Quad Meet At No. 18 Arizona On Tap For Aggie Gymnastics Friday
USU Matched Up Against Air Force, Bridgeport And Host Arizona In Regular-Season Finale
March 15, 2012
TUCSCON, Ariz. -
Utah State gymnastics will compete in a quad meet hosted by No. 18 Arizona on Friday, March 16. The four-team meet also features Air Force and Bridgeport, and action starts at 8 p.m. (MT) from UA's McKale Center.
Friday is USU's final tune-up before next week's Western Athletic Conference Championships, which the Aggies host on Saturday, March 24 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
"We're looking to keep the momentum we gained from our last meet going into Friday's meet and keep it rolling into next week's conference championship meet," USU head coach Jeff Richards said. "Being in a four-team meet will be good preparation for the WAC meet to keep our focus and take care of our own business, and worry about our own routines and performances."
The Aggies are coming off their highest road score and second-best mark of the season with a 194.200 last Friday at Southern Utah. Sophomore Paige Jones has won three events in each of USU's last two meets, as the Aggies now have 18 event titles, including seven each by Jones and freshman Sarah Landes.
Utah State has a team RQS of 193.700, including ranking second in the WAC on bars with a 48.785 RQS, as well as notching RQS's of 48.455 on vault, 48.130 on beam and 48.750 on floor. USU has a team total season-average of 193.388, including 48.265 on vault, 48.688 on bars, 47.890 on beam and 48.545 on floor.
The Aggies are No. 44 in the Troester/GymInfo Women's Gymnastics National Rankings (as of March 12), by Regional Qualifying Scores (RQS), as the Aggies have a 193.700 RQS. Arizona is No. 18 with a 195.750 RQS, while Bridgeport is No. 38 with an RQS of 194.170 and Air Force is No. 57 with a 191.370 RQS. The Aggies are seventh in the North Central Region while the Falcons of Air Force are ninth. The Wildcats of Arizona are fifth in the South Central Region while the Purple Knights of Bridgeport are fourth in the Northeast Region.
Friday's meet against 18th-ranked Arizona is Utah State's fifth meet against an opponent ranked in the top 25 of the Troester/GymInfo Women's Gymnastics National Rankings. At the time of facing them, USU has met No. 5 Utah, No. 10 Oklahoma, No. 13 Boise State and No. 16 Boise State.
While the Aggies are somewhat familiar with Air Force and Arizona from previous meetings, USU and Bridgeport are meeting for the first time Friday in not only gymnastics, but believed to be in any sport. Utah State is 11-22 against Arizona, last meeting a year ago in a tri-meet with BYU in Logan. The Aggies are 8-1 against the Falcons of Air Force, last meeting in team action in 2008 in a quad meet hosted by Denver with Oklahoma. USU and Air Force also had individuals at last year's NCAA North Central Regional Championships.
Live results for Friday's quad meet are available by clicking on the "Live Results" link at www.UtahStateAggies.com, the official web site of USU athletics. * Note the link will only work after the meet starts.
Fans can watch the meet on Friday live online by clicking on the "Watch Live" link at www.UtahStateAggies.com, the official web site of USU athletics. Fans will need to pay a small fee to watch the meet.
Fans can also get live updates from the meets as well as other team information through the USU Twitter and Facebook pages - Twitter: www.twitter.com/USUGymnastics and Facebook: Utah State Gymnastics
Utah State is the host institution for the 2012 WAC Championships on Saturday, March 24. It will be the first time since 2006, USU's first year in the conference, that the Aggies will host the WAC Championships. Overall, it will be the seventh time that Utah State has hosted its conference meet. USU previously hosted the WAC Championships in 2006, the Western Gymnastics Conference Championships in 2002, the Big West Conference Championships in 1992, 1996 and 2000, as well as the High Country Athletic Conference Championships in 1988.
For USU gymnastics ticket information, contact the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, by phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or (435) 797-0305, or online 24 hours a day at www.UtahStateAggies.com and clicking on the "buy/renew tickets" under the "tickets" drop down menu.
Fans can follow the Aggie gymnastics program at twitter.com/USUGymnastics or on Facebook at Utah State Gymnastics. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
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