola finished tied for first on the Floor with a 9.925.
Head Coach Scotty Bauman Said
"We went out and competed at a very high level tonight. This is always a battle, and finishing with the strongest floor score of the season was incredible. The team gave an outstanding effort tonight on the road."
Meet Recap
Vault (49.100)
The Flippin' Birds got the meet started on the vault, and it was Senior Ellie Cacciola who went first, earning a 9.800. Sophomore Mackenzie Kelly was next up with a 9.850 before freshman Mia Hampton continued with a 9.725. Junior Trista Goodman vaulted next, soaring to a 9.775. Sophomore Niya Randolph hyped up the Maverick Center crowd, adding a 9.825 vault and sophomore Brinlee Christensen anchored the rotation with a season-best 9.850. Southern Utah moved to the second rotation, sitting in second place ahead of BYU and Utah State and trailing Utah.
Bars (49.050)
The Thunderbirds were on the bars for the second rotation, with Christensen getting things started, scoring a 9.850. Senior Isabella Neff followed that up with a 9.800 before Hampton added a 9.050. Goodman continued to excel as a leader in the bars rotation with a 9.825. Randolph scored a 9.800, and Sophomore Maria Ferguson wrapped up the rotation with a 9.775 to bring the T-Birds total to 98.150 at the midpoint.
Beam (48.550)
Sophomore Elliot Bringhurst started rotation three for Southern Utah by scoring a huge 9.850. Sophomore Alyssa Fernandez was next, scoring a 9.175, and Randolph would bounce the score back up, scoring 9.775. Cacciola took the rotation to another level, scoring a 9.900 before Christensen added a 9.125. The final routine for Southern Utah came from sophomore Rylee Miller, who scored a 9.850, giving the Flippin' Birds a 146.700 with one rotation to go, good enough for third place.
Floor (49.375)
Heading to the floor for the third rotation, Hampton initiated the scoring with a new career high of 9.900. Fernandez followed that up with a solid routine, earning a 9.825 before Christensen added to the energy with a 9.875. Next, it was Randolph's turn, tallying a 9.825 and setting a new season high. Cacciola followed that up by matching her career high with a 9.925. Gull wrapped up the scoring for SUU with a 9.850, putting the T-Birds in second place with a season-high 196.175.
Next Up
The Flippin' Birds will have a short break in the schedule before heading back to Provo to take on the Cougars and conference foe UC Davis in a tri-meet on January 31. The meet will begin at 6:30 p.m. MT in the Marriott Center. The meet will be available to stream on ESPN+, and live stats can be found on virti.us.
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