After winning their fourth consecutive conference championship, the Southern Utah University women’s gymnastics team is heading to Tempe, Ariz., to compete in the NCAA Gymnastics Tournament. Southern Utah will face off against Brigham Young University, the University of Georgia and Michigan State University at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 2.
There are four regions in the tournament, with each holding two meets to decide who goes to the regional final. The top two teams in Southern Utah’s meet will advance to face the top two of the University of Florida, the University of California and Pennsylvania State University, as well as the winner of Arizona and Arizona State.
This meet will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats will be available at virti.us.
Southern Utah
Despite a slow start to the year, the Flippin’ Birds finished strong with a 10-10 record and a perfect 6-0 standing in the conference. Even with a few stumbles in the championship meet, they took their fourth-straight conference win last month. SUU is ranked No. 28 in the country.
Southern Utah nearly swept their conferences’ end-of-season awards. Niya Randolph won her third Gymnast of the Year award while Berlin Hall took home Freshman of the Year. The team also garnered 20 All-Conference Team honors.
SUU is strongest on the floor, where they rank No. 23 nationally. Even their weakest event, the balance beam, is No. 35 in the country. The team’s highest score of the year was 196.925, and they only recorded one score below 195.000 all year.
Georgia
The most formidable opponent in this meet, the GymDogs are No. 6 in the country. They’re ranked top-10 in every event, with their floor routine ranked No. 3 nationally. They finished the year with a 19-3 record.
Georgia placed fifth in the SEC Championship, but still recorded their highest score in over two decades. They hit a mark of 197.450, just 0.725 points behind first-place Florida.
The GymDogs are led by junior Ady Wahl, sophomore Nyla Aquino and a trio of freshmen. Their entire roster is filled with talent, with nearly every single athlete recording a 9.900 or better at some point this year.
Michigan State
The Spartans just came off an impressive second-place finish in the Big Ten Championships. It was their fifth consecutive finish of second or better in the Big Ten. They finished just 0.625 points behind first-place UCLA.
Michigan State is ranked No. 11 nationally and has only had two losses since the start of February. Sage Kellerman, Nikki Smith and MaKayla Tucker earned Big Ten First-Team honors while Olivia Zsarmani made the second team.
Kellerman was the Big Ten’s top athlete on the bars while Smith and others were top three in their respective specialties. Michigan State was one of 11 Big Ten teams to head to nationals, which ties an all-time record.
BYU
The Cougars were one of many teams from Utah to make the tournament. They rank No. 24 nationally while ranking No. 25 or better on every routine. They finished the year with a 10-7 record while going a perfect 4-0 at home.
BYU placed No. 3 in the Big 12 Championships, turning their season around after a sluggish start. They were helped along by freshman Scarlett Sonnenberg, who earned a 9.950 on the floor to set the tone for the meet.
The team faced SUU twice this year. In the first meet, the Cougars took a slim 0.050-point lead. In the second, they widened the gap but won by less than one point. SUU has the best chance of beating them in this upcoming meet, but will have to pull out all the stops.
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Author: Payson Davis
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Heather Turner