AUBURN, Ala. – Led by senior Hannah Nipp's 9.900 on floor, the Southern Utah University gymnastics team posted its best NCAA Regionals score in school history with a 196.325, and finished third in the second round of regionals Thursday afternoon.

SUU's 196.325 earned a victory over Georgia which registered a 195.725. It also surpassed the previous program best of 196.275 from the 2015 regional. Kentucky claimed victory with a score of 197.750 and Auburn joined Kentucky in the top two by putting up a 197.500. The Wildcats and Tigers will advance to the next round while Southern Utah's third-place finish marks the end of the 2022 campaign for the Flippin' Birds.

BEAM (49.025)

The Flippin' Birds opened the meet strong after drawing beam for their first rotation. Hailey Vultaggio led the way by scoring a 9.850 The trio of Rachel Smith, Aubri Schwartze and Nipp all followed by posting identical 9.800s.

FLOOR (49.125)

The floor rotation was where SUU saw its highest individual score of the meet when Nipp's routine earned a 9.900. Karley McClain just missed the 9.9 mark with a score of 9.875, and Schwartze continued a strong afternoon by adding on a 9.8000.

VAULT (48.975)

Southern Utah's most difficult rotation of the day came on vault, but multiple T-Birds still strung together solid performances. Caitlin Kho's 9.850 was the top vault of the rotation, while Smith also pitched in a 9.825. Morgan Alfaro was the other Thunderbird to hit the 9.8 mark as she scored a 9.800.

BARS (49.200)

As a team, SUU saved its best rotation for last on the bars. Schwartze capped off a big meet by earning a score of 9.875 to be Southern Utah's leader in the event. Shylen Murakami and Mayson Bentley both scored 9.850s, and Nikki Thomas added a 9.825. Nipp and Kho rounded out the rotation with a pair of 9.800s.

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