Facing conference foe BYU at home, the Southern Utah Flippin’ Birds picked up a big win on Friday night.
Tallying a 196.925 score, SUU battled back from a deficit in the final two routines to topple the Cougars’ score of 196.475.
The T-birds started the night on the vault before closing with a phenomenal floor routine to clinch the victory.
Vault
SUU
Southern Utah tallied a 48.900 in its first routine, led by identical 9.825 scores from Karley McClain and Kayla Pardue. Ellie Cacciola scored a 9.775, followed by a 9.750 via Rachel Smith and a 9.725 by Caitlin Kho.
BYU
The vault was the second rotation for the Cougars, as they recorded a 49.225 score. Kylie Eaquinto led the way with a 9.900, followed by a 9.875 score from Sydney Benson. Rebekah Bean Ripley and Allix Mason both tallied scores of 9.825, while Madison Raesly-Patton rounded out the sequence with a 9.800.
Bars
SUU
The Flippin’ Birds moved to the bars for their next rotation, posting a 49.250 score. Shylen Murakami tallied a 9.900 score for SUU, with Karley McClain right behind with a 9.875. Three other T-birds rounded out the bars by posting scores of 9.800.
finesse [ fi – ness ]; noun; typically used to describe Shylen Murakami on bars 🤌
9️⃣.9️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ for @shylen_murakami 👏#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/H7oOX7r0LF
— SUU Gymnastics (@SUUGym) February 4, 2023
BYU
The Cougars scored 48.975 in their first event of the evening, led by a 9.925 by Lindsey Hunter. Anna Bramblett added a 9.900 score for BYU, while Anyssa Alvarado tallied a 9.800 and both Jayda Lealaogata and Sydney Benson added scores of 9.675.
Beam
SUU
The home team moved to the beam for its third rotation, posting a 49.275. Both Hailey Vultaggio and Ellie Cacciola recorded 9.900 scores, while Aubri Schwartze followed with a 9.850. Karley McClain (9.825) and Rachel Smith (9.800) rounded out the scores for Southern Utah.
WE SEE YOU @ellie_cacciola 👀
9️⃣.9️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ on the beam 🙌#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/6Pya6PPCLq
— SUU Gymnastics (@SUUGym) February 4, 2023
Hailey got the whole arena got loud LOUD on this routine 🗣🗣🗣
She joins the 9️⃣.9️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ club tonight 😎#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/bv7XhqILhp
— SUU Gymnastics (@SUUGym) February 4, 2023
BYU
The beam was the final rotation for the visitors, as they posted a score of 49.275. Mina Margraf led the Cougars with a 9.925, followed by scores of 9.875 from Madison Raesly-Patton and 9.850 from Elease Rollins. Sophie Dudley (9.825) and Allix Mason (9.800) rounded out BYU’s scoreline.
Floor
SUU
The Flippin’ Birds put on a show in their final rotation, recording a score of 49.500. Karley McClain tallied a 9.950 in a near-perfect routine, followed by a 9.925 score via Aubri Schwartze. Hailey Vultaggio added a 9.900 score, alongside 9.875 from Ellie Cacciola and a 9.850 from Rachel Smith.
GOOSEBUMPS 😱@karleymcclain records a ✨9️⃣.9️⃣5️⃣0️⃣✨ on floor#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/pJzCpDsRJs
— SUU Gymnastics (@SUUGym) February 4, 2023
Are you Flippin' kidding us, Hailey? 🤯
No, she's not. 9️⃣.9️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ again 🔥#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/juDqmWqtpD
— SUU Gymnastics (@SUUGym) February 4, 2023
BYU
The floor was the third rotation for the Cougars, where they tallied a 49.000 score. Elease Rollins (9.875) and Heidi Schooley (9.825) recorded the top scores for BYU, followed by a 9.800 from Sophie Dudley. Rebekah Bean Ripley added a 9.775 and Eliza Millar scored a 9.725 to cap the rotation.
Flippin’ Birds continue to soar
With the win, SUU moves to 9-1 overall this season.
The T-birds took first place (of four) in their session to open the season at the Super 16 in Las Vegas, beating Washington, North Carolina, and Fisk University.
After a win over New Hampshire, SUU finished as the runner-up to the University of Utah at the Best of Utah meet while taking down BYU and Utah State.
The Flippin’ Birds have now faced three Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference opponents in a row, picking up wins over all three schools (Utah State, Boise State, BYU).
Up next
Both SUU and BYU will meet for a rematch in Provo on Friday, February 10. The meet will begin at 7 p.m. and can be seen on BYUtv.
