CEDAR CITY, Utah — Southern Utah continued its stretch of home meets with a tough loss to Utah State on Monday night, falling 196.875-195.725. The Flippin' Birds fall to 2-2 at home this season and will look to finish out strong against Washington on Friday, March 6.
Junior Rylee Miller tied for first on bars, setting a new career-high with a 9.875, also coming in second on the beam with a new personal best of 9.900. Sophomore Emma Nipper earned a first-place finish and a career-high on the beam with a 9.925. Freshman Berlin Hall took home first place on the floor with her high-energy routine, earning a 9.900. Mia Hampton and Carilia Martinez picked up a tie for second place on the floor with a score of 9.875.
Associate Head Coach Jamie Wysong Said
Meet Recap
Vault (48.900)
Southern Utah opened the meet on vault and battled through a decent opening rotation to nearly equal its season average. Junior Mackenzie Kelly got things started with a 9.650. Junior Elliot Bringhurst followed with an impressive 9.850, and senior Kayla Pardue added a 9.825. Niya Randolph kicked off her all-around effort with a strong 9.800, while freshman Vinciane Le Pen was next with a 9.525. Sophomore Sage Paladino closed out the rotation with a 9.775 to give the T-Birds a 48.900 for the first rotation.
Bars (49.125)
The Thunderbirds carried their energy to the uneven bars, stacking together several key routines to build the team score. Junior Alex Routsis led off with a composed 9.850. Sophomore Mia Hampton turned in a sharp 9.800, and Randolph added another solid routine, scoring 9.825 to continue her consistent night. Junior Rylee Miller contributed a career-high 9.875 to move the rotation along. Freshman Ariel Collum finished the event with a 9.775, sending SUU into the third rotation with a total of 98.025.
Beam (48.425)
Southern Utah approached the beam with confidence and delivered a collection of competitive routines. Randolph opened but battled through a fall to earn a 9.225, and Hampton followed with a solid 9.700. Sophomore Emma Nipper added a gorgeous routine, earning a new career-high of 9.925. Miller continued her impressive night with another career-high, scoring 9.900. Bringhurst added a solid 9.675. Ferguson finished up the rotation for the team with a 9.100. The Thunderbirds headed to the final event, holding a team total of 146.450.
Floor (49.275)
The Flippin' Birds closed out the meet on the floor with a solid set of routines that scored well. Hampton led off with an awesome 9.875, and Miller followed with another solid routine, earning a 9.725. Junior Alyssa Fernandez added a 9.775, while junior Carilia Martinez delivered a dynamic routine to grab a 9.875. Freshman Berlin Hall chipped in a 9.900 before Randolph wrapped up her all-around night with a 9.850. The final rotation brought Southern Utah's team score to 195.725 for the meet.
Next Up
The Flippin' Birds will be back in the America First Event Center on Friday, March 6. Southern Utah will take on the University of Washington 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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