On Friday, April 5, the Southern Utah University gymnastics team fell in the second round of the NCAA regionals, finishing fourth in their quad meet. The University of California, Berkeley took first, followed by Stanford University. Auburn University and SUU did not qualify for the regional final.
California
The Golden Bears competed as well as they were seeded. The No. 3-overall squad finished first to punch their ticket to the regional final with a score of 197.800.
Stanford
The Cardinals were seeded No. 19 entering the tournament but didn’t let the lower ranking stop them. They took second place, tallying a 197.600.
Auburn
The Tigers had an up-and-down meet but were able to finish strong, and although the No. 14-overall seed did not advance, they finished with a score of 196.800.
It went downhill for Auburn when Aria Brusch suffered a brutal fall on the bars, leaving her unable to finish the meet.
Southern Utah
The Flippin’ Birds, seeded No. 33 overall, ran out of steam as they totaled a score of 196.475. SUU’s young roster that includes 12 freshman gymnasts helped continue SUU’s prowess as a great program. This marked the 11th straight season that the Flippin’ Birds have made it to the national regionals.
Ellie Cacciola had a fantastic meet, tallying a 9.900 on the vault, a 9.825 on the floor and a 9.875 on the beam.
Author: Brig Pyfer
Photographer: Anden Garfield
Editor: Anden Garfield
sports@suunews.net
