Facing in-state foe Utah State in an away rematch, the Southern Utah Flippin’ Birds picked up a big win on Friday night to sweep the dual meets against the Aggies this season.
Tallying 197.125 on the scoresheet, SUU tied the program record for a road score, which was set just last week in a win over BYU.
Utah State recorded a score of 196.175 in the defeat.
Bars
SUU
Southern Utah tallied a 49.275 in its first routine, with Mayson Bentley leading the way with a 9.900. Karley McClain and Shylen Murakami both followed with identical 9.875 scores, with Caitlin Kho right behind with a 9.850. Aubri Schwartze rounded out the scoring on bars with a 9.775 for the T-birds.
USU
Bars was the second rotation for the Aggies, as they recorded a 49.175 score. Brianna Brooks recorded a 9.900 for USU, with Dani Kirstine following with a 9.875 and Avery Bibbey a 9.850. Jessica Gutierrez and Lexi Aragon both registered scores of 9.775 to round out the Aggies’ rotation.
Vault
SUU
The Flippin’ Birds moved to the vault for their next rotation, posting a 49.200 score. Kayla Pardue led SUU with a 9.875 score, while Ellie Cacciola and Caitlin Kho were right behind with scores of 9.850. Rachel Smith (9.825) and Karley McClain (9.800) finished up the scoring for the visitors.
USU
The Aggies scored 48.700 in their first event of the evening, led by a 9.800 by Brianna Brooks. Payton Gatzlaff (9.775) and Alivia Ostendorf (9.750) were the next scorers for USU, while a 9.725 from Angel Stuart and a 9.650 from Jenna Eagles completed the scoring for the home team.
Floor
SUU
The visitors moved to the floor for its third rotation, posting a 49.200. Karley McClain and Taylor Gull recorded 9.875 scores, while Hailey Vultaggio and Aubri Schwartze followed with identical scores of 9.850. Rachel Smith recorded a 9.750 to finish the rotation for the Flippin’ Birds.
USU
The floor was the final rotation for the home team, as they posted a score of 49.225. Ariel Toomey led the Aggies with a 9.925, followed by scores of 9.875 from Alivia Ostendorf and 9.825 from both Payton Gatzlaff and Jenna Eagles. A 9.775 from Angel Stuart rounded out Utah State’s scoreline.
Beam
SUU
The Flippin’ Birds recorded a score of 49.450 in their final rotation. Hailey Vultaggio and Karley McClain both led SUU with 9.925 scores, followed by a 9.900 score from Rachel Smith. Shylen Murakami, Ellie Cacciola, and Aubri Schwartze all tied for the final scores with a 9.850 to secure the win.
USU
The beam was the third rotation for the Aggies, where they tallied a 49.075 score. Brianna Brooks (9.900) and Sofi Sullivan (9.850) recorded the top scores for USU, followed by a 9.800 from Carley Bayles. Lexi Aragon added a 9.775 and Alivia Ostendorf scored a 9.750 to cap the rotation.
Flippin’ Birds keep winning
With the win over Utah State, SUU moves to 11-1 overall this season.
The T-birds are now unbeaten in Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference meets with a 5-0 record, notching wins over Utah State and BYU twice each, along with a victory against Boise State.
Southern Utah has lost just once on the season, where they finished as runners-up to No. 4 Utah in the Best of Utah meet.
Up next
SUU
The Flippin’ Birds will return to Cedar City to face Boise State for the second time this season in their next meet.
SUU and Boise State will face off on Wednesday, February 22 at 7 p.m. The meet can be seen on ESPN+.
USU
Utah State will now travel to BYU as they look to avenge an earlier season loss to the Cougars.
The Aggies and Cougars will face off on Friday, February 24 at 7 p.m. The meet can be viewed on BYUtv.
