In a rematch of the opening meet of the season, the Southern Utah University women’s gymnastics team will take on Boise State University in Boise, Idaho, at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 13.
The meet will be streamed on the Mountain West Network and live stats can be found at virti.us.
Southern Utah
SUU enters this meet with a 7-9 record while being ranked No. 26 nationally. They defeated the No. 42-ranked Broncos to start the year, outscoring them 195.675-194.300.
The Flippin’ Birds are coming off a record-smashing meet against the University of Washington. Niya Randolph scored a 9.975 on floor, the best in school history and second-best in conference history, while achieving the second-highest all-around score in conference history. She was 0.025 points from tying her own record of 39.600. For her efforts, she won Gymnast of the Week for the sixth time.
The team as a whole made history as well. Their floor total of 49.525 was the second-highest in conference history while their overall score of 196.900 was the fourth-highest in conference history. They achieved the third-highest total earlier this season.
Berlin Hall also won Freshman of the Week for the sixth time, scoring two 9.900s on floor over the last week and helping the T-Birds etch their name in the record books.
SUU is 3-0 against conference opponents, leads the conference in every routine and has swept the conference weekly awards five times. SUU looks poised to secure both Gymnast of the Year and Freshman of the Year at season’s end as well.
Boise State
The Broncos hold an 8-11 record and are ranked No. 42 nationally. They’ve strung together some strong performances recently. Their three-meet winning streak was broken up by a close loss to the national No. 15 University of California, Berkeley.
In that meet against Cal, Boise State recorded season-high totals on the uneven bars and the balance beam. Sophomore Kristina Shchennikova recorded a career-high 9.925 on bars and freshman Sydnie Whipple turned in a career-high 9.875 on beam.
“Boise State is always a really solid team, and they have been building momentum the last few weeks,” said SUU head coach Scotty Bauman. “We know going into their gym will be a great test for us. This week is about carrying the momentum from last Friday with us on the road, staying sharp in the details and putting together four strong rotations as we get ready for the postseason.”
This will be the final meet for SUU and second-to-last meet for BSU before their respective conference tournaments. Southern Utah will face Sacramento State University, the University of Alaska Anchorage and the University of California, Davis, on March 21. Boise State will face Utah State University, San José State University and the US Air Force Academy on the same day.
Previous gymnastics article ——– Next gymnastics article
Author: Payson Davis
Photographer: SUU Athletics
