Jan. 15, 2009

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State gymnastics will host Central Michigan on Friday, Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in the Aggies' 2009 home opener. Friday is also USU's lone home meet in the month of January.

It also marks new head coach Jeff Richards' home opener as well, after Richards took over for legendary coach Ray Corn, who retired after 31 seasons at the helm of the USU program.

The Aggies are 0-1, coming off a 191.100-187.150 loss at No. 25 Kentucky in the season-opener last Friday. Sophomore Nicole Simoneau and freshman Rebecca Holliday were the only USU gymnasts to finish in the top three in the events, as Simoneau was second on bars with a 9.800 while Holliday was third on beam with a 9.625 in her Aggie debut. Junior Heather Heinrich was third in the all-around with a 37.575 while senior Nicki Felley was fourth, posting a 36.750 and Holliday was fifth posting a 36.400.

Richards and the team are excited about Friday's home opener.

"We're pumped up to have our home crowd behind us, when everyone is cheering for you and you've got friends and family in the stands. You're familiar with your surroundings, so you can focus on a clean performance and hitting on everything. We're hoping for a big crowd for our first home meet," Richards said.

USU scored a 46.975 on vault, a 47.550 on bars, a 46.150 on beam and a 46.475 on floor for the 187.150 final score, and Richards hopes to do better Friday.

"We hope to do better across the board. We scored fairly well in our intrasquad meet, so we know that we're capable of scoring a mid-191, 192 score," Richards said. "We're still a lit bit short-handed due to injuries, but we'll just have to fight and persevere through it. Vault will be our toughest event based on numbers, but bars should be our best event. If we can stay on beam, I think we should be able to hold together a pretty good meet."

The Aggie squad, which only has 11 gymnasts on the active roster, is shortened by injuries.

"We're a little bit beat up so we're trying to deal with some injuries throughout the team, which affects our already short depth," Richards said, noting that sophomore Chelsea Marquardt is out for the first part of the season with a foot injury. "We just have to make sure that we're clean and we hit."

The Chippewas of Central Michigan are 1-0 after opening the season with a 192.225-191.825 win over Illinois State at home on Friday night. Leading CMU was junior Katie Simon with event victories on vault (9.875), bars (9.850) and in the all-around (38.925). Simon's score on bars was a career-high. She also had CMU's second-best score on beam (9.600).

Friday marks the first meeting between the Aggies and the Chippewas since 2005, when they met in a dual meet at CMU's home of Mount Pleasant, Mich., won by the 24th-ranked Chippewas, 194.050-191.850. USU is 1-2 all-time vs. CMU, including 1-0 at Logan, 0-1 at Mount Pleasant, and 0-1 at a neutral site.

Live results for Friday's meet are available by clicking on the "Live Results" link at www.UtahStateAggies.com, the official web site of USU athletics. Note the link will only work after the start of the meet.

Tickets are available through the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, online at www.UtahStateAggies.com and clicking on "tickets" in left column, or by calling or (435) 797-0305 or 1-888-U-STATE-1 (1-888-878-2831).

Fans can watch all USU gymnastics home meets live via the internet through Aggies All Access, available through www.UtahStateAggies.com, the official web site of USU athletics. Single events cost $9.95 with a gymnastics season pass available for $29.95 and an All-Access Pass for all USU athletics events is $129.95.

Utah State in on the road for its next two meets, facing Southern Utah on Monday, Jan. 26 at Cedar City, Utah in USU's Western Athletic Conference opener. The Aggies then compete at defending WAC champion Boise State on Friday, Jan. 30, before returning home on Friday, Feb. 6, taking on Cal State Fullerton.