Final Notes

LOGAN, Utah -

2015 IN REVIEW -- Utah State started the season with a dominating win against regional opponent Air Force before suffering a close loss on the road to Denver. The Aggies bounced back with the first of four wins against BYU in 2015, as they claimed their first win against the Cougars in Provo since 1999. Then, USU hosted a tri-meet with Boise State and UC Davis, where the Aggies took second behind BSU. Utah State stayed in Logan the next week and defeated Seattle Pacific, before hitting the road and falling to Boise State. Then, the Aggies hit the 195.000 mark for the first time in the season in a close loss to Southern Utah. USU traveled to Cedar City for a tri-meet with SUU and Denver, where the Aggies took third.

The next week, however, Utah State defeated BYU for the second time in a tri-meet in Provo. Two days later, the Aggies took first at a quad-meet hosted by San José State. The next week, Utah State put up two of the top four scores in school history in a loss at home to BYU and a win in a dual meet at Sacramento State. Utah State took fourth at the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference Championships, defeating BYU for the third time. Then, for the second-consecutive season, Utah State competed at NCAA Regionals as a team, where USU took fifth, finishing ahead of BYU for the fourth time in the season.

2015 IN THE RECORD BOOKS - Utah State hit its stride at the end of the regular season as the Aggeis recorded two of the top four scores in school history. In a home meet against BYU, Utah State posted a 196.350, which is good for the third-best score in program history. Two days later, the Aggeis put up a 196.325 at Sacramento State, which ranks fourth on the all-time team score chart.

For the second-consecutive season, Utah State recorded the top vault season average in school history, as the 2015 Aggies topped the 48.904 2014 average with a 48.938 average. The success on vault was aided by recording three of the top 10 vault scores in the program's history. USU was led on vault by junior McKinzey Martinez, who averaged a 9.802, good for fourth-best in school history.

Utah State also put up the fourth-best beam average in school history, a 48.671, aided by a 49.275 season-high against BYU on Jan. 23. That score was good for the third-highest beam score in school history. The Aggies were led by senior Sarah Landes and Martinez, who both tied for first on the event with a 9.875.

The Aggies recorded the fourth-best floor average in school history, as well, averaging a 48.909, topping 2014's average of 48.791. The Aggies were led on floor by sophomore Bailey McIntire, who posted the fifth-best average in school history on the event with a 9.838. Utah State's season high of 49.300 came at the San José State quad meet.

In 2015, Landes joined Meagan Lewis (2003) as the only two gymnasts to appear in the top 20 season average lists for all four events. Landes averaged a 9.777 on vault (tied for 12th), a 9.721 on bars (20th), a 9.698 on beam (10th) and a 9.791 on floor (12th).

BEATING THE COUGARS -- Utah State defeated BYU four times this season, which ties the 1988, 1987 and 1978 teams for the most wins against the Cougars in one season. The Aggies' lone loss to BYU this season came when the Cougars recorded their season-high in Logan.

TOP CONFERENCES -- The MRGC was one of just three conferences in the nation to have every member participate in NCAA Regional Championships. All five of the MRGC members made the cut, as did all eight SEC schools and all three Big XII schools. The Big 10 came close, as nine out of 10 teams competed, while seven out of eight PAC-12 schools joined the action. The East Atlantic Gymnastics League had three of its six participate, and the Mid-American Conference had one of it seven members compete.

LAST TIME OUT -- Utah State (11-15, 2-7 MRGC) concluded its season with a fifth-place finish at the Berkeley site of the NCAA Regional Championships with a 195.150 (vault: 48.900, bars: 48.575, beam: 48.850, floor: 48.825). The Aggies improved by 3.275 points over 2014's regionals performance.

No. 10 Georgia won the meet with a 197.025, while No. 3 Utah took second with a 196.575. Both Georgia and Utah will advance to the NCAA Nationals, as they finished in the top two at their regional site. Cal finished third with a 196.000, Boise State took fourth with a 195.375 and BYU took sixth with a 194.150.

Senior Sarah Landes was USU's only representative in the all-around, where she took seventh with a 39.175 (vault: 9.775, bars: 9.800, beam: 9.800, floor: 9.800). Utah's Georgia Dabritz took the top honors with a 39.750, which included first-place finishes on all four events.

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS - Utah State senior Sarah Landes and junior McKinzey Martinez both earned second-team all-MRGC honors in the all-around, while junior Miranda Kerr took home second-team all-MRGC honors on vault.

UTAH STATE IN THE RANKINGS - The Aggies ended the season ranked 29th in the nation with an RQS of 195.560. Utah State ranked 34th on vault with a 48.975, tied for 34th on bars with a 48.885, 25th on beam with a 48.900 and tied for 23rd on floor with a 49.125. Individually, junior McKinzey Martinez finished the year tied for 34th in the nation in the all-around with a 39.235, while senior Sarah Landes tied for 39th with a 39.185. Sophomore Bailey McIntire finshed 71st in the all-around with a 38.900, however she did not compete on all four events in the last four meets. Sophomore Hayley Sanzotti tied for 94th on beam with a 9.825, and McIntire tied for 55th on floor with a 9.870.

UTAH STATE OPPONENTS IN THE RANKINGS -- Utah State squared off against seven teams that finished the year ranked in the top 25 in the nation. The Aggies faced No. 3 Utah, No. 10 Georgia, No. 15 Boise State, No. 16 Denver, No. 20 Cal, No. 21 Central Michigan and No. 22 Southern Utah.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS -- Utah State had at least one event title winner in nine of its 14 meets this year, including six out of a possible 14 all-around champions. Junior McKinzey Martinez led the way with nine event titles, which included three all-around titles, sophomore Bailey McIntire won five titles, senior Sarah Landes claimed four titles, redshirt sophomore Hayley Sanzotti earned three, and juniors Miranda Kerr and JoAnna Cuba both owned two, while junior Michelle Yasukochi, sophomore Charly Belliston and redshirt freshman Keri Peel each had one.

GYMNAST OF THE WEEK -- Utah State senior Sarah Landes was named the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference Gymnast of the Week on Feb. 2. The Edmond, Okla., native posted a 39.225 in the all-around against No. 12 Boise State and UC Davis. Landes recorded runner-up finishes on vault (9.850) and floor (9.800), while also tying for third on bars (9.800) and tying for seventh on beam (9.775) as the Aggies finished second as a team to Boise State, 195.975-194.275.

LOCAL TALENT -- Utah State has three student-athletes from the Beehive State on its roster in sophomores Charly Belliston (Magna) and Makayla Betz (Herriman), while newcomer Briel Muhlestein hails from Salt Lake City.

THE MORE THE MERRIER -- USU's 2015 squad has 22 gymnasts on its roster. This is the most gymnasts that have ever been on a Utah State roster for one season, besting the previous mark of 19 that the 2014 and 1999 teams both had. The 2000 and 2001 squads each had 18 gymnasts, good for the third-most ever on an Aggie team.

SOCIAL BUTTERFLIES -- Fans can follow the USU Gymnastics' Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages - Twitter: @USUGymanstics, Facebook: Utah State Gymnastics and Instagram: @USUGymanstics, as well as head coach Nadalie Walsh on Twitter @NadalieWalsh and on Instagram @nadalie_walsh. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.

TURNING MORE THAN JUST CARTWHEELS -- Last season, 15 Aggies were honored as USU Joe E. and Elma Whitesides Scholar-Athletes, while the team was honored as a Top Three team (of less than 20 members). In order to be recognized as a Whitesides Scholar-Athlete, one must earn at least a 3.2 GPA during the last two semesters.