T-Bird Gymnastics Blasts Iowa State 196.500 to 195.700

CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Flippin' Birds returned home to the America First Event Center to take on the Cyclones from Iowa State Monday evening. The Thunderbirds finished the meet with an impressive 196.500 to get the win. The score is the ninth-best in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference history. Iowa State finished with a 195.700.

Southern Utah Freshman Niya Randolph led the Thunderbirds with an all-around score of 39.200. Randolph impressed the judges with an exceptional floor routine, earning a first-place score of 9.925. Sophomore Kayla Pardue tied for first place on the vault with a 9.875, and Senior Aubri Schwartze dazzled on the bars to earn the top spot with a score of 9.900. The Thunderbirds won the floor, bars, and vault rotations, tying with the Cyclones on the balance beam.

Meet Recap

Vault (49.075)

The Flippin' Birds began the meet on the vault, where junior Ellie Cacciola led the team off with a score of 9.850. Randolph was next with a 9.800 before sophomore Kennedi McClain posted a 9.775. Sophomore Kayla Pardue followed that up with an outstanding 9.875 vault. Freshman Brinlee Christensen added a 9.750, and wrapping up the rotation for the Thunderbirds was sophomore Trista Goodman, who scored 9.775

Bars (49.200)

The Flippin' Birds opened the second rotation on the bars with freshman Brinlee Christensen scoring a 9.800. Freshman Alex Routsis was next with a 9.800 of her own. Goodman came next with a 9.725, and Randolph added to the team total with another 9.875. Junior Isabella Neff followed that up, scoring 9.825. Senior Aubri Schwartze wrapped up the second rotation with an excellent 9.900.

Beam (49.025)

Freshman Alyssa Fernandez led off the third rotation for the T-Birds with an astounding 9.900. McClain was next and matched and scored a 9.900. Cacciola then mounted the beam to score 9.775 for her routine. Randolph picked up a 9.600 before senior Aly Coutuadded a routine that scored 9.775. Senior Anna Hartley wrapped up the rotation for the Flippin' Birds with a 9.675, giving the T-Birds a 49.025 as a team.

Floor (49.200)

The Thunderbirds moved to the floor for the final rotation. Fernandez got things started with a great 9.800 routine. Pardue was next with a solid 9.825 before Cacciola added an exceptional 9.850.  Junior Taylor Gull stepped to the floor next, scoring 9.725. An excellent routine from Christensen scored a 9.800, followed by a phenomenal 9.925 routine from Randolph.

Next Up

The Flippin' Birds will head to Provo to take on the BYU Cougars on Friday, March 1. The meet will take place in the Marriot Center and is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. MT. Stats will be available on suutbirds.com, and the broadcast will be on ESPN+.