CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah Gymnastics team will head to Boise for a meet Friday at 7:00 p.m. MT. The Flippin' Birds took down Utah State (196.600-193.425)  last week at home while the Broncos fell just shy against BYU (195.300-195.475) on the road in Provo.

MEET INFORMATION

Southern Utah at Boise State

Date: Friday, Jan 27, 2023

March In: 7:00 PM MT

Venue: ExtraMile Arena

Broadcast: broncosports.com 

Tickets: https://bit.ly/3XSex25 

SOUTHERN UTAH NOTES

• Southern Utah is coming off its second home win of the season against Utah State.

• The Thunderbirds won the home opener against University of New Hampshire with an impressive 196.100 and added to their home winning streak last week scoring a 196.600.

• The Flippin' Birds have 5 gymnasts currently ranked in the top 100 of various events. 

• The Thunderbirds sit at #21 in the rankings following week 3 in the Road to National rankings with an average team score of 196.169.

• The T-Birds have a top 25 average score in three events. The bars team is sitting at #20, the beam team is at #24, and the floor team is ranked #25 overall. 

• Southern Utah gymnast Karley McClain is currently the #1 All-Around competitor in the North Central Region. McClain is also ranked in the top 100 in Bars, Beam, and Floor. 

• The Thunderbirds have garnered the most MRGC specialist of the week awards with 13 through the first 3 weeks. 

BOISE STATE NOTES

• Boise State is ranked No. 37 in the country in Week 3 of the Road to Nationals rankings with an average team score of 195.175. 

• The Broncos shine on the beam coming in ranked #14 in the country (49.125). 

• Boise will be competing at home for the first time this season and will look to improve upon a slow start.

• Last season the Broncos had the #7 ranked bars team nationally. 

•  Individually, junior Emily Lopez is tied for fifth nationally on beam, averaging a 9.912 on the apparatus. Junior Courtney Blackson and Lopez are tied for 12th nationally on bars (9.912). As a team, Boise State ranks tied for 14th on beam (49.125).

FAMILY TIES

Friday's meet could see three sisters competing between the two teams. Southern Utah's Caitlin Kho (graduate student) and Kaylee Kho (senior) have each made appearances in the Flippin' Birds lineup this season. Boise State freshman Sydney Kho competed on vault in the first two competitions for the Broncos and is the younger sister of the two experienced gymnasts from SUU.

LAST TIME OUT

The Flippin' Birds defended the America First Events Center once again defeating Utah State 196.600-193.425. The victory ties the all-time series between the two schools at 56 victories each. 

The Thunderbirds started the evening off on the vault and finished the competition with some outstanding floor routines. Graduate student Karley McClain continues to shine in the All-around competition tying her season high with an impressive 39.475 and placing first. Four different T-Birds tied for the high individual event scores of the meet including graduate student Shylen Murakami (9.925, bars), sophomore Ellie Cacciola (9.925, beam), graduate student Rachel Smith (9.925, floor), graduate student Karley McClain (9.925, floor). The Flippin' Birds swept the event scores, winning on all four apparatuses and in the all-around. 

VAULT (49.025)

Southern Utah vaulted to an early lead with some impressive scores in the opening rotation. Cacciola and freshman Kayla Pardue tied for the top event scores on the vault with a 9.850. The mark for Cacciola was a new career best. McClain was not far behind with a score of 9.825. Smith added a 9.775 and junior Hailey Vultaggio wrapped up the vault team scores with a 9.725.

BARS (48.950)

The Flippin' Birds moved on to the bars for the second rotation. Despite some early miscues, Southern Utah was able to recover thanks to a huge 9.925 score by Murakami which set a new season best. McClain added a 9.850 and sophomore Isabella Neff put up a 9.800. Graduate student Mayson Bentley recorded a 9.750 and Graduate Caitlin Kho contributed a 9.625.   

BEAM (49.200)

Following the first two rotations the Flippin' Birds held a significant lead. Cacciola set a new career record for the beam with her 9.925. Schwartze scored a tenth of a point higher than her previous season high with a 9.900. McClain bolstered the team score with a 9.875 and Smith added a 9.800 to the team's impressive 49.200 score.  

FLOOR (49.425)

The floor team for the Thunderbirds had its best showing of the season to this point. All five of the top scores in the meet came from SUU. McClain and Smith tied for first with a 9.925 while Vultaggio put up a 9.875. Cacciola and Schwartze put up the next best scores with matching 9.850 scores. 

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