Aggies prepare for Salt Lake regional
An NCAA Championship berth will be on the line as the Utah State gymnastics team competes in the Salt Lake Regional of the NCAA tournament on Saturday.
Only two of the six teams competing in the regional will advance to the NCAA championships in Fort Worth, Texas on April 15-16.
The sixth-seeded Aggies face an uphill climb as they will be joined in Salt Lake by No. 5 Utah, No. 9 UCLA and No. 17 Washington while No. 25 Southern Utah and Illinois round out the region.
The appearance marks the third consecutive for USU, which finished fifth in the regional competition last year after finishing sixth in 2014.
Utah State is currently ranked No. 32 in the nation and received a bid to the tournament with a Regional Qualifying Score of 195.525.
The Aggies are led by junior Bailey McIntire, who received first-team all-Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference in the all-around with a score of 39.425, bars with 9.900 and beams with 9.850. McIntire also earned a second-team all-conference selection on vault with 9.825.
Senior Jillian Chappel received second-team honors on vault with 9.825 and junior Hayley Sanzotti earned a second-team nod on beam with 9.825.
The University of Utah enters Saturday’s competition with an RQS of 196.925. The Utes have won 11 of the 12 regionals held in Salt Lake City outright and have qualified for the NCAA Championship 34 years in a row. They finished second at the national tournament a season ago.
Five Utah gymnasts were given first-team all-Pac-12 honors and three more received second-team all-conference recognition this season.
Senior Breanna Hughes leads the Utes, having been named first-team All-American in the all-around and second-team on vault, bars and floor. Sophomore Maddy Stover also earned second-team recognition on beam.
UCLA, ranked below Utah because of RQS, are the only team to have beaten the Utes this season. The Bruins defeated Utah 197.100-197.075 on Feb. 6 in Los Angeles and then surpassed the Utes again 197.250-196.925 in the Pac-12 championships.
Senior gymnast Danusia Francis was rewarded for a remarkable season with a first-team All-American honor on beam. She is one of five Bruins who have completed all of their routines without a fall this season, having hit her last 59 attempts without falling. On Mar. 6, Francis scored a 10 on the balance beam, the second 10 of her career and the only perfect mark in the Pac-12 this season.
The Bruins enter the regional with an RQS of 196.94.
Washington marks the third Pac-12 team to compete in the Salt Lake Regional with an RQS of 196.36.
Senior Allison Northey was one of three GymDawgs named to the all-Pac-12 team, receiving first-team honors in the all-around for the third straight year. She is ranked No. 15 in the nation in the event with a score of 39.430.
She is joined on the first-team by sophomore Joslyn Goings for her performance in the all-around. Junior Kaitlyn Duranczyk earned second-team all-conference honors on bars.
Fellow-MRGC member SUU tied a school record with a 196.575 mark in the MRGC championships on Mar. 19 and entered the Salt Lake regional as the fourth-seed. The Aggies faced the Thunderbirds three times this season, with SUU coming out on top two of the three.
Illinois is led by senior Sunny Kato, who received first-team All-American honors on beam. She is currently ranked fourth in the nation in the event and tied a school and career record earlier this season with a score of 9.950.
Saturday’s competition will begin at 6 p.m. in the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. The Aggies will begin the evening on the vault, followed by a bye, then will move to the bars and beam, followed by a second bye before finishing on floor.
— thomas.sorenson@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @tomcat340