CEDAR CITY, Utah – Heading into the final rotation nights in an extremely tight contest, the Southern Utah University gymnastics team got huge floor performances from Karley McClain and Hannah Nipp to narrowly defeat Brigham Young University by a score of 196.450-196.425 Friday night at the America First Event Center.
Friday marked the first MRGC meet for both teams, and the Thunderbirds won their second-straight dual meet while the Cougars fell for the first time this year. SUU also avenged an earlier result from this season when BYU finished third at the Best of Utah Meet, and Southern Utah finished fourth. It was SUU's first dual victory over BYU since 2019.
VAULT (49.050)
Southern Utah earned a narrow lead at the start of the night with Caitlin Kho and Rachel Smith leading the way on vault. Kho put together a score of 9.875 while Smith registered a 9.850.
BARS (49.200)
The Thunderbirds saw improvement on the bars with Shylen Murakami taking control of the event on a 9.950. Nikki Thomas led off by scoring a 9.875, and Stephanie Tervort capped things off by earning a score of 9.800.
BEAM (48.950)
Beam proved to be Southern Utah's most difficult event of the night. Smith added to a strong vault performance by piecing together a 9.825 on her routine. Emma Wissman was the other high score for SUU with a 9.800.
FLOOR (49.250)
With BYU pressing and SUU needing every point it could get to hold the Cougars off, the pair of McClain and Nipp led the Thunderbirds to their best rotation of the night on the floor exercise. The senior duo earned identical scores of 9.925 to give SUU enough breathing room for a victory. Smith also added a 9.850 while Kayla Horton managed to earn a score of 9.825.
NEXT UP
The Flippin' Birds will travel for their first true away meet next week when they face Boise State on Friday, January 28. The meet is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. MT and can be viewed on the Mountain West Network.
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