Jan. 31, 2008

LOGAN, Utah -

Complete Utah State at Southern Utah Notes in PDF Format

#44 Utah State at #17 Southern Utah
Cedar City, Utah
SUU Centrum (5,300)
Monday, Feb. 4, 2008
7 p.m. (MT)

ON TAP - Fresh off its first win of the season, 44th-ranked Utah State (1-3, 1-3 WAC) heads to in-state foe and 17th-ranked Southern Utah (1-0, 0-0 WAC) on Monday, Feb. 4 at Cedar City, Utah... The Western Athletic Conference dual is scheduled for a 7 p.m. (MT) start at SUU's Centrum (5,300).

UP NEXT - USU completes its three-meet road swing by participating in a quad meet with Oklahoma and Air Force, hosted by Denver, on Saturday, Feb. 9... The Aggies return home on Friday, Feb. 15, hosting New Hampshire and in-state foe BYU in a triangular meet.

UTAHSTATE.TV - Fans can watch all USU gymnastics home meets live via the internet through UtahState.tv, available through www.UtahStateAggies.com, the official web site of USU athletics.

LIVE STREAMING / STATS - Live streaming and stats for Monday's meet are available through Southern Utah's web site: www.suu.edu/sutv/webcast.html for web cast and www.suutbirds.com for stats.

AGGIE ALUM / TEACHER VS. MENTOR - Southern Utah head coach Scott Bauman is a 1990 Utah State graduate. Bauman, who is in his 17th year at the helm of the Thunderbird program, spent seven years as an undergraduate and graduate assistant coach for Aggie head coach Ray Corn.

CLUB COACH CONNECTION - First-year Utah State assistant coach Dave Hancock coached Southern Utah senior Erin Morgan and junior Kellie Dangerfield at Missy Marlowe's Gymnastics in Salt Lake City.

ABOUT UTAH STATE - After opening with three losses, the Aggies got their first win of the season by edging Cal State Fullerton, 191.700-191.600, Sunday.

The .1 score difference was Utah State's closest since losing to in-state foe BYU, 193.375-193.275, on Jan. 20, 2006, and was the Aggies' narrowest margin of victory since edging Denver, 194.925-194.875, on Feb. 11, 2005.

Utah State had two event winners in freshmen Nicole Simoneau and Jasmine Minion, as Simoneau tied for first on the bars while Minion won the vault.

The Aggies also had three of the four all-arounders with junior Nicki Felley capturing top honors with a 38.650 while sophomore Heather Heinrich was third with a season-high 37.350 and senior Megan Tschida was fourth with a 36.625. Sunday was Tschida's first time competing in the all-around since the regular-season finale of 2005, her freshman season.

Utah State opened on bars, where Simoneau returned to the top spot after finishing fourth in Tuesday's meet and she has now won the event in three of USU's four meets.

As a team, USU scored a season-high 48.000 on bars.

For their second rotation, the Aggies were on vault where Minion stuck a season-high 9.875 to give USU two event-winners in the first two rotations. Minion's 9.875 is the fourth-highest score in school history and she is now tied for 13th on USU's individual high score list for vault with eight other Aggies, including current teammate Felley (Feb. 23, 2007).

The Aggies captured second through fifth-places on beam. Felley was second with a 9.600 while Omann was third with a 9.525, the first time she has competed in the event this season not as an exhibitioner. Freshman Lyndsie Boone nabbed fourth with a 9.475 while Heinrich captured fifth with a 9.225.

On floor, Tschida was second, tying a season-high with a 9.850. Minion and Felley tied for fourth with 9.750's each.

For the season, Minion leads the team with a 9.781 average on vault, which ranks 10th in the North Central region. On bars, Simoneau has a 9.800 average, ranking ninth in the region.

Tschida leads USU and is sixth in the region with a 9.806 floor average.

Felley has the highest average on the team on both beam (9.494) and all-around (38.056), ranking 16th in the region in all-around.

The Aggies have six freshmen who will compete this season along with seven returners from last season's squad that finished third at the 2007 WAC Championships and sixth at last year's NCAA Regionals, marking the 26th time in the 30 years of USU Gymnastics that Utah State qualified for postseason competition.

