Red Rocks nip Aggies in road opener
In her Utah State debut, freshman Sarah Landes finished third in the all-around as USU fell to the No. 5-ranked University of Utah in USU’s season opener.
The Aggies finished with a score of 191.925, and the Utes put up 197.400.
Despite the loss, Utah State head coach Jeff Richards said he was encouraged by his team’s performance.
“It was a great meet,” Richards said. “We’re really proud of the girls.”
After a slow start in the Blue and White meet last week, Richards said he was hoping for a little more out of his team.
“Last week, we had an intra-squad meet that was a little bit rough,” Richards said. “It’s been a great learning experience. The girls really came in and really settled themselves down; they stayed together as a team.”
Friday’s meet in Salt Lake City may not have been a victory, but Richards said he saw the pieces of a highly successful team beginning to come together.
“Everything we’ve been working on and talking about all preseason, they just really brought together tonight,” Richards said. “There are a few things we still need to work on and can improve on, but this was a really great start for us, and we’re really excited about it.”
The Aggies started out the rotation on bars where they recorded a 48.650 before notching a 47.600 on vault, 47.950 on floor and a 47.725 on beam.
The Aggies’ score on bars was higher than the scores of all but two meets last season.
In her collegiate debut, Landes tied for fourth on bars with a 9.825 and was the only Aggie to place in the top five of any event. The freshman also had the Aggies’ highest score on vault with 9.675 and completed her beam routine with a 9.700 to lead all USU gymnasts.
Landes was joined on the all-around podium by junior Amelia Montoya, who placed fifth with a score of 38.000. Montoya characteristically led the Aggies on floor with a score of 9.725, an event she maintains consistency in.
The Aggies hit the road again next week when they travel to Denton, Texas, to compete in a quad-meet hosted by Texas Women’s University.
– meredith.kinney@aggiemail.usu.edu