Southern Utah University sophomore Alyssa Click won a share of the Western Athletic Conference championship on uneven parallel bars and helped the Thunderbirds finish second at the WAC championships last weekend at San Jose, Calif.
Click, a Skyview High School graduate who competed for Multnomah Athletic Club of Portland, and Boise State’s Hannah Redmon each posted a score of 9.850 on bars. Click shares the SUU school record on bars with a 9.925 last season.
Click also tied for fourth place in the balance beam (9.875) and was one of three gymnasts tied for 15th in floor exercise (9.750).
The Thunderbirds tallied the second highest team score on beam in school history Saturday, but were unable to ride the performance to a second consecutive WAC championship, finishing second behind Boise State.
The Broncos totaled 195.700 points for the victory, with SUU 0.875 points behind at 194.825.
Although the Thunderbirds fell short in their bid for a second consecutive WAC championship, they were selected for NCAA regional competition.
SUU, ranked No. 31 at the end of the regular season, will compete April 2 at Corvallis in a regional with No. 3 Oregon State, No. 10 Nebraska, No. 15 Iowa, No. 34 San Jose State and No. 36 Michigan State.
The meet in Corvallis will begin at 4 p.m., with live stats and live video anticipated to be available at www.suutbirds.com.
The top two team finishers at the meet will continue on to the NCAA Championships in Cleveland on April 15-17, with the top two all-around competitors — who are not advancing on a team — also earning automatic berths. Individual event champions will be the final automatic qualifiers for the championships, but only in the given event on which they win the title.
“It is always great to have your season continue and go to the NCAA postseason,” head coach Scott Bauman told suutbirds.com. “We feel very fortunate to be going to Corvallis, and if we hit our routines, we have a very good chance of going on to the NCAA championships.”
Gassaway part of BYU regional team
Brigham Young University freshman KayCee Gassaway and the Cougars will compete in NCAA regional gymnastics competition in Denver. The regional will take place at 6 p.m. April 2 at Magness Arena on the University of Denver campus.
The Cougars concluded the regular season Friday with a 196.7-195.8 loss to rival Utah at the Marriott Center in Provo. Gassaway scored 9.825 on vault in the dual.
Gassaway, an east Vancouver resident who completed her high school education a year early in the running start program, competed for Naydenov Gymnastics.
The Cougars will face Florida, Arkansas, Boise State, Denver and Arizona.
The top two teams from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the National Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, April 15-17. Event winners at each regional will also have the opportunity to advance to the national championships if they are not part of a qualifying team or an all-around qualifier.
“We’re looking forward to Denver,” BYU head coach Brad Cattermole. “It’s close and we’ve been there before so it’s an easy trip. I think everyone is excited and it should be a great trip.”
Linfield’s Click hits 40th career wins
Linfield College senior Sarah Click reached a personal milestone in her collegiate tennis career as the Wildcats posted a 7-2 non-conference victory over La Verne University at Upland Tennis Club in La Verne, Calif.
Click, a Skyview High School graduate and cousin of Southern Utah University gymnast Alyssa Click, claimed her 40th career singles victory as a Wildcat with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Allison Moncrief.
Click and former Skyview teammate Abby Olbrich teamed for an 8-1 win at No. 1 doubles over Lila Luna and Tarika Krishnamurthy, while Olbrich defeated Luna 6-3, 6-1 at No. 1 singles.
Linfield is 8-4, 6-1 in Northwest Conference duals.
Gallagher notches another win for UH
Hawai’i pitcher Zach Gallagher allowed two hits over six innings as the Rainbows posted its first shutout victory of the season Sunday, a 5-0 win over Centenary College in Honolulu.
The Camas High School graduate recorded three strikeouts in his six innings.
Gallagher is 3-0 with a save in seven appearances with an earned run average of 1.62, allowing three runs and 14 hits in 16.2 innings pitched, with 11 strikeouts and two walks.
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