The veterans are led by seniors Megan Tschida and Katie Omann, along with junior Nicki Felley, as well as sophomores Heather Heinrich and Devin Markle. Headlining the freshmen are Lyndsie Boone, Jackie Dillon, Erica Huelsmann, Chelsea Marquardt, Jasmine Minion, Nicole Simoneau and Maegan Snodgrass.

ABOUT SOUTHERN UTAH - The Thunderbirds are 1-0 on the season and host a quad-meet Friday with Cal State Fullerton, Boise State and BYU.

SUU recorded its highest season-opening score in school history with a 194.175 compared to 187.300 for Seattle Pacific.

Sophomores Elise Wheeler and Bailey Baker took top honors on vault with 9.775's each. On bars, Wheeler also tallied the high score with a 9.875.

Freshman Ariel Lamb won the beam by posting a 9.875 while fellow freshman Shannon Coughlin captured high score honors on floor with a 9.800.

Southern Utah returns eight letterwinners from last season's 10-12 squad that was 4-3 in WAC action, and finished second at the WAC Championships. Among the returners is 2007 WAC Freshman of the Year Elise Wheeler along with NCAA Regional qualifiers senior Tehani Douglas, junior Kellie Dangerfield and sophomore Shayla Garcia.

USU-SUU SERIES HISTORY - Utah State is 36-19 all-time against Southern Utah, with a 10-9 advantage at Cedar City.

The Aggies faced off with the Thunderbirds in back-to-back home-and-home duals last season, losing at Cedar City, 194.575-192.275, on Feb. 16 before bouncing back to win, 195.675-194.700, at Logan a week later on Feb. 23.

At last year's WAC Championships, SUU was second with a 195.225 while USU was third at 195.175.

Utah State has lost its last three meets at Southern Utah, last winning in 2004.

REGIONAL HISTORY - In the 30 year history of the USU gymnastics program, the Aggies have qualified for regionals 26 times, with the highest finish coming in 1982 when the Aggies placed second and went on to the National Championships, where they placed ninth.

The most recent appearance at the regional championships by USU was in 2007 when the Aggies placed sixth at the regional meet.

2008 WAC PRESEASON RANKINGS - Utah State was tabbed in a tie for third in the Western Athletic Conference preseason gymnastics poll, released by the conference Monday, Jan. 7. This is the first season that the conference has done a preseason poll.

The Aggies, who garnered one first-place vote and 23 points, are tied with Boise State, who received the same amount of first-place votes and points.

Southern Utah had three first-place votes and 27 points, tying with defending WAC champion Sacramento State who also had 27 points but just one first-place vote. Cal State Fullerton and San Jose State round out the poll at fifth and sixth with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

The 2008 WAC gymnastics championship will take place at the Taco Bell Arena in Boise, Idaho on Saturday, March 29.

IN THE NATION - Utah State gymnastics began the 2008 season ranked 33rd in the country according to the Troester Women's Preseason Coaches Poll, before falling as low as No. 46 but bouncing back to No. 44 in this week's rankings.

Five USU opponents are ranked in this week's Top 25: No. 2 Utah (Feb. 22), No. 6 Oklahoma (Feb. 9), No. 13 Denver (Feb. 9 and Feb. 29), 17th-ranked Southern Utah (Feb. 4, Feb. 22, Mar. 21) and 18th-ranked Boise State (Jan. 11, Jan. 22).

WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE - The Aggies return four all-WAC honorees, in seniors Katie Omann (first-team vault) and Megan Tschida (first-team floor), junior Nicki Felley (second-team bars, floor) and sophomore Heather Heinrich (first-team vault).

Tschida also earned WAC Specialist of the Week honors (Feb. 26, 2007).

Five Aggie returners also earned academic all-WAC accolades in seniors Katie Omann, Ana Rickard-Whitfield, junior Nicki Felley and sophomores Heather Heinrich and Devin Markle.

2008 TEAM CAPTAINS - Seniors Kelly Patterson and Katie Omann along with junior Nicki Felley are serving as team captains. This is Patterson's third season in the position, while it is Omann's and Felley's first.

