Southern Utah University’s gymnastics team is preparing to meet conference team Brigham Young University head-on Friday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. in the America First Event Center. With SUU ranked first in the standings and BYU ranked second, it promises to be a close meet.
Southern Utah University
SUU recently brought home a significant win against Boise State University 196.275-195.700. This win was their first in Idaho since 2008. The meet was their fourth conference win of the season and their eighth overall, helping them to secure the No. 1 ranking in the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference. The win also earned SUU two weekly awards, both of which went to Karley McClain.
McClain was named Floor Specialist of the Week for the third week in a row with a score of 9.900 and Gymnast of the Week for the fourth week in a row with a total of 39.100 points.
Heading into the match, Kayla Pardue and Ellie Cacciola hold the MRGC top vault score at 9.850.
Shylen Murakami, the top SUU scorer on the uneven bars, is tied for second place in the MGRC. Her teammates McClain and Trista Goodman have both scored 9.900.
Cacciola is tied for the top score on the beam with a 9.925. Aubri Shwartze and Hailey Vultaggio are tied for second with a 9.900.
On the floor, SUU’s strongest event, McClain and Rachel Smith hold the top spot with a 9.925; their teammates Vultaggio and Schwartze are in the third spot with 9.875.
Brigham Young University
BYU also brought in a win against Utah State University, where they scored a new season-high score of 196.650. This week, gymnasts Allix Mason and Kylie Eaquinto both earned Vault Specialist for the first time this season with a score of 9.850. Elease Rollins earned BYU’s third weekly award with a 9.925 on the beam. Six of their gymnasts also scored new career highs.
Eaquinto and Mason are tied for first with Pardue and Cacciola on the vault with a score of 9.850.
Anyssa Alvarado is tied for second on the uneven bars with Murakami. Lindsey Hunter is tied for third with a score of 9.900.
BYU’s strongest event, the beam, has Rollins tied for first with Cacciola with a 9.925.
Rebekah Bean Ripley is tied with McClain and Smith for first on the floor. Her routine has also received a lot of attention on the internet, with nearly 500,000 views on the Tik Tok video posted by a BYU student. With the buzz surrounding the routine, it is likely there will be extra support for the gymnast this Friday.
Article by: Audrey Gee
sports@suunews.net
Photo courtesy of andengarfield@suu.edu
