CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah Gymnastics team will host Boise State for its final conference dual meet Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. MT. The #21 Flippin' Birds flew past the Aggies (197.125-196.175) last week in Logan and will look to remain unbeaten against MRGC foes this week. The Bronco gymnastics team cruised to its third-straight victory, defeating BYU 196.500-194.925 Friday night at ExtraMile Arena. 

MEET INFORMATION

Southern Utah vs Utah State 

Date: Friday, February 22, 2023

March In: 7:00 PM MT

Venue: America First Event Center

Broadcast: ESPN+ 

MY CAUSE MEET

This week the Thunderbirds will be doing their annual "My Cause Meet". This is something that the team has done for years. Each member of the team selects a cause to which they dedicate their performance. The team always selects a general cause as well and for this meet, the Thunderbirds are dedicating the meet to the grandson of long-time Boise State Coach Tina Bird. Coach Bird's Grandson, Baker, has a condition called congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV). The Broncos will be sporting "Team Baker" shirts and will have silver ribbons in their hair in awareness of Baker's fight. If you are interested in donating to this cause please follow the link at the bottom of this article. 

COACH BIRD SAID

"Although the circumstances have been rough Baker has been a light in our lives. He's continued to amaze us and even surprise some of his doctors. He's truly a fighter. He rolls over, supports his head, and recently started smiling. We're lucky to have this amazing little guy in our lives. With that being said we feel that it is our responsibility to bring awareness to this virus. It's not something typically addressed during prenatal appointments. They don't test for it routinely in most states, but MOST surprisingly doctors don't educate patients on the risk of what could happen to an unborn baby if a pregnant woman were to come into contact with CMV for the first time while pregnant. So for this reason we're incredibly grateful to SUU for giving us the opportunity to spread awareness for cCMV."

SOUTHERN UTAH NOTES

• Southern Utah has scored a record-breaking 197.125 in back-to-back weeks on the road at BYU and Utah State.

• The Thunderbirds completed a road sweep of conference foes for the first time since 2010 last week when they beat Utah State on the road in Logan. 

• The Flippin' Birds have 7 gymnasts currently ranked in the top 100 of various events. 

• The Thunderbirds sit at #16 after week 7 in the Road to National rankings with a National Qualifying Score of 196.620

• The T-Birds have a top-25 average score in all four events. The vault team sits at #24, the bars team is #20, the beam team at #12, and the floor team is ranked #17.

• Southern Utah gymnast Karley McClain is currently the #10 All-Around competitor in the County and ranks #1 in the North Central Region. McClain is also ranked in the top 100 in each individual event.

• McClain has scored seven straight MRGC Gymnast of the Week honors and doesn't seem to be slowing down.  

• The Thunderbirds have garnered the most MRGC specialist of the week awards with 23 on the season.  

BOISE STATE NOTES

• Boise State is ranked 32nd in the country in Week 7 of the Road to Nationals rankings with an average team score of 195.690. 

• The Broncos also rank 48th on the floor, 18th on the beam, 37th on the vault, and 44th on the bars.

• Emily Lopez last week scored a perfect 10.000  on the bars. 

• The Broncos have a very good lineup and push to score a 9.900 in every event weekly. 

• Individually, juniors Emily Lopez and Courtney Blackson are ranked in the top 20 nationally on bars. Lopez is 13th, averaging 9.920, while Blackson is 17th with an average of 9.905.

LAST TIME OUT

CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Flippin' Birds conquered Utah State to stay unbeaten in the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference with an impressive 197.125. The Thunderbirds matched the highest road score ever which they set last week at BYU. For the first time since the 2010 season, the T-Birds have swept all of their away duel meets in conference play.

Graduate Student Karley McClain once again laid claim to the All-Around title with a 39.475. This is the third time that McClain has tied her season high. Freshman Kayla Pardue took home the top score in the vault and graduate student Mayson Bentley tied for the high mark on the bars. McClain and Junior Hailey Vultaggio scored a 9.925 on the beam to earn the top spot. 

The Thunderbirds set a new program record on the beam with a 49.450. This topped the program's previous best beam score, a 49.425 set last season against William and Mary at home. The Thunderbirds vault score of 49.200 is also a top-10 all-time score. 

BARS (49.275)

The Flippin' Birds opened the meet on the bars and gave an outstanding performance. Bentley led Southern Utah scoring an impressive 9.900. McClain and Graduate Student Shylen Murakami took the team to another level with matching 9.875 scores. Next was graduate student Caitlin Kho who put in a 9.850 and finally junior Aubri Schwartze scored a 9.775 to round out the event for the T-Birds.

VAULT (49.200)

The Thunderbirds moved into the second rotation on the vault. Southern Utah's vault team continued to show improvement scoring 49.200. It was freshman Kayla Pardue who stole the event with a powerful vault scoring a 9.875. Sophomore Ellie Cacciola and Kho each added a 9.850. Graduate student Rachel Smith contributed a 9.825 and McClain wrapped up the vault scores with a 9.800.  

FLOOR (49.200)

In the third rotation, the T-Birds moved on to their top 20-ranked floor team. McClain and sophomore Taylor Gullgrabbed the top spot for the Thunderbirds with a 9.875 on the board. Not far behind them was the dynamic duo of Vultaggio and Schwartze, scoring a 9.850. Rachel Smith rounded out the team's score with a 9.750.

BEAM (49.450)

Going to the fourth and final rotation the T-Birds had a significant lead and the beam team secured the win with a 49.450. Vultaggio and McClain both scored new personal records with matching scores of 9.925. Next, it was Smith who would provide a 9.900 to boost the team. The final three T-Bird scores were all 9.850 from Cacciola, Schwartze, and Murakami.

DONATE TO TEAM BAKER

If you are interested in donating to help "Team Baker" and to help spread awareness of the cCMV please follow this link https://www.gofundme.com/f/team-baker-bird-ccmv  

FOLLOW US

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