2008 SEASON OUTLOOK - Upon first glance at Utah State's gymnastics roster one would notice that is laden with newcomers, and thoughts of a rebuilding year would come to mind.

However, USU head coach Ray Corn and his two new assistants, DeEtte Kozlow and Dave Hancock, are excited and optimistic about this season and hope to lead Utah State to its 27th postseason appearance, ending with its first trip to the NCAA Championships in over 15 years.

The veterans are led by seniors Megan Tschida and Katie Omann, along with junior Nicki Felley, as well as sophomores Heather Heinrich and Devin Markle.

Tschida has the highest average score on floor exercise from last season with a 9.808. Omann is the leading returner on vault with an average score of 9.781 and had an average score of 9.443 on the beam, which is second among the returners. Felley holds the highest returning average score on bars with a 9.700 and the second-leading returning score in both floor exercise and all-around with 9.686 and 38.635, respectively.

Markle owns the leading returning all-around average score of 38.758, while Heinrich has the second-highest returning average score on vault with a 9.723 and the third-highest in the all-around with 38.250.

Headlining the freshmen are Lyndsie Boone, Jackie Dillon, Erica Huelsmann, Chelsea Marquardt, Jasmine Minion, Nicole Simoneau and Maegan Snodgrass.

Utah State was 11-11 last year, finishing sixth at the NCAA Regional Championships. The Aggies entered the regional meet ranked 28th in the country with a regional qualifying score of 194.695, but Corn believes that USU can improve on both that ranking and the score this season.

HEAD COACH RAY CORN - Ray Corn has created and maintained a tradition of success in his 30 years at Utah State, both in the gym and in the classroom.

As the only coach in USU's Division I gymnastics history, he has led the Aggies to the postseason 26 times, including five trips to the national championships. Corn owns an overall record of 436-426-2, with a regular-season record of 383-270-2.

Corn was named the Midwest Regional Coach of the Year in 1991, earned Big West Co-Coach of the Year honors in 1994 and was named Big West Coach of the Year in 1998 and 2001. He also earned Coach of the Year honors in the High Country Athletic Conference in 1986, 1987 and 1988 and was named WGC Coach of the Year in 2005.

Corn has coached three All-Americans, three Olympians, two World Championship competitors and had nine gymnasts qualify for the NCAA National Championships.

Since 1991, 32 gymnasts have earned academic All-America honors 50 times. USU gymnasts have also received 86 academic all-conference accolades.

A GLANCE AT THE AGGIES -

Lyndsie Boone - Posted a 9.350 (6th) on beam, a 9.400 (7th) on floor and a 9.575 (8th) on bars at the Boise State dual... Logged a then season-high 9.550 (5th) on floor, as well as an 8.900 (12th) on vault in the Sacramento State dual... Posted then season highs in all three events she competed in at the home dual with Boise State, 9.600 on both vault (10th) and floor (10th), as well as 9.550 on beam (9th)... In the win at Cal State Fullerton, she tallied a season-high 9.650 on floor (8th), as well as 9.550 on vault (10th) and 9.475 on beam (4th).

HIGH SCHOOL: Competed as a Level 10 gymnast for Randy Anderson at Scamps Gymnastics... Was a three-time national qualifier ... Placed seventh in all-around at 2007 Regionals, including third in vault... Won the all-around as well as the vault and beam at the Wisconsin Level 10 State Championships... Helped Scamps to five Wisconsin state titles... Graduated from Zion Benton High School with a 3.7 grade point average.

Jackie Dillon - Competed as an exhibitioner on bars at Boise State, scoring an 8.95... Also an exhibitioner in the Sac State dual, posting a season-high 9.55 on vault and an 8.45 on bars... Did not compete in the home Boise State dual... In the USU lineup officially for the first time in the Cal State Fullerton dual, she scored a 9.450 on bars, good for 10th-place.

HIGH SCHOOL: Competed as a Level 10 gymnast at Hayden's International Gymnastics Academy for Denis Hayden and Craig Kirby... Finished 19th in the all-around and third on the vault at the 2006 regional championships after finishing 21st in the all-around in 2005... Graduated from Greenbrier High School with a 3.8 grade point average.

