Corn leads gymnasts to Regionals for 26th time
With numerous first, second and third places throughout the year, Aggie gymnastics had an impressive improvement from last year. They had their ups and downs but were able to keep their overall scores high in the Western Athletic Conference.
The USU gymnastics team started the season strong, taking home second place at their opening meet in January against Sacramento State.
The team kept the success going and was able to maintain a season-high road score of 195.125, helping them to place third in the WAC Championships last March. They were then led by Head Coach Ray Corn to the NCAA North Central Regional Championship, where they placed sixth against some of the best teams in the country. This was the 26th time USU qualified for Regionals out of Corn’s 30-year coaching career at USU.
The gymnasts individually broke numerous season-high and career-high records during the season, many of them occurring against Southern Utah University at home in February.
Senior Jessica Parenti-Otte was named the WAC Gymnast of the Week two times in January, followed by the WAC Gymnast Honor which was given to Parenti-Otte, senior Meagan Lewis and junior Megan Tschida in March.
-MVP: Meagan Lewis
Senior Meagan Lewis has kept the momentum going all year. She started the season winning the all-around with a score of 38.775 against BYU in January. During their first meet in February, Lewis placed first in the all-around 39.025 against Boise State. Later that month, she scored a 39.275 against SUU and walked away with the team’s highest score at Regionals with a 38.600 in March. Along with high scores, her performances were consistent and she showed great leadership skills.
-Rookie of the Year: Katy Schilla
Freshman Katy Schilla started the year strong, placing first against Washington State on vault with a score of 9.795 in January. By the end of the month, she was 15th in the nation for vault and ended her freshman season ranked No. 42 in the nation.
-Most Improved: Nicki Felley
Nicki Felley had a strong freshman year and continued to show great improvement throughout the season. She won the USU Athlete of the Week in March after winning her first ever all-around with a score of 39.000 at Boise State.
Earlier in the season, Felley tied the best floor score by an Aggie with a 9.900 against San Jose State. She finished off the year with the second highest team score at Regionals with a 38.450.
-bfairman@cc.usu.edu