T-bird Gymnasts Sweep MPSF Weekly Awards Again

CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Flippin' Birds have swept the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation weekly conference awards for the fourth time this season. Freshman Niya Randolph was named the Gymnast of the Week, Freshman Brinlee Christensen earned the Freshman of the Week award, and Junior Ellie Cacciola was tabbed as the Specialist of the Week.

Coach Scotty Bauman Said

"It's an honor for our program to win these awards, especially with some of the outstanding performances of our conference this week. We are so proud of all our athletes accomplishing career highs last week."

Fantastic Freshman 

Southern Utah Freshman Niya Randolph performed exceptionally well last Monday against BYU. She set a new school and conference record in the all-around, scoring 39.600. She set new career highs on the vault (9.900) and bars (9.950) en route to the MPSF record. The incredible effort by Randolph not only secured a win but also helped the Thunderbirds become the first-ever MPSF team to score over 197.

Randolph continued to impress in the all-around on Friday night against Penn State, finishing second with 39.450 and raising her season average. Randolph contributed an exceptional 9.925 bars routine that helped the Flippin' Birds to secure a 49.475, a new conference and SUU program record for the event.

Southern Utah Freshman Brinlee Christensen has been steadily improving with each week of competition. Last Monday against BYU, she set a new career-high on both the vault and floor. Her vault scored 9.850 as part of a rotation that scored 49.250. Christensen then added a great bars routine that scored 9.800. Finally, when the team needed it to secure the win, Christensen contributed a 9.875 on the floor, helping the team to a 49.300. Christensen continues to improve her consistency across the board with great routines on the bars and the floor.

Captivating Cacciola

Junior Ellie Cacciola performed very well on Monday against the Cougars. Cacciola started the meet for the Thunderbirds by setting the tone on the vault. Her 9.850 was a great start and helped the team achieve a 49.250, becoming the third-best score in program history. Continuing to the beam, Cacciola put up a solid 9.825 as part of a beam rotation that scored 49.325. On the Floor, Cacciola set a new season-high score of 9.875.

Cacciola tied her season high on the floor for the second time in the week with a 9.875 Friday night against Penn State. However, her best routine against the Nittany Lions came on the beam, where she scored an incredible 9.950. The routine ties her own MPSF record, which she shares with teammate Kennedi McClain. Cacciola has also raised her NQS to 9.890, which sits atop the conference rankings for the event.

Next Up

The Flippin' Birds will hit the road for a quad meet hosted by the University of Washington on Friday, March 15. The meet will include Washington, BYU, and Sacramento State. It will take place in Alaska Airlines Arena and begins at 8:00 p.m. MT.

Inside The Nest

Overnght is debuting the new docu-series " Inside The Nest: Southern Utah Gymnastics" The series will follow the journey of the Flippin' Birds throughout their first season in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Go to overnight.com to watch the first episode now!