Nicki Felley - Was second in the all-around at Boise State, scoring a 36.775... Was tied for sixth on vault (9.600), ninth on floor (9.250), 10th on beam and 12th on bars (8.900) at the Boise State dual... Against Sac State, she posted 9.675 on beam (5th), 9.650 (T-5th) on bars, as well as tying season high with 9.600 (T-6th) on vault and scoring a 9.100 (11th) on floor, totaling a USU-best 38.025 (3rd) in the all-around... Won the all-around of the home Boise State dual with a season-high 38.775... Posted season-highs in three of the four events with a 9.775 (5th) on floor, 9.700 (7th) on vault and 9.675 (7th) on beam... Also had a 9.625 (9th) on bars... Captured top honors in the all-around for the second meet in a row with a 38.650... Matched a season-high on bars with a 9.650 (5th), as well as 9.750 on floor (T-4th), 9.650 on vault (8th) and 9.600 on beam (2nd).

LAST SEASON: Had a career-best 39.005 in the all-around at the WAC Championships (3/31)... Posted a career-high with a 9.875 on vault at home against Southern Utah (2/23), tying the 13th-best mark in USU history... Also tallied a career-best on the floor with a 9.900 at San Jose State with Boise State and Seattle Pacific (1/26), a mark that is tied for 19th in school history and tied for the best score for USU... Had season averages of 38.635 in all-around, 9.686 on floor exercise, 9.625 on vault, 9.325 on beam and 9.700 on bars... Her 9.700 bars average is the 14th-best single-season average in USU history... Earned second-team all-WAC honors by finishing sixth in the all-around at the WAC Championships with her career-best score of 39.050, after placing tied for fourth on bars (9.800), tied for sixth on floor (9.775), tied for eighth on beam (9.825) and 29th in vault (9.650)... Earned second-team all-WAC in bars and floor... Placed 12th at the NCAA North Central Regionals (38.375) after finishing 15th on beam (9.75), 34th on bars (9.525), 38th on vault (9.625) and 40th on floor (9.475)... Received academic all-WAC honors as well as the USU Joe E. and Elma Whitesides Scholar-Athlete Award.

Heather Heinrich - Was first in the all-around at Boise State, scoring a 36.875... Placed eighth on floor (9.350), ninth on vault (9.400) and tied for 10th on both bars (9.100) and beam (9.025)... In the Sac State dual, tallied 9.650 (4th) on vault and 9.600 (7th) on beam, as well as 8.950 (12th) on floor and 8.850 (12th) on bars, for a total of a 37.050 (6th) in the all-around, for a season high... Tallied season-highs in all three events she competed in at home against Boise State with a 9.800 (3rd) on beam, 9.750 (4th) on vault and 9.700 (7th) on bars... At Cal State Fullerton, she posted season-high 37.450 in all-around (3rd), as well as season-highs 9.775 (3rd) on vault and 9.450 (T-10th) on floor... Also scored 9.225 on beam (5th) and 9.000 on bars (12th).

LAST SEASON: Had season-averages of 9.723 in vault, 9.646 on floor, 9.506 on bars, 9.452 on beam and 38.250 on all-around... The 9.723 average on vault is the 17th-best in school history... Posted a 9.850 on vault at the WAC Championships (3/31), a mark that ties for No. 21 on USU's best individual scores... Had a season-high 9.850 on beam against Southern Utah (2/23)... Posted a season-high 9.750 on floor at BYU and against Oregon State (3/9)... Also tallied a season-high 9.750 on bars vs. Minnesota (3/17)... Finished 10th in the all-around at the WAC Championships with a season-best 38.750, also placing tied for third in the vault with teammate Katie Omann (9.850) to earn first-team all-WAC honors, tied for 13th in the bars (9.725), tied for 19th on beam (9.750) and 30th on floor (9.425)... Was 10th at the NCAA North Central Regionals in the all-around (38.450), finishing tied for 29th on bars (9.650), tied for 23rd on beam (9.675), tied for 28th on floor (9.675) and 39th on vault (9.450).

Erica Huelsmann - Redshirting this season after shoulder surgery.

