Did you miss any of the action from SUU’s busy weekend? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a recap of everything that happened around SUU athletics this weekend.
Flippin’ Birds Defeat No. 17 BYU on Senior Night
CEDAR CITY, Utah– The SUU women’s gymnastics team scored a season high 49.175 on floor en route to a 196.000-195.650 victory over the No. 17 BYU Cougars on Friday night.
Karen Gonzalez led the T-Birds with a 9.875 on the floor while Molly Jozwiakowski and Madison McBride followed with a pair of 9.850’s.
KAREN. GONZALEZ. 😍🤩😱🤯 9.875 pic.twitter.com/ijbfwsta95
— SUU Gymnastics (@SUUGym) February 23, 2019
Morgan Alfaro led SUU on vault and Becky Rozsa-Thompson led on bars to earn co-event champions.
Morgan tops SUU vault scores once again!! We can’t get enough 🤩- 9.850 pic.twitter.com/zxpXeb067N
— SUU Gymnastics (@SUUGym) February 23, 2019
Pretty sure Becky’s parents picked a “B” name knowing she would be this good at BARS 😍 9.825 pic.twitter.com/iW7DXGTXmr
— SUU Gymnastics (@SUUGym) February 23, 2019
With the win, the Flippin’ Birds improve to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Rocky Mountain Gymnastics Conference. The team returns to action Saturday, March 2 at Nebraska.
Men Place Third, Women Fourth in Big Sky Indoor Track Championships
BOZEMAN, Mont.– The Southern Utah track teams competed in the Big Sky Indoor Championships over the weekend, placing third on the men’s side and fourth for women’s.
Angie Nickerson took home the Big Sky Individual Championship with a 16:46.09 in the 5,000 meter. Frank Harris III finished with a high jump of 7′ ¼” to claim the Individual Conference Championship in the event.
Justin Lewis won the Individual 400-meter Championship with a time of 47.5. Devin Montgomery set the school record in the 600-meter hurdles with a time of 7.98.
Sinclair Wilson won the Individual Championship in both the 600-meter and 200-meter events. Her altitude-adjusted time of 24.38 broke SUU’s school record.
Linnea Saltz also set a school record with her 55.41 in the 400-meter event.
SUU will begin their outdoor season in the UNLV Invitational on March 14.
Women’s Basketball Drops Two Games over Weekend
CHENEY, Wash. — SUU fell 80-66 at Eastern Washington on Thursday night. Harley Hansen and Ashley Larsen led the T-Birds with 17 points each, shooting a combined 13 of 28 from the field. Rebecca Cardenas followed with 14 points.
MOSCOW, Idaho — The Lady T-Birds were defeated 77-49 on Saturday afternoon. Ashley Larsen was SUU’s leading scorer with 14 points and she also tallied three blocked shots. Rebecca Cardenas followed with ten points and seven rebounds. Claudia Armato scored nine points, shooting 3 of 4 from behind the arc.
SUU (6-20, 3-14) returns to the America First Event Center on Saturday, March 2 to face the Montana Grizzlies. Tipoff is at 1 p.m. and the game will be streamed on Pluto TV channel 236.
SUU Softball Gets Swept by San Diego
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The Thunderbird softball team dropped both games of a double-header on Saturday, losing 12-1 in game one before falling 4-2 in the second.
In the series finale, SUU lost a tough 7-2 game. The T-Birds drew first blood with a two-run first inning before the Toreros answered back with four runs in the bottom of the frame. Outside of a three-run 5th for USD, neither team did much damage the rest of the way.
SUU (1-7) will compete in the St. George Red Desert Classic next weekend from March 1-3. Their opponents will be CSU Bakersfield and Baylor on Friday, Utah State and Notre Dame on Saturday and Saint Mary’s on Sunday.
Story by: Aaron Peterson
aapete3232@gmail.com
Photo Courtesy of SUU Athletics Strategic Communication
