CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah Gymnastics team will be in Las Vegas for the Super 16 Presented by Ozone on Friday, Jan. 6th at 3:00 p.m. MT. The 16-team event will take place at the Orleans Arena.

Meet Information

Southern Utah at the Super 16 

Date: Friday, Jan 6, 2023

March In: 3:00 PM MT

Broadcast: BIG Ten Network

Tickets: https://bit.ly/3Z6jg1w

The Super 16

The Super 16 presented by Ozone, the largest women's collegiate invitational with more than 300 gymnasts, opens the first day of the women's 2023 collegiate season. The two-day competition has four competitive sessions, with team, all-around, and event champions for each session. 

The field of 16 universities includes five of the top 10 teams, as well as 13 of the top 25, in the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association's pre-season rankings. 

Preview

Southern Utah

The Flippin' Birds begin the '23 campaign as the #28 ranked team in the country in part due to the outstanding talent they have coming back this season. Five of the top competitors from last year's team have made their way back to compete for Southern Utah including Shylen Murakami, Karley McClain, Caitlin Kho, Mayson Bentley, and Rachel Smith. 

Murakami had a phenomenal season in '22, setting the school record on the uneven bars with a 9.975. She posted season-high scores of 9.925 on the beam and 9.825 on the floor routine.

McClain was a force for SUU gymnastics last season and has often competed in all four events throughout her career. She posted season-highs of 9.95 on the floor, 9.925 on the bars, 9.9 on the beam, and 9.875 on the vault.

Kho stepped up in a big way for the T-Birds during the '22 season and was a consistent contributor in multiple events. She posted season-best scores of 9.9 on the vault, 9.875 on the bars, and 9.9 on the floor. 

Bentley, primarily competing on the uneven bars, recorded a season and career-high score of 9.925 against BYU last season. 

Smith was one of the most consistent gymnasts in the Southern Utah program during the '22 season. She scored season-highs of 9.925 on the beam, 9.9 on the vault, and 9.925 on her infamous floor routine.

These five will make their presence felt all season for the T-Birds and look to kick off this year with some big performances in Las Vegas. 

Last Time Out

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. This score secured a third-place finish for the T-Birds in the second round of regional competition.

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. Southern Utah's third-place finish marked the end of the 2022 campaign for the Flippin' Birds.

The Competition

The universities competing in the Super 16 are:  Arizona State University, Auburn University, Brigham Young University, Fisk University, Oregon State University, Rutgers University, Southern Utah University, Stanford University, University of California – Berkeley, University of California – Los Angeles, University of Georgia, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, University of Oklahoma and University of Washington.

The last six National Collegiate Athletic Association national team champions* – Oklahoma (2022, 2019, 2016-17, 2014), Michigan (2021), and UCLA (2018, 2010, 2003-04, 2000-01, 1997) – are in the field. Oklahoma won the 2022 NCAA team crown, with Auburn finishing fourth in the 2022 team final. Additionally, Fisk University is the first Historically Black College or University to have a women's collegiate gymnastics team and will be competing in the session with SUU. 

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