CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Flippin' Birds fell at home to Boise State 195.525-196.525. The Thunderbirds split the events winning on the bars and the floor but falling to the Broncos on Vault and Beam. This was the final Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference duel of the season and the Thunderbirds finished with a 5-1 record in MRGC duels and a 7-1 overall record against the conference so far this season. The Flippin' Birds will have one more chance against the entire conference during the Championship meet on March 18th right here in Cedar City.
Graduate Student Karley McClain took the top All-Around score with a 38.750. McClain and graduate student Caitlin Kho each grabbed individual event champions. Kho took home the top score in the vault while McClain's floor routine continued to impress garnering the high score in the event.
The Thunderbirds tied their top Bars score of the season with a 49.275. The Broncos jumped to an early lead winning the first rotation. The T-Birds bounced back quickly in rotation two to take the lead. The third rotation would be the meet decider as the Flippin' Birds struggled to get comfortable on the Beam. Southern Utah would once again score an impressive 49.250 on the floor but it would not be enough to overtake the Broncos.
VAULT (49.075)
The Thunderbirds started the meet on the vault and it was Kho who nabbed the top mark with a 9.900. Freshman Kayla Pardue showcased a powerful vault scoring a 9.825 and sophomore Ellie Cacciola matched it with a 9.825 of her own. Graduate student Rachel Smithe picked up a 9.800 and freshman Kennedi McClain rounded out the scores with a 9.725.
BARS (49.275)
The Flippin' Birds next moved to the bars to try and take the lead. The T-Birds got some impressive scores near the top with McClain and graduate student Shylen Murakami notching matching 9.900 scores. Senior Nikki Thomas scored the next best with a 9.850 and freshman Trista Goodman scored a 9.825. The fifth score on the bars was a solid 9.800 by Kho.
BEAM (47.925)
Going to the third rotation, the Thunderbirds hoped to repeat some of the magic from last week in Logan, but it wasn't meant to be. A fall in the leadoff spot seemed to rattle the T-Birds, who would only manage a 47.925. The best score in the event would come from sophomore Ellie Cacciola who collected a 9.875. Rachel Smith would put in a 9.775 and junior Hailey Vultaggio added a 9.725.
FLOOR (49.250)
In the final rotation, the T-Birds moved on to their top 20-ranked floor team. McClain would earn her second 9.900 of the meet and junior Emma Ingrassia would match it with a 9.900 of her own in her first meet since the beginning of the season against the University of New Hampshire. Sophomore Taylor Gull continued to improve her average with a 9.850. Junior Aubri Schwartze would grab a 9.850 as well while Cacciola's 9.750 rounded out the scores for the event.
COACH SCOTT BAUMAN SAYS…
"We tried to do some different things tonight. We tried to give some girls a break and get them some rest going into the season's final stretch."
"It was great to get some of these gymnasts a chance to get in the lineup and show what they are capable of."
"These guys don't fall on beam very often but tonight we just had a rough rotation."
"We had a hard time bringing the energy up on the floor tonight. We left a lot of gymnastics out there tonight and this team will rebound from this and we will be better for it in the long run."
"Boise State has a good team and tonight they showed it."
NEXT UP
The Flippin' Birds will head to California for a four-team meet at Sacramento State. The meet will be on Friday, March, 3rd, and starts at 8:00 p.m. MT.
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