Meet Notes: NCAA Regionals

LOGAN, Utah -

CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND -- Utah State gymnastics is set to compete at the Berkeley Regional Championship, hosted by California. The Aggies are appearing at regionals in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2001-02. Action is scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m. (MT) at Cal's Haas Pavilion.

TUNING IN -- For fans unable to attend the meet, there will be live scoring and live streaming links available before the meet on UtahStateAggies.com

THE AGGIES AT REGIONALS -- This will be the 28th time Utah State has participated in the NCAA Regional Championships. The last time Utah State participated at NCAA Regionals as a team was last season at the Fayetteville, Ark., Regional. The Aggies finished sixth in that meet with a 191.875. The Aggies' highest Regionals finish came in 1982, where the team took second-place. That squad went on to compete at their fourth-straight National Championships where they finished ninth. Utah State has finished third at Regionals five separate times.

ORDER OF EVENTS -- Utah State will open the meet on vault and rotate through the four events, ending on floor.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION -- No. 15 Boise State is coming off a first-place finish at the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference Championships. The Broncos scored a 196.625 in the meet, led by Kelsey Morris' 39.225 effort in the all-around. The Broncos currently have an RQS of 196.495, and rank 18th on vault with a 49.265, tied for eighth on bars with a 49.320, 23rd on beam with a 48.945 and 27th on floor with a 49.110. The Broncos are coached by Tina Bird and Neil Resnick. Utah State is 0-3 against Boise State this season, including the MRGC Championships. Utah State holds a 54-37 all-time series lead.

BYU took fifith place at the MRGC Championships with a 194.225. BYU currently has an RQS of 195.365, good for 35th in the nation, while ranking 31st on vault with a 49.000, 37th on bars with a 48.800, 49th on beam with a 48.585 and 21st on floor with a 49.165. The Cougars hold a 71-43-1 all-time advantage in the series, but Utah State has won three of the last four meetings. The Cougars are coached by Brad Cattermole.

Cal is hosting the event, and currently ranks 20th in the nation with an RQS of 196.240, including ranking 17th on vault with a 49.275, 18th on bars with a 49.140, tied for 35th on beam with a 48.770 and tied for 12th on floor with a 49.295. The Bears are coming off a sixth-place finish at the PAC-12 Championships, led by a 39.325 all-around performance from conference Freshman of the Year Toni-Ann Williams. Cal owns a slight 6-5 lead in the all-time series, including a perfect 3-0 mark at home. The Bears are coached by Justin Howell.

No. 10 Georgia heads into the regionals as the No. 2 seed in Berkeley. The Gymdogs have an RQS of 196.875, while tying for 14th on vault with a 49.280, tied for eighth on bars with a 49.320, 11th on beam with a 49.195 and tied for 12th on floor with a 49.295. Georgia is coming off a fifth-place finish with a 196.000 at the SEC Championships, where five Georgia gymnasts earned all-SEC honors. The Gymdogs hold a 7-1 lead in the all-time series, including a 5-1 record at neutral sites. The Bulldogs are coached by Danna Durante.

No. 3 Utah will compete as the No. 1 seed at the Berkeley regional site after finishing the season with a first-place finish with a 198.150 at the Pac-12 Championships in Salt Lake City. The Utes have an RQS of 197.670, as they rank first in the country on vault with a 49.560, first on bars with a 49.500, seventh on beam with a 49.320 and fifth on floor with a 49.415. The Utes own an 86-3 lead in the all-time series, including a 21-1 record at neutral sites. The Utes are coached by Greg and Megan Marsden.

TOP CONFERENCES -- The MRGC is 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 will compete, while seven out of eight PAC-12 schools will join the action. The East Atlantic Gymnastics League has three of its six participating, and the Mid American Confernce has one of it seven members competing.

LAST TIME OUT -- Utah State gymnastics (10-11, 2-7 MRGC) finished its regular season at the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference Championship in Denver, Colo., on March 21, where the Aggies took fourth-place with a 195.125.

Utah State's 195.125 was made up of a 48.900 on vault, a 48.625 on bars, a 48.825 on beam and a 48.775 on floor. Boise State won the championship with a 196.625, Southern Utah took second with a 196.275, host Denver placed third with a 196.075 while BYU took fifth with a 194.225.

Senior Sarah Landes and junior McKinzey Martinez both earned second-team all-MRGC honors in the all-around, as Landes finished fourth with a 38.900 (vault: 9.700, bars: 9.700, beam: 9.750, floor: 9.750) and Martinez finished fifth with a 38.425 (vault: 9.825, bars: 9.700, beam: 9.175, floor: 9.725). Junior Miranda Kerr earned second-team all-MRGC honors on vault, as she finished tied for fourth with a 9.850.

UTAH STATE IN THE RANKINGS - The Aggies currently rank 29th in the nation with an RQS of 195.560, which is nine spots behind Cal and six spots ahead of BYU, two of USU's opponents at the Regional Championships. Utah State ranks 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 is tied for 34th in the nation in the all-around with a 39.235, while senior Sarah Landes is tied for 39th with a 39.185. Sophomore Bailey McIntire is 71st in the all-around with a 38.900, however she has not competed on all four events in the last three meets. Sophomore Hayley Sanzotti is tied for 94th on beam with a 9.825, and McIntire is tied for 55th on floor with a 9.870.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS -- Utah State has had at least one event title winner in nine of its 12 meets this year, including six out of a possible 12 all-around champions. Junior McKinzey Martinez leads the way with nine event titles, which includes three all-around titles, sophomore Bailey McIntire has won five titles, senior Sarah Landes has four titles, redshirt sophomore Hayley Sanzotti has claimed three, and juniors Miranda Kerr and JoAnna Cuba both own two, while junior Michelle Yasukochi, sophomore Charly Belliston and redshirt freshman Keri Peel each have one.

GYMNAST OF THE WEEK -- Utah State senior Sarah Landes was named the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference Gymnast of the Week on February 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.

BEAMING WITH PRIDE -- Utah State recorded a 49.275 on beam in its meet against BYU on January 23, good for the third highest beam score in school history. The Aggies were led by senior Sarah Landes and junior McKinzey Martinez who both tied for first on the event with a 9.875.

WHAT THE AGGIES BRING BACK -- Utah State returns 10 gymnasts from last season who competed in 10 or more meets. Charly Belliston, Kaitlyn Betts, Katie Brown, Jillian Chappel, JoAnna Cuba, Stefanie Nelson, Miranda Kerr, Sarah Landes, Bailey McIntire and Susie Miller all look to add serious depth and experience to a strong Aggie lineup.

UP NEXT -- If Utah State finishes the Regional Championship in the top two, the Aggies will move on to the NCAA National Championship in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 17.

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 gymnasts that the 2014 and 1999 teams both had. The 2000 and 2001 squads both 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.

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