Busy break for USU gymnastics squad
There won’t be much of a Spring Break for the USU gymnastics team.
The Aggies host the No. 35 San Jose State Spartans Friday night at 6:30 and visit the No. 34 BYU Cougars Monday night.
“This is where our conditional level is going to kick in,” USU head coach Ray Corn said.
Despite coming off of loss against No. 13 Denver University last Friday, USU committed two season highs in the floor routine and uneven parallel bars.
Although the team had great improvement on bars and floor, absence of consistency on the balance beam is downplaying the team’s overall team scores, Corn said.
“If we were a basketball team, I would say we are not playing a complete game,” he said. “Our absence of consistency on beam would be the same as shooting 25 percent from the free-throw line.”
The Spartans are currently leading the Western Athletic Conference with an 11-2 overall record, and recently pulled their biggest upset in the history of their program against Arizona State University, Corn said.
“(ASU) seldom lose in the Wells Fargo Arena. It’s very uncommon,” Corn explained. “San Jose is very good and we have to tie it on tight and challenge these guys.”
USU’s No. 42 spot is certainly reflecting on its ranking and standings in the conference, Corn said.
“I believe in this team and I believe that all they have to do is put one meet together and we’ll know how to do it,” Corn said.
The goal of the team remains to make it into the top 36 in the nation by the time of regionals, he said.
“(The team) is upbeat and we know we are improving, but there is a sense of urgency (to place in the top 36) and the team knows that,” Corn said.
Freshman Jasmine Minion, who has been a key performer on the vault and floor exercise this season, said the Aggies will aim for high scores.
“With all of us being motivated, it’s going to help carry the confidence so we can bust out some nice, high scores,” she said. “We are a little tired, but we are ready for these meets. We are all pretty pumped and, even though we are tired, we have to push through it. We’re going to bring out our big skills and we’ll be ready to play.”
Corn said the team’s main focus is to stay on the balance beam.
“(Staying on beam) is a mental game,” he said. ” If we do not attack the beam aggressively, it’s going to bite us.”
Although the team is not where they would like to be at this point in the season, the desire to be successful is still there, Corn said.
As for the meet in Provo, Corn said the competition will be more mental than physical as the Aggies are 3-10 overall on the season.
-candice.sandness@aggiemail.usu.edu