CEDAR CITY, Utah — Southern Utah opened a stretch of three home meets with a win on Friday night, taking down UC Davis 196.925-193.525 and scoring a new season-high. The Flippin' Birds improve to 2-1 at home this season with a perfect 3-0 record against MPSF competition.
Junior Niya Randolph put together a complete meet to earn first place in the all-around with a 39.450. Randolph tied for second on the vault, first on the bars, and first on the floor. Senior Kayla Pardue took the top score on vault. Junior Elliot Bringhurst tied for second on the vault and took second on the beam. Sophomore Mia Hampton tied for first on the bars with a 9.875 while placing first on the beam with a 9.925. Junior Maria Ferguson placed third on the beam with a 9.875. The Flippin' Birds matched the program record on the vault with a 49.325. Southern Utah outpaced the Aggies from the beginning, extending its lead each rotation.
Head Coach Scotty Bauman Said
Meet Recap
Vault (49.325)
Southern Utah opened the meet on vault and jumped out to an early lead, scoring a season-high 49.325. Junior Mackenzie Kelly began the rotation with a 9.600. Junior Elliot Bringhurst followed that up with a huge 9.875, and senior Kayla Pardue scored a 9.925 with an outstanding vault to tie her season high. Niya Randolph began her all-around night with a big-time 9.875. Freshman Vinciane Le Pen followed that up with a solid 9.825. Sophomore Sage Paladino wrapped up the event for the T-Birds with a score of 9.825.
Bars (48.975)
The Thunderbirds moved to the bars, delivering a few big routines to extend the lead. Junior Alex Routsis led off with a clean set for a 9.750. Sophomore Mia Hampton added a great routine to score a 9.875. Randolph continued her strong night with 9.875 to set up the back half of the lineup. Junior Rylee Miller contributed a 9.750 before junior Kendall McGuire followed that with a 9.600, and Maria Ferguson capped off the rotation with a solid 9.725. SUU moved to the third rotation with a 98.300 total.
Beam (49.300)
Southern Utah headed to the beam, ready to build on the success from the last two weeks. Randolph opened with a dynamic performance, grabbing a 9.800. Hampton followed with a beautiful routine, scoring a career high 9.925. Sophomore Emma Nipper continued to perform with a high-energy routine that scored 9.800. Miller was next, earning a 9.275 after battling a fall. Bringhurst built the momentum back with an extremely powerful routine, setting a new season-best with a 9.900. Ferguson anchored the team in commanding fashion, posting a 9.875 to cap the rotation. The Thunderbirds carried a total of 147.600 into the final event.
Floor (49.325)
Southern Utah closed the meet on the floor, where the team has been scorching hot the last two meets. Hampton led off with a 9.850. Miller followed with a powerful 9.900 routine, setting a new career-high. Junior Alyssa Fernandez was next, adding a 9.825 to the mix. Junior Carilia Martinez continued the rotation with an incredible routine that scored a 9.825. Freshman Berlin Hall added a 9.850. Randolph wrapped up an incredible all-around performance with a 9.900 on the floor for a total of 39.450. The solid rotation score brought the Flippin' Birds' score to 196.925 for the meet.
Next Up
The Flippin' Birds will be back in the America First Event Center next Monday, March 2. Southern Utah will take on future PAC-12 foe Utah State in a meet that begins at 6:30 p.m. MT. The meet will be streamed on overnght.com, and live stats are available on virti.us.
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