HIGH SCHOOL: Competed as a Level 10 gymnast for Todd Gardner at the Illinois Gymnastics Institute... She placed 41st at the 2005 National Championships, after a second-place finish on the bars, beam and the all-around at regionals... At the state championships, she placed first on the beam and floor, and third in the all-around.. She graduated from Naperville Central High School with a 4.0 grade point average... Was a member of the National Honor Society.

Devin Markle - Did not compete at Boise State nor in the Sacramento State dual due to injury... Made her season debut in the Aggie lineup in the Boise State dual, placing 12th on floor with an 8.975 as well as competing as an exhibitioner on vault, scoring a 9.525... Did not compete at the Cal State Fullerton dual.

LAST SEASON: Had season-averages of 9.696 on vault, 9.661 on floor, 9.489 on bars, 9.215 on beam and 38.758 in all-around... Logged all her season-best marks at home, highlighted by career outing against Southern Utah (2/23) in which she posted season-highs in the all-around (38.925), floor (9.85) and beam (9.700)... Recorded a season-high 9.800 on vault vs. Boise State (2/1) and 9.800 on bars vs. Alaska-Anchorage... Was 36th in vault at WAC Championships (3/31) with a 9.100... Placed tied for 15th in vault (9.775) and 37th on floor (9.575) at the NCAA North Central Regional (4/14)... Earned academic all-WAC honors as well as the USU Joe E. and Elma Whitesides Scholar-Athlete Award.

Chelsea Marquardt - Was third on beam with a 9.550 and tied for third on vault with a 9.700 at Boise State dual... Posted season-highs in all three events she competed in of the Sacramento State dual, tying for first on vault (9.800) as well as finishing third on bars (9.700) and sixth on beam (9.625)... Suffered injury in vault of the Boise State dual and did not compete in the rest of meet... Did not compete in the Cal State Fullerton dual due to the injury.

HIGH SCHOOL: Was a five-year Level 10 gymnast for Champion's Gymnastics Team under Aaron Gallegos and Emily Peterman... Was a two-time national championship qualifier, placing 10th on bars in 2007... Was an alternate in 2006... Placed eighth in the all-around, second on vault and 10th on bars in 2005... Graduated from Eaglecrest High School with a 3.2 grade point average.

Jasmine Minion - In the season-opener at Boise State, she was fourth on beam (9.45), fifth on vault (9.675) and 10th on floor exercise (8.900)... In the Sac State dual, she tied for first on vault (9.800) as well as finishing third on floor (9.625) and tied for eighth on beam (9.550)... Was named USU's Most Outstanding Gymnast of the meet of the Boise State dual, as she was second on floor with a season-high 9.850, as well as third on vault with a 9.775... Minion was also eighth on beam with a 9.625, her highest score in the event this year... At the Cal State Fullerton dual, Minion tallied not only a season-high but the fourth-highest score in school history on vault, winning the event with a 9.875... She also scored a 9.750 on floor (T-4th) and an 8.950 on beam (9th)...

HIGH SCHOOL: Competed as a Level 10 gymnast for Gus Vandervoot at River City Gymnastics... Placed eighth in the all-around at the Eastern Regionals, finishing first on floor exercise... Was 26th in all-around at 2006 Junior Olympic Nationals including eighth in vault... Was state champion at Level 7-9... Graduated from Bolton High School with a 3.1 grade point average.

Katie Omann - At the Boise State dual, was tied for 10th on bars (9.100) and 11th on vault (8.950)... Was 10th on bars (9.050) in the Sacramento State dual, as well as logging an 8.95 on beam as an exhibitioner... Posted a season-high 9.750 (6th) on bars in the home dual with Boise State as well as performing as an exhibitioner on beam with a 9.025... Clinched the team win at Cal State Fullerton with a 9.525 on beam in the final performance of the last rotation, placing third in the event in her first official competition on beam this season... Also scored a 9.575 on bars, tying for sixth.

