CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Flippin' Birds snatched another Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference win at home tonight against BYU 196.925-196.475. After a slow start on the vault, the Thunderbirds went on to win the bars and floor while also matching the Cougars on the beam.
The Thunderbirds started the evening off on the vault and finished the competition with some near-perfect floor routines. Graduate Student Karley McClain claimed an individual event champion scoring a 9.950 with her floor routine and finishing the all-around with a 39.475 which matched her season high.
The Southern Utah floor team scored a season-best 49.500 which tied the #3 all-time mark in program history. The last time the Thunderbirds scored 49.500 on the floor was in 2020 when they squared off with Central Michigan University. The 196.925 score for the Flippin' Birds was also good enough to find a spot in the record books as the eighth-best team score of all-time for SUU.
VAULT (48.900)
Southern Utah fell behind early in the meet on the vault. McClain and freshman Kayla Pardue were the top scorers for the T-Birds with 9.825. The next best score for southern Utah was sophomore Ellie Cacciola who scored 9.775. Graduate student Rachel Smith was next with a 9.750 and graduate student Caitlin Kho rounded out the scoring with a 9.725.
BARS (49.250)
The Flippin' Birds charged back into the race scoring their top marks of the season with a 49.250. Graduate student Shylen Murakami led the T-Birds with a 9.900 while McClain added a 9.875. Graduate student Mayson Bentley notched a season-best 9.825 and that effort was matched by Kho, freshman Trista Goodman, and sophomore Isabella Neff.
BEAM (49.275)
Heading into the third rotation the Flippin' Birds were behind by less than a tenth of a point. SUU answered the call with an outstanding 49.275. Cacciola and junior Hailey Vultaggio each executed highly technical routines scoring 9.900. Junior Aubri Schwartze scored the next best with a 9.850 and McClain continued to contribute to the team's scores with a 9.825. Smith closed out the Beam scoring for Southern Utah with a 9.800.
FLOOR (49.500)
The floor team for the Thunderbirds continued to prove why they are ranked in the top 30 with some beautiful routines. McClain, who sits at #23 nationally, showed why the floor has been a strength for her all season scoring a 9.950. Schwartze scored just behind her at 9.925 and Vultaggio followed that up with a 9.900. Cacciola and Smith rounded out the scoring with a 9.875 and 9.850 respectively. In all, four of the top five scores on the floor in the meet belonged to the T-Birds.
COACH SCOTT BAUMAN SAYS…
"We started off a little bit rough on vault and we just weren't hitting our landings but the girls responded and kept getting better and better as the night went on."
"The Girls are starting to hit their stride and are putting together complete meets. Going six for six in all of our events without falls makes a huge difference."
"BYU is a well-coached team with phenomenal athletes, so it is great to get the win tonight but we will have to be sharp again next week when we see them again in Provo. Just like everyone else, the comfort level at home is a big factor."
TOP MOMENTS
NEXT UP
The Flippin' Birds will continue conference play next Friday when they travel to Provo for a rematch with BYU. The meet will start at 7:00 p.m. MT at the Smith Fieldhouse.
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