March 4, 2009

LOGAN, Utah -

By Raelle Cunningham, USU Athletic Media Relations

LOGAN, Utah - Lying by the pool, going to movies and hanging out with friends seems like a typical college girl's life but for Nicki Felley these things are a luxury.

She is the only senior on the Utah State gymnastics team and spends most of her time practicing, studying for school, or working with other athletes as the vice president of USU's Student-Athlete Committee.

"It is hard being the only senior on the team but at the same time I like it because all the hard work I have put in to the program I can now turn around and share with the younger girls," Felley said.

Being the oldest member of the team at 22, the other girls think of her as the mother figure of the team and even gave her the nickname, "Mom."

She is a two-time second-team all-Western Athletic Conference honoree, earning second-team honors last season on both beam and in the all-around. Last year she also qualified to the NCAA North Central Regional Championships in the all-around, where she finished 21st.

This season, she has two of USU's top all-around scores, as well as owning or sharing four of the Aggies' top five floor scores.

Felley's hard work has been recognized out of the gym as well, as she is a two-time academic all-WAC selection as well as a three-time USU Whitesides Scholar-Athlete Award recipient.

She has been competing in gymnastics for 16 years and since it is such a demanding sport she has not had much time to just kick back and enjoy being lazy.

Being busy does not bother Felley, however, because she would not be where she is today without the life she has had.

"Gymnastics has taught me to work hard and never stop until I achieve my goals," she said.

Many other schools recruited Felley, but once she came to Utah State she knew she could be part of something bigger than she ever imagined.

"The biggest reason I came out here was because of the recently retired coach, Ray Corn, and team he had been coaching," Felley said.

Nicki attributes her ability to compete at a collegiate level to Olympian and former coach Kim Zmeskal.

"Kim knew how to get me where I wanted to go, and it it wasn't for her, I would not have gotten a college scholarship," Felley said.

Nicki really looks up to her former coach because "you have ups and downs" she said, "but at the end of the day you knew she genuinely cared."

Felley said because of her experience here at USU, she will be leaving as a different person than when she arrived. She will be graduating this May with a degree in exercise science and intends to further her education by going on to get her master's degree in corporate wellness.

One goal Nicki wants to accomplish before leaving USU is to finally go snowboarding, taking advantage of the snow and mountains, something she doesn't have in her hometown of Flower Mound, Texas.

Nicki is the daughter of Brian and Carrie Felley and has been encouraged by her parents to do gymnastics since she was six-years old.

Her parents are definitely her number one fans and do what they can to find a way to watch her compete, traveling from their home in Texas, following Nicki and Aggie gymnastics as much as they can.

Felley and the USU gymnastics teammates will be in action this Friday, March 6, hosting Pittsburgh in a non-conference meet at 7 p.m. at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. After a dual at San Jose State on Monday, March 8, USU closes out regular-season action with a pair of home meets against in-state foes BYU on Friday, March 13 and Southern Utah on Monday, March 16.

Aggie gymnastics tickets are available through the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, online at www.UtahStateAggies.com and clicking on "tickets" in left column, or by calling 1-888-U-STATE-1 or (435) 797-0305.

-USU-