CEDAR CITY, Utah —The Flippin' Birds are set to take on some high-level competition this Friday at the University of Washington. The quad-meet, which will feature Washington, BYU, and conference foe Sacramento State, begins at 7:00 p.m. MT at Alaska Airlines Arena.
The Thunderbirds are coming off a big home victory over #23 Penn State 196.850-196.525. The close meet featured excellent gymnastics from both sides, with Southern Utah emerging victorious and with an exceptional bars rotation that set a new program and conference record with a 49.475. This is the final meet of the regular season for the Flippin' Birds. Next week, they will travel to Sacramento for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference championship.
Meet Information
Southern Utah at Washington Quad-Meet
Date: Friday, March 15, 2024
March In: 7:00 PM MT
Venue: Alaska Airlines Arena
Live Stats: Live Stats
Broadcast: Watch Live
Coach Scotty Bauman Said
"We are excited to compete against some tough competition to wrap up the regular season. This quad-meet gives us a chance to prepare for the upcoming conference championship and beyond."
The Competition
Washington
The Washington gymnastics team holds the 27th spot in the rankings, dropping two places from last week's 25th position. They rank 33rd in vault, 23rd in bars, 17th in beam, and 38th in floor exercises. Achieving their second-highest team score of the season with a 196.950 at Oregon State, they were led by Lana Navarro, who won the Pac-12 Coaches Choice of the Week for her performance, including tying her career-high score on vault and floor. Additionally, Killough-Wilhelm earned the Pac-12 Coaches Choice award and was nominated for the 2024 AAI Award, making it the second time in program history that two Huskies have received Coaches Choice awards in a single season. Over the past three meets, Washington has secured their highest team scores of the season and set season-high event scores across all four disciplines.
BYU
BYU is coming off a tough home loss on senior night to Ohio State. The Cougars scored 196.450 behind some career-best efforts by multiple gymnasts. The top rotation for the Cougars this season has come on the beam, where they are ranked 28th nationally. BYU's bars rotation sits at 30th, while the vault team ranks 31st in the country. When the Thunderbirds and Cougars last met in Cedar City, sparks flew as both teams broke 197 in an incredible back-and-forth matchup. The Thunderbirds emerged victorious in the end, scoring 197.125.
Sacramento State
Sacramento State Gymnastics is making strides in NCAA rankings, holding the 56th spot overall. Their consistent performance across all apparatuses reflects their improvement this season, with the bars being their strongest at 54th place. Vault, beam, and floor events secure ranks of 56th, 55th, and 59th, respectively. The last time the Thunderbirds and Hornets squared off was at the Boise State tri-meet. Southern Utah took home the head-to-head victory, outscoring Sacramento State 196.250-195.225.
Southern Utah Notes
- The Thunderbirds had a historic performance at home vs BYU, scoring 197.125. (3rd best in program history and a MPSF conference record)
- Southern Utah is ranked #32 on the vault, #16 on bars, #29 on beam, and #44 on Floor.
- Sophomore Trista Goodman scored 9.950 on the bars at the last home meet, setting a new career high and matching the team high for the season.
- Randolph set a new school and conference record for the all-around with a 39.600 against BYU.
- The Flippin' Birds excelled on the balance beam against BYU, scoring 49.325. The floor team added an astounding 49.300 to the team total for the meet. Southern Utah scored an outstanding 49.250 on the vault and bars on Monday.
- On Friday, the Thunderbirds set a new school and conference record on the bars against Penn State, scoring 49.475.
- Freshman Niya Randolph has been named the Gymnast of the Week for the MPSF conference several times for her outstanding consistency in the all-around, earning the award again this week for her sixth time this season.
- The Flippin' Birds have swept the MPSF weekly conference awards in consecutive weeks. Freshman Niya Randolph was named the Gymnast of the Week, Freshman Brinlee Christensen earned the Freshman of the Week award, and Junior Ellie Cacciola was tabbed as the Specialist of the Week.
- Southern Utah has three returning gymnasts who finished the season ranked in the top 100 nationally, including Kayla Pardue (#83 Vault), Aubri Schwartze (#96 Floor), and Ellie Cacciola (#51 Beam).
- The Thunderbirds have four gymnasts ranked in the top 100 nationally across various events.
- The Thunderbirds are coached by Scott Bauman, who was named the MRGC Coach of the Year in 2023. Associate Head Coach Jamie Wysong was also named the Assistant Coach of the Year for the conference.
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InsideThe Nest
Overnght is debuting the new docu-series "Inside The Nest: Southern Utah Gymnastics" The series will follow the journey of the Flippin' Birds throughout their first season in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Go to overnight.com to watch the first episode now!
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