SUU Gymnastics Opens Home Slate After 1st Place Finish at Super 16

CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah Gymnastics team will host the University of New Hampshire on Monday, Jan 9, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. MT. The Flippin' Birds started the season with a solid performance at the Super 16 presented by Ozone placing first in the opening session and turning in the highest scores in three of the four events.

MEET INFORMATION

Southern Utah vs. New Hampshire

Date: Friday, Jan 9, 2023

March In: 7:00 PM MT

Venue: America First Events Center

Broadcast: ESPN+

Tickets: tbirdtickets.com

HOME OPENER

The T-Birds are hosting University of New Hampshire for their first meet of the season. Southern Utah entered the season #28 in the country and began the '23 campaign with a big first-place finish over the University of Washington, the University of North Carolina, and Fisk University at the Super 16.

SOUTHERN UTAH NOTES

• The Thunderbirds finished first in the inaugural Super 16 in Las Vegas last weekend.

• Freshman Kayla Pardue and Trista Goodman turned in impressive performances in their first-ever collegiate competition with Pardue scoring a 9.850 on the Vault and Goodman turning in an outstanding 9.900 on the bars.

• Graduate student Karley McClain placed second in the All-Around competition scoring 39.175.

• The Flippin' Birds won every home meet last season and have not lost at home since February of 2021.

ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

• The Wildcats are competing for the first time this season.

• UNH finished last season ranked 47th in the country with their best event being the Vault.

• The Wildcats are coached by Lindsey Bruck Ayotte who is in her 4th season at the helm.

LAST TIME OUT

The Southern Utah Gymnastics team opened their season in dynamic fashion at the Super 16 Presented by Ozone in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Flippin' Birds grabbed a first-place finish in their session with a score of 195.800.

Southern Utah drew bars for their opening rotation and set the tone for the meet scoring the individual and team-high right away. The team followed it up by tying for the top spot in the beam and taking second on the floor. The Thunderbirds wrapped up the event with a team victory on vault. Graduate student Karley McClain grabbed second place in the All-Around competition.

BARS (49.050)

The T-Birds started off with one of their strengths as a team, the bars. Graduate student Caitlin Kho got the meet started earning a 9.725. The best score of the rotations for SUU came from freshman Trista Goodman with a 9.900 in her first collegiate appearance. Fifth-year seniors Karley McClain and Shylen Murakami each scored 9.825 while Junior Aubri Schwartze put up a 9.775. Graduate student Mayson Bentley rounded out the bars team with a 9.675.

BEAM (48.850)

The next apparatus for the Flippin' Birds was the beam and the team's experience showed with a pair of veteran competitors Murakami and Schwartze putting up identical scores of 9.800. Sophomore Ellie Cacciola wasn't far behind with a 9.775 and McClain scored a 9.750.

FLOOR (48.950)

In the only event that the Thunderbirds didn't take a share of the top spot, junior Hailey Vultaggio would lead out scoring a 9.875. Schwartze and McClain added matching scores of 9.850 and the T-Birds would go on to get a 9.700 from senior Rachel Smith. Junior Emma Ingrassia wrapped up the team score with a 9.675.

VAULT (48.950)

Taking a lead into the final event of the meet Southern Utah looked to close it out with some solid scores. Freshman Kayla Pardue was the top scorer for the Flippin' Birds with a 9.850. Kho was right behind her with a 9.800. Cacciola and Smith also pitched in identical scores of 9.775.