Gymnasts travel to BWC meet
The Utah State gymnastics team will begin its postseason Saturday as it competes in the Big West Championships in Santa Barbara, Calif. The Aggies will challenge for this year’s conference title, taking on Boise State, California State University at Fullerton and the University of California at Santa Barbara.
“I really do believe that there is something within this team that is going to surprise a lot of people,” said USU head coach Ray Corn.
Although the Aggies finished out the final two meets of the regular season on a losing note, Corn said he is extremely pleased with the upset victory the team had over Brigham Young University at home March 9.
“Once again, we did not put an entire meet together. We had to count a fall and a bobble on beam, but we did not crumble to finish the meet. That’s the big thing,” Corn said.
Putting a whole meet together proved a good move for the Aggies. Their scored was the highest of the season – 196.025, against the Cougars.
Saturday’s meet will be key, as they will take on the defending Big West champion Boise State Broncos. The Broncos finished the season 9-6 and were ranked 36th in the country.
The Aggies met the Broncos twice during the season, each team winning at their home.
Cal State Fullerton will enter the Big West Championships ranked 32nd in the most recent national polls. The Titans have recorded scores over the 195 mark in two of the team’s last three meets.
Although the two teams did not meet this season, the Aggies hold an 8-7 all-time advantage over CSUF, with the last meeting between the two during the 2000 conference meet, where USU outscored the Titans 194.250-194.200.
UC Santa Barbara finished the regular season 2-8 and recorded a season-high 189.500 in a loss to Boise State Feb. 17.
USU holds a perfect 12-0 record over UC Santa Barbara. USU met with the Gauchos in the UCLA-hosted Bruin Classic where the Aggies came out on top 192.225-188.575.
Last year, Boise State ran away with the 2000 team title, scoring a 196.225. The Aggies came in over Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara with a 194.250 for a second-place finish.
Christy Denson, a former Aggie, won the all-around competition for the second straight year with a score of 39.525. Senior Megan Woolstenhulme tied for the BWC vaulting title with a career-high 9.875. Sophomore Tina Ellis earned all-Big West honors on the balance beam with a score of 9.825 in a third place finish.
Already guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Regionals, the Aggies will travel to the Huntsman Center April 6 to compete in the Utah-hosted meet.