Gymnasts looking for first win in SLC
The battle for gymnastics supremacy in Utah will take place Friday as three of four in-state gymnastics programs compete at the Huntsman Center.
The 29th-ranked Aggie gymnasts will take on second-ranked University of Utah, as well as Southern Utah.
For the Aggies, it will be their second meet with Southern Utah this season. They lost to the Thunderbirds earlier this month, 196.000-192.250.
Junior Nicki Felley said she is excited for the team to compete in front of the U crowd and said the team looks forward to proving a good name for themselves.
“We hope to make a better name for ourselves because we weren’t our best when we were up against Southern Utah last time,” Felley said. “We are out to have a better outcome. The U crowd is very appreciative of good gymnastics. They’ll be cheering for us and will have our backs.”
In an arena in front of 10,000-plus fans, the crowd looks just like a sea of red, said USU head gymnastics coach Ray Corn.
“We’ve always had very good meets in the Huntsman Center,” Corn explained. “The opportunity and the challenge the ladies have ahead of them is exciting to try to step up to the plate. We are just singles right now; were not out to hit home runs.”
The Aggies will compete without fellow teammate Jasmine Minion because of an ankle injury. Minion has been a lead scorer in the vault and floor routines consistently this season and is ranked second in the vault and sixth on the floor exercise in the Western Athletic Conference.
“It’s not discouraging and it’s not disappointing,” Corn said of her absence. “It’s just the nature of sports.”
In place of Minion, freshman Jackie Dillion will take the stance on vault for the first time this season.
Although the team will be without Minion, Corn said the team is still strong enough to throw out a competitive routine against Utah and Southern Utah.
“We’re going to have to really step it up,” Corn said. “We are still literally trying to find a consistency level within the team.”
The team will not be adding greater difficulty to their routines because their first priority is to get healthy, Corn said.
“We are not going to try and press at this moment in time,” Corn said. “We simply put a stop to it. We need to get this team healthy.”
The University of Utah claims six All-Americans and is undefeated.
Senior Ute All-American Ashley Postell has won all six balance beam competitions this season.
Utah has not had to count a fall so far this season and have had only four falls out of 144 total routines.
The Aggies have never won a meet in Salt Lake City against the Utes.
Last year against Southern Utah, the Aggies bounced back from a 194.575-192.275 loss to a two-point margin win the following week and claimed a victory with a 195.675-194.700 win.
The T-Birds possess four of the 10 top individual scorers in the WAC.
Southern Utah is 5-2 in their season and 3-2 in the WAC.
-candice.sandness@aggiemail.usu.edu