CEDAR CITY, Utah - Jan. 14 - Southern Utah gymnastics made the most of a home crowd of over 5,000 in the Centrum Arena on Friday night to upset No. 5 UCLA, 194.750-194.425. The Thunderbirds were led by Brooke Cersosimo in the all-around with a career-high 39.150 and Shannon Coughlin on floor as she captured the title with a 9.850.
"This was an incredible meet tonight," head coach Scott Bauman said at the end of the night. "The crowd really made all the difference. I don't want to take anything away from our gymnasts, but that crowd was what really helped us win by three-tenths tonight."
The Thunderbirds got off to a rocky start as true freshman Doniele Volopich landed short on her vault, scoring an 8.950. However, the team bounced back and finished the rotation 5-for-5 with Bailey Pendley leading the way with a 9.875. The Bruins also encountered a slow start, suffering a pair of falls on bars. Following the first rotation, the T-Birds had a lead of 48.825 to UCLA's 48.250.
Southern Utah recorded another 5-of-5 rotation on bars with Cersosimo recording a career-high 9.750 on the event to pace the Thunderbirds. Volopich wasn't far behind as she put her vault behind her and scored a career-high 9.700 on bars to tie with Lauren Jeffrey (9.700) for second on the team. However, UCLA bounced back on vault, scoring a 49.125 to take the lead 97.375 to 97.225. The Bruins were led by Olivia Courtney as the freshman tallied a 9.900 to win the event.
SUU suffered a third fall during the night on beam, but began the rotation with five successful routines to post a 48.625. The Thunderbirds were led by Cersosimo as the junior recorded a 9.800 and was followed by Ari Lamb with a 9.750. The Bruins had the most problems of the night on floor as a pair of gymnasts suffered falls and a third was given a neutral deduction for stepping out of bounds. In the end, UCLA would finish the rotation with a team score of 47.950 as the Thunderbirds retook the lead 145.850-145.325.
The final rotation was close as UCLA's first five gymnasts did not score anything lower than a 9.775 on beam, including a 9.875 from Courtney who ultimately took the beam title. However, Southern Utah also finished strong, going 6-for-6 on floor with Coughlin leading the way with a gold-medal performance of 9.850. The effort spelled victory for the T-Birds with the eventual 194.750-194.425 win.
Cersosimo finished second in the all-around with her 39.150 as UCLA's Olivia Courtney took the title with a 39.300.
Southern Utah will be back in action next week when the Thunderbirds host Sacramento State on Friday, January 21. The meet in the Centrum Arena is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
