Ags head to regionals
Although the team didn’t qualify for any post-season play, two Utah State gymnasts qualified individually for the regional meet Saturday in Iowa.
Jessica Parenti and Meagan Lewis both qualified as all-arounders while Alex Martin, Rachel Mandy and Brittany Price qualified as alternates. However, it is a somewhat bittersweet experience for the team.
“Regionals is a team event; it is not meant for individuals,” Lewis said. “When you find out you’re not going with your team – Parenti and I have both gone as individuals before – you feel like you’re an outsider, you’re rotating with a team you don’t know and you’re the only one there. You’re by yourself, you don’t know anybody and it’s really hard.”
Both Parenti and Lewis said it would make it hard to compete being by themselves, but they are still going to go into the meet and do their best. Parenti said it would be better if the whole team were going, but now is the time when she has to step up to compete.
Head Coach Ray Corn said it is hard when USU gymnasts compete individually, because Utah State is so team-oriented. But he said he doesn’t think it will affect Lewis or Parenti’s performances.
“I think they’ll perform their best performances, in my opinion, of the year,” Corn said. “It’s becomes a school pride thing and a self-pride thing. You’re now competing with Minnesota and the University of Arizona and you want to show them how good you are. It is a difficult meet.”
After the meet against Minnesota, the second-to-last meet of the year, Lewis said the team knew there was no way it was going to make it to regionals, but there was a really good chance for individuals to qualify.
“There was almost no chance that we wouldn’t make it,” Lewis said.
To qualify for regionals individually, Lewis and Parenti were the first two all-arounders after the members of the teams that won the meet were taken out.
The same thing will happen at regionals. The top two teams at the meet will move on to nationals. The members of those teams that qualified will be taken out of the standings and the top two performers after that will go on to nationals individually.
Although Corn said he thinks the North Central Region is one of the toughest and deepest in the country because all of the teams competing are in the top 25 nationally, he still thinks there is a chance for Parenti and Lewis.
“They will have to have their best performance,” he said, “but yes, I do believe that they will have a chance to move on.”
Corn said the Aggies haven’t had anyone represent the team at nationals since 2001.
Teams competing in the North Central Region are Iowa State, Arizona State, Arizona, Denver, Minnesota and Brigham Young.
-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu