Fullerton should be challenge for Aggies
Utah State gymnastics will face off against Cal State Fullerton in a conference dual Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Titan Gym.
Utah State has topped previous meet scores every time since its season began, and it marked a season-high team score of 192.400 last meet against Boise State, despite a loss.
Gymnastics head coach Ray Corn said he is content with the improvement the team has been having but would like to start hitting a stride where the team is performing in meets with “absolutely no falls whatsoever.”
“I couldn’t be any more pleased (with the team’s progress),” Corn said. “(Our development) has not only been reflected in our floor of competition but also on our ability to score.”
Utah State is 0-3 overall and in the Western Athletic Conference, and Cal State Fullerton is 3-2, 1-1 in the WAC.
“We are disappointed in the 0-3 start, but we are very pleased with starting with a high 187 and then going to a 191 and now a mid-192 (in the following meets),” Corn said.
In the Aggies’ first meet against Boise State, they suffered 11 major mistakes or falls. Against Sacramento State, the team minimized their falls to seven, Corn said.
USU decreased its falls in its last dual against Boise State to four, Corn said, and he would like to continue this type of improvement.
The elimination of the number of falls the team has had and the improvement on scoring this season is an indication of “a springboard to success,” Corn said.
Freshman Lyndsie Boone said she is optimistic on the season’s outlook as the team has improved every meet.
“I think once we win, it will set the pace for the rest of the season,” she said. “We just need to really work on our endurance.”
The Titans will be a tough battle for the Aggies, as their gym is a difficult place to win, Corn said.
“(The Titans) brag that they have the toughest judging in the country,” Corn said. “The scores are not going to be indicative of our success, but we need to go in there and not have to count a fall and come out successful.”
Cal State Fullerton recorded a season-high score of 191.025 in a quad meet Jan. 20 against UCLA, Brown University and Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where they placed second out of four teams.
Although Utah State has a higher season score than Cal State Fullerton, Corn said it would be difficult to judge how a team is solely based on scores.
“You don’t know how many times they fell, and you don’t know if the judging was extremely difficult,” he said.
He said the Aggies will be going after more difficult vaults, which is the only change in the team’s routines.
“We will always try to continue to upgrade the difficulty on our last passes on floor exercise,” he said.
The team looks to solidify its performance and assert more aggressiveness on the uneven parallel bars, Corn said.
“We need to not compete our bars with such great caution,” he said. “When we compete with caution, that leads to mistakes.”
Utah State gymnastics is currently ranked 46th in the Troester’s Gymnastics Poll, while Cal State Fullerton is ranked 43th nationally.
Fans can watch all USU gymnastics home meets live via the Internet through UtahState.tv, available through www.UtahStateAggies.com.
Utah State is 16-11 all-time against Cal State Fullerton, including 2-4 at Fullerton.
-candice.sandness@aggiemail.usu.edu