The Southern Utah Thunderbirds will open their season this Friday when they host the No. 36 Stanford Cardinal at home. The competition between the two teams will likely be a close one -- Southern Utah is coming off a strong season last year, when it was ranked No. 23 in the nation. Stanford, which has not yet broken the 194-point mark, will be looking to improve its performance since the first two meets of its season. 

FloGymnastics will be on site for this competition and will be streaming it LIVE here, so be sure to check out all the action this Friday at 6 PM CT.

We've provided the rundown below on the gymnasts to watch for this upcoming meet:

STELLAR SENIORS

Southern Utah has a whopping eight seniors this year, many of whom are some of the team's best performers. Danielle Ramirez, for one, is a star all-arounder for the Thunderbirds. She was tied for No. 44 in the All-American rankings last season and competed in the all-around at NCAA Nationals, scoring a 39.025. 

Stacie Webb, a redshirt senior, was one of the team's top contributors on vault, beam and floor last year. She held the highest ranking on beam for the team at No. 28, and she is also super powerful on floor exercise. Check out her routine from last season from a meet against Michigan and UC Davis, where she scored a 9.9:



Kirsten Yee is another senior to look out for, especially on uneven bars, on which she was tied for No. 44 last year and had a season high of 9.9 in the first meet. She also currently holds SUU's record for the highest bars score with a 9.95, which she achieved in 2015. 

The Thunderbirds have a lot of talent on floor, and you won't want to miss Virginia Brownsell, who has tied the school's record for the highest score on the event (9.95). Check out that 9.95 routine from last season below:

AMAZING EBEE

Elizabeth Price, now in her junior year at Stanford, has always been a favorite to watch. Price has incredible power and precision in her gymnastics and is a top contributor on vault (where she competes a double twisting Yurchenko) and bars especially. In her opening meet, she scored a 9.95 on both events. Check out the video below of her bar routine from last season:

IMPRESSIVE NEWBIES

Stanford has added a number of freshmen to the roster this year, and the Cardinal have already proved they can add a lot to the team with their performances in the first two competitions. Kaylee Cole achieved her first event victory last weekend on vault, when she scored a 9.875 for the second time in a row. Cole also put up a solid score on balance beam last weekend, scoring a 9.8 to tie for the second-highest score of the lineup. 

Ashley Tai has also put up strong scores for the Cardinal since the start of the season, notching a 9.825 on vault in her first meet and the same score on beam last weekend, which is tied for the highest score in the lineup.

Lastly, Stanford has welcomed Aleeza Yu, who has proved to be a consistent competitor on uneven bars, on which she scored a 9.825 in both meets so far.

Be sure to check back here at FloGymnastics to watch this exciting competition on Friday.


Related:
Senior Spotlight: Stanford's Rachel Daum
Stanford's Nikki McNair Returns from India for Stellar Senior Year