CEDAR CITY, Utah - Jan. 11 - Southern Utah University gymnastics will officially kick off its 2012 season on Friday night when the Thunderbirds host the University of Missouri.

“Missouri is going to be a very good team, there is no doubt about it,” head coach Scott Bauman said of the meet. “It will be good to have Brooke Cersosimo back in our lineups on Friday and I expect it to be a battle.”

The Thunderbirds will enter the contest with a five-meet winning streak in season openers at home with the last defeat coming in 2006 against Denver. The season opener will be the first meet of the season in Cedar City since the 2008 season when the T-Birds dispatched Seattle-Pacific 194.175 - 187.300.

The Thunderbirds endured a heavy turn over from last year as the team saw seven letter winners depart the program. Their numbers were replaced by six true freshmen, making the upperclassmen of Brooke Cersosimo, Lauren Jeffrey, Caitlin Kennedy, Alyssa Click and Michaela Chernoch each potential all-around competitors this season.

Fans can follow the meet online at www.suutbirds.com with links to live stats and live video. Both feeds will be free. In addition, fans watching at home can share their opinion via a real-time blog that will be embedded on the website and associated with the preview article.

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