As the Southern Utah University women’s gymnastics team continued their roadtrip to start the year, the Flippin’ Birds went north to face in-state opponent, Brigham Young University on Friday, Jan. 17. Southern Utah won three out of four events and earned a strong 194.750-193.375 victory.
Freshman Mia Hampton won the all-around with a score of 38.875, followed closely by Niya Randoplh who placed second with a 38.850.
Vault
Both teams performed well on the vault, yet SUU won it with a score of 48.775. Mackenzie Kelly scored the event-high 9.825 while BYU’s Kylie Eaquinto vaulted a team-high 9.750.
Bars
Two different low scores for BYU set them behind in the uneven bars. Despite Anna Bramblett-Widle’s 9.925, the Cougars scored just a 48.050. Hampton led the way for the T-Birds with a 9.875 and helped score an event-high 49.050.
Beam
BYU’s Brynlee Andersen scored a team-high 9.950 on the balance beam. Anderson was followed by Mina Margraf-Benson who earned a 9.850. However, the Flippin’ Birds were resilient and won the rotation 48.325-48.025 thanks to Maria Ferguson with a 9.800.
Floor
Ellie Cacciola had the highest score of the night on floor routine with 9.875. Sophie Dudley stood out for the Cougars with an impressive 9.850. She got help from Eliza Miller-Crossman and Heidi Schooley-Meyers to give BYU their only winning rotation of the night, but it wasn’t enough as SUU ended the match with a 194.750-193.375.
What’s next?
Southern Utah will compete in the Best of Utah gymnastics meet on Monday, Jan. 20, at 6 p.m. in West Valley, Utah.
Author: Jacob McQueary
Editor: Jack Paul
Photography: SUU Athletics
