CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Flippin' Birds have swept the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation weekly conference awards for the third time this season. Freshman Niya Randolph was named the Gymnast of the Week; Freshman Alyssa Fernandez earned the Freshman of the Week award, and Sophomore Kennedi McClain was tabbed as the Specialist of the Week.
Coach Scotty Bauman Said
"The fact that all of these routines are new to our lineup this year is incredible. These athletes put in hard work every day, and they go out and earn these awards with the work that they put in. We as a staff are extremely proud of not only their performance but their daily effort."
Flippin' Freshman
Southern Utah Freshman Niya Randolph performed exceptionally well last Monday against Iowa State. Randolph scored a massive 9.925 on the floor, setting a new career high and placing first in the meet. Her all-around score against the Cyclones was 39.200 Randolph continued to impress in the all-around during the second meet of the week, on the road against BYU. Randolph finished in first place with 39.250, raising her season average. Randolph took the top spot in the floor exercise with a 9.875 and tied for first in the vault. This is the fifth time that Randolph has earned the MPSF Gymnast of the Week Award.
Freshman Alyssa Fernandez sparkled in the Thunderbirds home victory over Iowa State. Fernandez put on a solid floor routine that scored 9.800, but it was the beam where she shone the brightest, scoring 9. 900. The score marked a new career high for Fernandez. Fernandez was once again a significant part of the Thunderbirds Beam rotation in Friday's road contest at BYU. She scored a 9.875 to help the Flippin' Birds to an impressive 49.125. The score tied for the top marks in the meet with teammate Ellie Cacciola. This is the second time that Fernandez has earned the Freshman of the Week award for the MPSF.
Sophomore Sensation
Sophomore Kennedi McClain has an outstanding beam routine that again scored high against Iowa State. The sophomore from South Jordan earned a 9.900 on the beam and added a critical 9.775 on the vault to help the Flippin' Birds to a victory over the Cyclones. McClain was a big part of the Thunderbirds' attempted comeback on Friday evening in Provo, scoring an important 9.800 on the beam. Despite a rough start to the meet, the Thunderbirds made it close with an outstanding beam rotation that scored 49.125. McClain's leadership has been essential throughout the season for the T-Birds beam team, and she continues to perform at a very high-level week in and week out. This marks the second time that McClain has garnered the MPSF Specialist of the Week award.
Next Up
The Flippin' Birds will take on #23 Penn State in a highly anticipated matchup on Friday, March 8. The meet will begin at 7:00 p.m. MT. Live stats for the meet will be available through virti.us, and the meet will be broadcast on overnght.com.
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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