Aggie gymnastics challenge Boise State, Texas Women’s and Iowa State at home
Aggies Gymnastics was back in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum this week for senior night facing Boise State, Iowa State and Texas Women’s University.
After a 195.925-195.725 win against San Jose State on Feb. 16, the Aggies were hoping to continue their win streak. Utah State and Boise State were meeting for the 116th time, with the Broncos owning a slight 58-56-1 advantage. The Aggies beat Iowa and Texas but lost to the Broncos, 197.025 to 196.275.
The seniors honored at the meet included Lexi Aragon, Juliette Boyer, Brianna Brooks, Jenna Eagles, Alivia Ostendorf and Angel Stuart.
Before the meet started, there was a moment of silence for three Mountain West athletes from Wyoming who passed away this week.
“We are looking forward to a great quad meet tomorrow night. This will be our toughest home competition this season. All four teams are great, and our fans are going to enjoy the competition,” said head coach Kristin White before the meet.
The Aggies started the meet on vault. Brianna Brooks stuck a massive landing on the vault, earning her a solid 9.850.
Nyla Morabito closed out the vault section with a strong 9.800. Morabito is fifth in the Mountain West and tied for 171st in the nation on vault at 9.796.
The Aggies ended the vault section with 48.825, barely trailing behind Boise and Iowa.
The Aggies moved to the bars for their next event. Boyer was at it again on bars, sticking a landing, which gave her a 9.875.
Brooks was last on the bars, also scoring a 9.875 to finish out the section.
The Aggies had a fantastic bar performance with five of the six gymnasts scoring 9.700 or above.
The Aggies started off strong on the beam with a 9.825 from Eagles, tying her career high.
With a clean routine on the beam, freshman Sydney Jelen stuck the landing and earned a 9.850.
Aragon was last on the beam with a nice dismount and a score of 9.800. She ranked 5th in the Mountain West for the event.
The Aggies finished the beam event with a score of 49.100 and a combined score of 146.925.
Eagles started out as a force to be reckoned with on the floor, scoring an amazing 9.900, beating her career high.
“It’s not just from this week, I’d say it’s from the past four months of being here, working to this moment, and it’s all just paid off,” Eagles said in response to her floor score.
Stuart also wiped the floor with a 9.900, electrifying the Spectrum.
“You know, this is our home. It’s awesome, the fans are amazing. We get more and more every time,” Brooks said. “Taking that and using it to our advantage is huge.”
Ostendorf had an extremely strong floor routine to close the meet with a 9.925, beating her season high.
The Aggies finished the floor with a score of 49.275. They ended the meet with a 196.25, standing in second place behind BSU.
“My favorite thing about being an Aggie is the family we have here. The coaching staff believes in us, and we work hard every single day in the gym and it is just these moments – feel great,” Eagles said.
Brooks was the all-around champion for senior night.
“My time at Utah State has been a dream. It’s awesome. I’ve worked with incredible people, the most amazing staff, and I am so grateful for everyone,” Brooks said.
Coach White, who is in her second year at USU, said she was extremely proud of the seniors.
“They have impacted me more than any words I could probably share tonight. They’re phenomenal young women, and I know that they’re going to change the world outside of gymnastics, so I’m just incredibly proud of them and I’m completely honored to be their coach,” White said.
The Aggies travel to Colorado on March 1 for their next meet to challenge Air Force.
“We’re going to keep going in and grinding – really just going in and focusing on those details and continuing to build every time that we get the opportunity to compete,” White said.