DAVIS, Calif. – Facing a second conference opponent in three days, the SUU Flippin’ Birds totaled a season-best score in a 196.650-196.300 victory on Sunday afternoon.

Niya Randolph took the all-around title with a score of 39.450 and claimed the top spot on bars (9.925), while Ellie Cacciola took first in the vault with a 9.900.

“I was so proud of how they competed today,” SUU head coach Scotty Bauman said.

“Our warm-ups were pretty rough, but the way they worked out the kinks and made adjustments in the meet shows you why they are such a great team,” he added.

First rotation – uneven bars

The T-birds began the meet on bars, recording a score of 49.275. Randolph started with a meet-high score of 9.925 to get SUU rolling early. Bella Neff and Mia Hampton were up next, recording scores of 9.800 and 9.825, respectively. Maria Ferguson answered with a 9.900, while Alex Routsis (9.825) and Kendall McGuire (9.800) rounded out the rotation.

Second rotation – vault

Southern Utah moved to the vault for the second rotation, notching a score of 49.125. Cacciola led off with a 9.900, which was followed by a pair of 9.800s from Mackenzie Kelly and Mia Hampton. Randolph and Brinlee Christensen each followed with 9.800s of their own before Taylor Gull capped the rotation with 9.725.

Third rotation – floor exercise

The Flippin’ Birds moved to the floor for their third rotation, notching a 49.250 score. Hampton began by recording 9.850, which was followed by a 9.775 from Alyssa Fernandez. Christensen was up next, totaling a solid 9.800 before Randolph secured a team-high score of 9.875. A 9.850 from Cacciola and a co-team high 9.875 from Taylor Gull wrapped up the rotation.

Final rotation – beam

SUU was up on balance beam for its final rotation, scoring 49.000. Randolph began the rotation with a 9.825, securing her all-around title. Christensen (9.775) and Elliot Bringhurst (9.725) followed before Cacciola recorded a team-high 9.850. Rylee Miller (9.825) and Ferguson (9.125) finished up on beam, securing the win for Southern Utah.

Once the final scores were tallied, the Flippin’ Birds walked away with a 196.650-196.300 victory and a Northern California weekend sweep. SUU also remained undefeated in true road meets, where they are 5-0 this season.

Up next

Southern Utah (11-4, 4-0 MPSF) returns to Cedar City for the final home meet of the season on Friday, March 7.

The Flippin’ Birds will host former conference foe Boise State at 6:30 p.m. MT, and the meet can be seen via the Overnght streaming platform.

Photo courtesy of SUU Athletics. 

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Spencer Rodak
Spencer has always been passionate about sports, growing up playing and following various sports. He ran cross country in high school and began his journey in sports media in 2017 as a journalism intern at The Spectrum & Daily News. Since then, his work has been published in numerous outlets including Deseret News, Standard-Examiner, St. George News, Southern Utah Now, SUU's Thunderground, SB Nation's RSL Soapbox, FanSided's Venom Strikes, fan-insider.com, The Spurs Web, and Iron County Today. Spencer is the founder of Stadium Sportzz and both the Sportzz with Spencer and Mountain States Sports Report podcasts. His experience extends to public address announcing, having first served as the PA announcer for Southern Utah University soccer in 2017 and as a high school sports PA announcer. He is now entering his fourth year as a PA announcer at Utah Tech University, where he also occasionally takes on the role of in-game emcee. Spencer's versatility also extends to radio, where at The Fan Sports Network he produced high school and Utah Tech athletics broadcasts, hosted the weekly Region 9 Football Tailgate Show, and appeared daily on The Drive. Now working towards completing his Bachelor's degree in Media Studies, Spencer was recently named the Sports Director at Utah Tech University's 91.3 The Blaze for the 2024-25 year. He will host a weekly show and serve as a play-by-play broadcaster, continuing his dedication to sports journalism and broadcasting. When he isn’t talking, writing about, or watching sports, Spencer enjoys traveling and spending time with his amazing wife.

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