PREVIEW | Southern Utah Set to Host the Boise State Broncos Friday Evening in Final Home Meet 

CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Flippin' Birds conclude their 2020 home season this Friday evening, as they welcome the visiting Boise State Broncos for Senior Night. The meet will begin at 7:00 p.m. and will recognize the five SUU seniors (Autumn Jorgensen, Madison and Megan McBride, Madison Loomis and Becky Rozsa-Thompson) and their accomplishments.

Last Time Out

The Flippin' Birds posted their second best score in program history while wearing ribbons that represented loved ones battling cancer. SUU's 197.075 downed the visiting Pittsburgh Panthers who scored a 196.000. 

"I had a feeling that they would come out and perform tonight," said head coach Scotty Bauman. "It was so good to go 24 for 24 with no falls. They really just brought the energy that we've been looking for out of them all season. And in regards to Morgan Alfaro's vault - I can't even comment without tearing up. I wore blue and yellow for her even though it was Pitt's colors, it was worth it." 

Upon completion of the meet, Karley McClain posted her highest all-around score of her career. The reigning MRGC Gymnast of the Week scored a 39.525, tied for the third-highest all-around score in program history. Morgan Alfaro also hit a career high on vault with her 9.925 and Madison Loomis claimed her highest score of her career on floor with her 9.850. As a team, the Flippin' Birds were awarded their highest beam score of the season - 49.225.

Alfaro's big score was followed by current MRGC Vault Specialist of the week, Madison McBride's 9.850 and Karley McClain's 9.825. Stephanie Tervort hit a solid 9.800, ending with Caitlin Kho's 9.775. The Thunderbirds ended the event with a score of 49.125. 

Led by McClain's 9.900, the T-Birds posted their highest beam score of the year, earning a 49.225. McClain's score was followed by Shylen Murakami and Autumn Jorgensen's 9.850, Hannah Nipp's 9.825 and both Rachel Smith and Mikaela DeFilippo's 9.800. 

SUU's best event score of the night was on floor where they earned a 49.425, led by McClain's 9.925 and both Molly Jozwiakowski and Madison McBride's 9.900. Madison Loomis hit her highest score ever, posting a 9.850 alongside Autumn Jorgensen who also scored a 9.850. 

Becky Rozsa-Thompson topped the bars scores of the evening, earning the event champion crown after being awarded an impressive 9.900. She was followed by McClain who scored a 9.875, Tervort who hit a 9.850, Murakami who scored a 9.825 and Caitlin Kho who stuck a 9.800. 

After their performance against Central Michigan, the T-Birds are ranked No. 21 in the country overall averaging a score of 195.795. In individual events the Thunderbirds are currently ranked 12th in the nation on bars, 17th on vault, 34th on floor and 36th on beam. Shylen Murakami is No. 23 in the nation on bars, averaging a score of 9.880. 

MRGC Specialist of the Week (Not Including Pitt Performance): Gymnast of the Week, Vault & Floor Specialist

The Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference released the winners of the MRGC Specialist of the Week awards for week seven and Southern Utah sophomore Karley McClain was named MRGC Gymnast of the Week and Floor Specialist of the Week and senior Madison McBride was named Vault Specialist of the Week.

In the team's meet against then-No. 17 Iowa State, McClain was named the all-around champion with a combined score of 39.400. A big part of that score was her floor score of 9.925, which earned her the title of floor event champion as well. She also scored a 9.875 on beam and 9.800 on both vault and bars.

McBride scored a 9.875 on vault to lead the Thunderbirds on the event. The Orem native is now ranked second in the conference on the event with a National Qualifying Score of 9.825. She was named Co-Vault Specialist of the Week along with Boise State junior Gabriela Bouza, and Utah State juniors Leighton Varnadore and Mikaela Meyer.

Opponent Preview: Boise State Broncos (4-5-1 MRGC)

The MRGC rivals are coming off a big weekend as they went 2-0-1 in the Bronco Quad meet where they posted their season high of 196.800, which was matched by Utah State and defeated both Sacramento State and UC Davis. 

BSU currently sits at the bottom of the MRGC rankings and 35th in the national rankings, averaging a score of 195.115. The Broncos best event is bars, as they are 20th in the nation, then beam and vault - where they are ranked 35th in the nation, and finally floor where they are placed at No. 42 in the country. 

Emily Muhlenhaupt proves to be the Broncos best bar worker after her second 9.975 of the season, third of her career, last weekend in the quad meet. 

Meet Info

Friday's Senior Night is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. MT inside the America First Event Center. The meet will be streamed live on PlutoTV channel 455 and live stats will be available at suutbirds.com.

This is a black-out meet, where all fans are encouraged to wear black in support of the five seniors and the rest of the Flippin' Birds' squad. 

This week's meet is sponsored by Jimmy Johns.

Tickets

Tickets for the Flippin' Birds' Senior Night are available at tbirdtickets.com or the America First Event Center Ticket Office. Fans can also purchase a Women's Sports Pass for access to all 2020 regular season home meets.

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