LAST SEASON: Posted season-averages of 9.781 on vault, 9.443 on beam and 9.205 on bars... Had a career-best 9.850 on the vault at WAC Championships (3/31), placing tied for third with teammate Heather Heinrich and earning first-team all-WAC recognition... Posted a career-best 9.725 on beam and season-best 9.675 on floor at Boise State (3/23)... Recorded a season-high 9.650 on bars against BYU (1/22)... Was also 31st on beam (9.650) at WAC Championships... Placed tied for 26th on vault (9.700) and 42nd on beam (8.750) at NCAA North Central Regionals... Earned academic all-WAC honors as well as USU Joe E. and Elma Whitesides Scholar-Athlete Award accolades.

Kelly Patterson - Has not competed yet this season.

LAST SEASON: Did not compete in any meets... A USU Joe E. and Elma Whitesides Scholar-Athlete Award recipient.

Ana Rickard-Whitfield - Placed 11th in the floor exercise at Boise State dual (8.825)... Scored a 9.475 on floor as a exhibitioner in the Sac State dual... Notched a career-high 9.700 (T-7th) on floor in the home Boise State dual... At Cal State Fullerton, she tied for 10th with a 9.450 on floor.

LAST SEASON: Competed in one meet, posting a career-best 9.675 in the floor exercise at Boise State (3/23)... Earned academic all-WAC accolades as well as a USU Joe E. and Elma Whitesides Scholar-Athlete Award recipient.

Nicole Simoneau - Won the bars (9.800) at the Boise State dual, as well as 12th on beam (8.700)... Competed in the all-around in the Sac State dual for the first time this season, posting 37.650 (5th), winning the bars for the second meet in a row with a season-high 9.825... Also posted 9.575 on vault (9th), 9.175 (10th) on floor and 9.075 (12th) on beam... Logged a season-high 9.650 (9th) on vault in the home dual with Boise State, as well as 9.775 (4th) on bars and 8.600 (12th) on beam... Won the bars for the third meet this year by tying for first with a 9.800... Also posted a 9.600 on vault (9th).

HIGH SCHOOL: Competed as a Level 10 gymnast at Gymnastics Village for Ray Schumacher... A former National Elite... At the 2006 Junior Olympic National Championship she placed 21st in the all-around and fourth in the floor exercise... Was 35th at the 2005 Junior Olympic National Championships at Senior A Level 10 after placing 10th in 2004 at Junior C Level 10... Won state and regional championships... Graduated from Manchester Central High School.

Maegan Snodgrass - Was an exhibitioner at the Boise State dual, scoring a 9.55 on vault... Did not compete in the Sac State dual after an injury during warm-ups... Missed the Boise State home dual and the meet at Cal State Fullerton with an injury.

HIGH SCHOOL: Competed as a Level 10 gymnast with Olympus Gymnastics for Mary Wright... Was a member of the three-time club state champions... In 2005 she finished 15th in the all-around at the Regional Championships... Was also an Olympic weight lifter, finishing seventh in the nation in her age and weight group... In 2006, she won both the 18 & under and the 21 & under USA Weightlifting National Juniors Championship, setting an American National Schoolage Record in the snatch event... Graduated from Bingham High School with a 3.7 grade point average.

Megan Tschida - Was USU's highest finisher on floor exercise at the Boise State dual, by tying for fourth (9.725), as well as finishing eighth on bars (9.450)... Won the floor exercise with a season-high 9.850 in the dual with Sac State, as well as tying for eighth on beam (9.550) and ninth on bars (9.100)... In the home dual against Boise State, was fourth on floor (9.800), 11th on beam (9.000) and 11th on bars (8.700)... After not competing in the all-around since her freshman season of 2005, posted a 36.650 (4th) including a season-high 9.550 on bars (8th) and tying a season-high with a 9.850 on floor (2nd)... Also logged an 8.950 on vault (12th) and an 8.300 on beam (12th).

LAST SEASON: Posted a season-best 9.900 on floor against Southern Utah (2/23), a mark that is the 19th-best in school history and tied for the season-best score for USU... Had a season average of 9.808 on floor... Earned WAC Specialist of the Week (2/26)... Placed third on floor at the WAC Championships (3/31) with a 9.825 to earn first-team all-WAC honors... Finished 39th on floor at the NCAA North Central Regionals (4/14) with a 9.550.

-USU-