CEDAR CITY, Utah – In its first home meet of the new season, the Southern Utah University gymnastics team earned a 196.550-195.500 victory over Pac-12 foe Arizona Friday night at the America First Event Center.
The victory was Southern Utah's first of the season after finishing fourth at the Best of Utah Meet to open the year. Arizona fell to 0-1 with the setback.
VAULT (49.175)
Caitlin Kho helped SUU get off to a great start with a meet-high score of 9.900 on vault. It also served as a career high for Kho. Morgan Alfaro and Rachel Smith helped to pad Kho's score by recording identical 9.850's.
UNEVEN BARS (49.300)
Hannah Nipp and Shylen Murakami led the way on bars for a second-consecutive meet by both earning a score of 9.875. Kho also earned a 9.875, and Mayson Bentley pitched in a 9.850. Bars proved to be the best team event of the night for the Thunderbirds.
BALANCE BEAM (48.975)
Nipp stole the show on beam with the best individual performance of the night. Her 9.950 was the best individual score of the night and tied a career high. It is also the second-best mark in school history. Emma Wissman also helped the Thunderbirds on the event with a score of 9.850.
FLOOR EXERCISE (49.100)
The Flippin' Birds finished the night strong on the floor exercise, and both Smith and Hailey Vultaggio earned scores of 9.850 to lead the way. Kayla Horton and Aubri Schwartze also recorded marks of 9.825 to help SUU secure its first victory of the year.
The Thunderbirds will be back in action on Friday, January 21, when they host BYU in the first MRGC meet of the season. The meet against the Cougars is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. MT, and can be viewed on ESPN+.
For all the latest on Southern Utah gymnastics, follow the Flippin' birds at @SUUGym on Twitter and @SUUGymnastics on Instagram, and like the Southern Utah Gymnastics Facebook page.
