CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Flippin' Birds competed at home for the first time this season with a tri-meet featuring opponents Arizona State and Utah State. The Thunderbirds came in third place, scoring 195.075, while Utah State scored 195.375, and the Sun Devils scored 196.200.
Southern Utah scored an entire point better than their finish at the Best of Utah meet; however, it wasn't enough to come out with a win. The Thunderbirds scored a season-best 48.900 as a team in the floor rotation. The moment of the meet came when Junior Ellie Cacciola nailed a beam routine that scored an impressive 9.925.
Head Coach Scotty Bauman Said
Meet Recap
Vault (49.000)
The Flippin' Birds started the meet out strong with the vault. Junior Ellie Cacciola posted a 9.825 to start things off. Freshman Niya Randolph followed with a 9.800, and then it was Sophomore Trista Goodman's turn. Goodman would score 9.700, and following her vault, sophomore Kayla Pardue impressed the judges with a season-best 9.850. Junior Taylor Gull scored 9.700 before Sophomore Kennedi McClain wrapped up the rotation with a solid 9.825 vault.
Bars (48.550)
The Flippin' Birds would open the second rotation with freshman Brinlee Christensen, who scored 9.725. Freshman Alex Routsis added a career-high 9.875 to the total before an uncharacteristic 9.325 routine by Goodman. Randolph was next for Southern Utah, scoring 9.750. Junior Isabella Neff continued a solid start to her season, scoring 9.875 and bringing the team event total to 48.550.
Beam (48.625)
In the third rotation, the T-Birds moved to the beam and started with McClain, who scored 9.600. Freshman Alyssa Fernandez was next, posting a new career best of 9.825. Senior Aubri Schwartze would follow that with a routine that scored 9.600. Cacciola scored the highest marks for the Flippin' Birds all season with an astounding 9.925. Senior Aly Coutu finished off the beam rotation for Southern Utah by scoring 9.675.
Floor (48.900)
The Thunderbirds posted a season-best 48.900 on the floor tonight but continuously look to improve with each meet. SUU would begin the final rotation with a 9.675 by Gull, followed by another solid routine from Fernandez, which scored 9.800. Cacciola would go next, grabbing a 9.725. Randolph posted a new career high of 9.875, and Christensen followed with a career-best of her own, scoring 9.825.
Next Up
The Flippin' Birds will hit the road to take on #18 Iowa. The Thunderbirds will square off with the Hawkeyes on Friday, January 26, at Xtream Arena. The meet will begin at 5:30 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on BIG+.
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