BYU, N.H. gymnasts take on Utah State
An in-state rivalry will take place tonight as the USU gymnastics team hosts Brigham Young University and New Hampshire in the Spectrum.
“Competing in a full sitting in the Spectrum completely elevates your level of adrenaline,” said USU assistant coach DeEtte Kozlow. “When (the athletes) have that crowd behind them, their athleticism peaks and they are at the top of their game.”
BYU is ranked 33rd, UNH is 41st and Utah State 45th.
Last up against a quad meet at the University of Denver, USU head coach Ray Corn said there were many times during the DU meet where all eyes were focused on the Aggies.
“We were exciting to watch (at DU), and I want the team to continue to work at that performance level, and they trained that way this week,” he said. “We’ve had a great work ethic this week.”
Having been three weeks on the road, the team is physically tired from competition, Corn said.
“It was a long week last week with two meets in a row, but it’s a part of the game, and everybody has to get through it,” he said. “We’ve seen a greatness of work on exactness of parts.”
In brief, the team is slow coming back from injuries, and freshman Chelseas Marquardt will be back on the bar lineup after being out for three weeks because of knee strain, Corn said.
The team has seen two surgeries this season to freshman Megan Snodgrass and sophomore Devan Markle, but they are slowly coming back competition, he said.
“We are getting our injured athletes back,” Corn said.
Corn said he hopes for the team to perform just as well, if not better, than they did at DU last Saturday.
“I don’t think it will take much to pull (a victory) out of them one more time,” he said.
Being ranked in the top 36 in the nation remains the goal for Aggie gymnasts??ATT??. If they did that, it would mean pulling closer to No. 33 BYU.
“I’ve watched BYU, and there’s a lot of things that they do very well, but frankly I think we do them better, and we hope to prove it,” Corn explained.
BYU’s season-high score records a 193.925 as USU holds a 192.275 and UNH stands at a 194.225.
BYU senior Dayna Smart-Allen is ranked 18th in the country on vault with a 9.862 average and is tied for 24th in the nation on beam with a 9.812 average.
USU and UNH both do not have individual national rankings in the top 25.
Utah State is 2-6 in the season and 1-4 in the Western Athletic Conference, while BYU is 1-5 and UNH is 7-2??maybe clarify if theirs are in the season or wac???.
“I’m putting a lot of responsibility on the ladies on the team, but I want them to literally compete to their potential,” Corn said. “In the realm of athletics, we are up against BYU, and that’s all that needs to be said. We’ll be ready.”
-candice.sandness@aggiemail.usu.edu