CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Flippin' Birds returned home to the America First Event Center to take on the Cyclones from Iowa State Monday evening. The Thunderbirds finished the meet with an impressive 196.500 to get the win. The score is the ninth-best in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference history. Iowa State finished with a 195.700. 

Southern Utah Freshman Niya Randolph led the Thunderbirds with an all-around score of 39.200. Randolph impressed the judges with an exceptional floor routine, earning a first-place score of 9.925. Sophomore Kayla Pardue tied for first place on the vault with a 9.875, and Senior Aubri Schwartze dazzled on the bars to earn the top spot with a score of 9.900. The Thunderbirds won the floor, bars, and vault rotations, tying with the Cyclones on the balance beam.  

Head Coach Scotty Bauman Said

"I was so proud of our athletes tonight! They were outstanding; this is the first meet of the year that we have gone 24 for 24. There were some small things that we can fix to score higher, but this team keeps getting better each week."

Meet Recap

Vault (49.075)

The Flippin' Birds began the meet on the vault, where junior Ellie Cacciola led the team off with a score of 9.850. Randolph was next with a 9.800 before sophomore Kennedi McClain posted a 9.775. Sophomore Kayla Pardue followed that up with an outstanding 9.875 vault. Freshman Brinlee Christensen added a 9.750, and wrapping up the rotation for the Thunderbirds was sophomore Trista Goodman, who scored 9.775.

Kayla earns a 9️⃣.8️⃣7️⃣5️⃣ to lead us on Vault ‼️ pic.twitter.com/OcqOEEccWs
— SUU Gymnastics (@SUUGym) February 27, 2024
 

Bars (49.200)

The Flippin' Birds opened the second rotation on the bars with freshman Brinlee Christensen scoring a 9.800. Freshman Alex Routsis was next with a 9.800 of her own. Goodman came next with a 9.725, and Randolph added to the team total with another 9.875. Junior Isabella Neff followed that up, scoring 9.825. Senior Aubri Schwartze wrapped up the second rotation with an excellent 9.900.  

Aubri ties her Career High on Bars with a 9️⃣.9️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ 😏 pic.twitter.com/PLgyFxG88T
— SUU Gymnastics (@SUUGym) February 27, 2024
 

Beam (49.025)

Freshman Alyssa Fernandez led off the third rotation for the T-Birds with an astounding 9.900. McClain was next and matched and scored a 9.900. Cacciola then mounted the beam to score 9.775 for her routine. Randolph picked up a 9.600 before senior Aly Coutu added a routine that scored 9.775. Senior Anna Hartley wrapped up the rotation for the Flippin' Birds with a 9.675, giving the T-Birds a 49.025 as a team.  

Kennedi STUCK this landing 😱

✨9️⃣.9️⃣0️⃣0️⃣✨ pic.twitter.com/NKNHNPNDW2
— SUU Gymnastics (@SUUGym) February 27, 2024
 

Floor (49.200)

The Thunderbirds moved to the floor for the final rotation. Fernandez got things started with a great 9.800 routine. Pardue was next with a solid 9.825 before Cacciola added an exceptional 9.850.  Junior Taylor Gull stepped to the floor next, scoring 9.725. An excellent routine from Christensen scored a 9.800, followed by a phenomenal 9.925 routine from Randolph. 

OH MY GOODNESS NIYA 🤯

🔥9️⃣.9️⃣2️⃣5️⃣🔥 pic.twitter.com/l3zcXsUjYc
— SUU Gymnastics (@SUUGym) February 27, 2024
 

Next Up

The Flippin' Birds will head to Provo to take on the BYU Cougars on Friday, March 1. The meet will take place in the Marriot Center and is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. MT. Stats will be available on suutbirds.com, and the broadcast will be on ESPN+.

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