Utah State Gymnastics wins home opener over SUU
Utah State Gymnastics opened its home schedule Jan. 17 with a narrow 195.700–195.550 win over No. 23 Southern Utah at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The meet marked the Aggies’ first home appearance of the 2026 season and followed a second-place finish at last week’s Best of Utah quad meet, where Utah State also outscored SUU.
The Aggies took control early on vault and bars, building enough separation to withstand a strong beam rotation from Southern Utah. Utah State finished with event wins on vault, bars and floor.
Head coach Kristin White said the team carried momentum from the Best of Utah meet into the home opener.
“Really proud of our Aggies today,” White said. “We had so much momentum from the Best of Utah meet, so to be able to come here for the first time at home against a really incredible SUU team and come out with a win, I’m incredibly proud of our women.”
Utah State posted a 48.950 on vault, outscoring Southern Utah’s 48.700. Junior Nyla Morabito led the Aggies with a 9.850, the highest vault score of the meet.
Morabito also scored a 9.850 on bars, tying for the top score on that event. Utah State edged Southern Utah on bars, 48.925 to 48.875, giving the Aggies a slim lead at the halfway point.
White said the lineup continues to evolve as the team replaces several routines lost from last year’s Mountain West championship squad.
“We have 50% of our lineups across the board that are brand-new routines, and a lot of them are being performed by our freshmen,” White said. “To see them come in and perform at such a high level, I’ve been really proud of our team.”
Southern Utah gained ground on beam with a 49.100 rotation compared to Utah State’s 48.925, tightening the score heading into the final event.
Utah State responded on floor, scoring a 48.900 to close out the meet and hold off Southern Utah’s 48.875.
Morabito said the Aggies focused on consistency after small mistakes early in the meet.
“I think our team did really well,” Morabito said. “We had some little mistakes, but we were able to pick it up after those routines and come back stronger and finish what we needed to do on each event.”
Morabito said she was especially pleased with her individual performance after a challenging first meet of the season.
“Myself personally, I didn’t have the best first meet back,” she said. “So, for this meet, just going out there and doing what I know I can do and starting off on a better note, which I did do.”
White said the team’s goals remain unchanged following last year’s conference title.
“Once you get to the top, it’s even harder to stay on the top,” White said. “For us, the goals remain the same. We want to win the Mountain West championship, continue to make it to the NCAA tournament and really just go as far as we can.”
She also highlighted the team’s academic performance, noting a 3.87 GPA for the fall semester.
Morabito said the Aggies are continuing to move forward after last season’s success.
“This team this year is something really special,” she said. “We’re all so talented, and we just have a drive that we need for this year. I think we’re moving in the right direction.”
Utah State’s record this season is now 3-1. The next meet will be at home against San Jose State.