WEEKLY AGGIE UPDATE - NOVEMBER 4, 2019
Weekly Aggie Update
 
FOOTBALL          
Contact: Doug Hoffman - (435) 797-3714 
 
This Week
Sat., Nov. 9 --- at Fresno State, 5 p.m. (MT) (CBSSN)
• Utah State's football team (4-4, 3-1 MW) continues its 2019 season this weekend with a Mountain West road game at Fresno State (4-4, 2-2 MW) on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 5 p.m. (MT). The game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network (Xfinity Ch. 269, DirecTV Ch. 221, Dish Ch. 158). USU is 12-17-1 all-time against Fresno State, which includes a 3-13-1 road record.
 
Last Week
L, 14-42 --- BYU
• Senior placekicker Dominik Eberle became Utah State's all-time leader in total points scored with 310 against in-state rival BYU, but the Cougars pulled away in the second half to record a 42-14 road win last weekend. Utah State (4-4, 3-1 Mountain West) finished with 521 yards of total offense – its third-highest output of the season – but couldn't overcome five turnovers and costly penalties, including one that negated a touchdown. USU passed for 394 yards in the game and gained 127 on the ground. The Cougars (4-4) racked up 639 total yards – 418 through the air and 221 on the ground – as they regained possession of the Old Wagon Wheel. BYU also controlled the time of possession - 35:14 to 24:46 - and was 6-of-11 on third downs, as compared to 9-of-16 on third downs for USU. Celebrating his 21st birthday on Saturday, Utah State's Jordan Love completed 29-of-49 passes for 394 yards and one touchdown, but the junior quarterback was also intercepted three times. His favorite target on the night was junior wide receiver Jordan Nathan, who caught seven passes for 133 yards, both of which were career highs. Love, who recorded his 10th career 300-yard passing game, attempted a career-high 49 attempts. Senior graduate transfer wide receiver Siaosi Mariner caught five passes for 86 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown that tied the game at 7-apiece late in the first quarter. Senior running back Gerold Bright led the Aggies' ground attack with 66 yards on 12 carries. His 1-yard touchdown run with 34 seconds remaining in the second quarter pulled the Aggies to within 21-14 at the break. Bright also tied his career-high with four receptions for 54 yards as he finished the game with 120 all-purpose yards. Defensively, junior S Troy Lefeged Jr. led the Aggies with nine tackles, including 0.5 tackles for loss. Redshirt junior DE Justus Te'i and senior graduate transfer RB Riley Burt each recovered a fumble, while freshman CB Cam Lampkin intercepted a pass in the end zone. 
 
 
MEN'S TENNIS 
Contact: Megan McCuistion - (435) 797-5547 
 
This Week
Fri.-Sun., Nov. 8-10 --- at Loyola Marymount Invite, All Day
•  Utah State men's tennis will conclude its fall season at the Loyola Marymount Invitational, beginning Friday, Nov. 8, and continuing through Sunday, Nov. 10.     
 
Last Competition
NTS --- at ITA Regionals, Denver, Colo.
• All six members of the Utah State men's tennis team competed at the ITA Regionals in Denver, Colo., last month. Freshman Javier Ruiz highlighted the tournament for the Aggies, advancing to the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket. In all, the Aggies posted seven singles wins and one doubles victory.
 
MEN'S BASKETBALL       
Contact: Kyle Cottam - (435) 797-2066 
 
This Week
Tue., Nov. 5 --- MONTANA STATE, 8 p.m. (AT&T)
Fri., Nov. 8 --- WEBER STATE, 7 p.m. (MWN)
•  Utah State men's basketball (0-0) opens its 2019-20 season this week as it hosts Montana State (0-0) on Tuesday, Nov. 5, at 8 p.m., and Weber State (0-0) on Friday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m. The Aggies are 78-40 all-time against the Bobcats and 43-28 all-time against the Wildcats. Additionally, Utah State is 84-30 all-time in season openers and has won 23 of its last 25. The game against MSU can be seen on AT&T Sports Net (DirecTV 683, Dish 414, Comcast 52), while the game against WSU will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network and available at www.utahstateaggies.com/watch.   
 
Last Week
W, 103-66 --- COLLEGE OF IDAHO (Ex.)
• Utah State posted a 103-66 home win against the College of Idaho in its only exhibition contest last week. Senior guard Diogo Brito led five Aggies in double figures with 19 points, followed by sophomore forward Justin Bean (18), freshman guard Sean Bairstow (11), sophomore guard Brock Miller (10) and redshirt freshman center Trevin Dorius (10). Junior forward Alphonso Anderson led the Aggies on the glass with a game-high 11 rebounds, while Bairstow led Utah State with seven assists. For the game, USU shot 61.0 percent (36-of-59) from the floor, 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from behind the 3-point line and 68.6 percent (24-of-35) at the free throw line. The Utah State defense held the Yotes to 30.9 percent (21-of-68) shooting from the floor and 30.4 percent (14-of-46) shooting from behind the 3-point line. The College of Idaho also shot 55.6 percent (10-of-18) at the free throw line
 
 
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL               
Contact: Ashley Springer - (435) 797-8584 
 
This Week
Thur., Nov. 7 --- PORTLAND, 11 a.m.
Sat., Nov. 9 --- SEATTLE, 7 p.m.
• Utah State women's basketball (0-0) opens its 2019-20 campaign with a pair of home games this week as the Aggies host Portland (0-0) on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 11 a.m., followed by Seattle (0-0) on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. All-time, Utah State is 2-3 against the Pilots and 1-2 against the Redhawks.   
 
Last Week
W, 90-56 --- ARIZONA CHRISTIAN (Ex.)
• Utah State won its lone exhibition game of the season with a 90-56 home win against Arizona Christian last week. Five Aggies scored in double figures as senior guard/forward Hailey Bassett had 21 points, senior guard Lindsey Jensen-Baker had 17 points, senior forward Marlene Aniambossou had 11 points, and junior guard Emmie Harris and sophomore guard Steph Gorman each scored 10 points. USU shot 46.3 percent (31-of-67) from the field, 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from behind the arc and 67.7 percent (21-of-31) at the free throw line. Arizona Christian shot 36.4 percent (20-of-55) from the floor, 20.8 percent (5-of-24) from behind the 3-point line and 64.7 (11-of-17) at the free throw line.
 
  
CROSS COUNTRY            
Contact: Jaden Johnson - (435) 797-8584 
 
Next Week
Fri., Nov. 15 --- at NCAA Regionals, Salt Lake City, Utah, 11 a.m.
• Utah State's men's and women's cross country teams continue their 2019 seasons next weekend at the NCAA Mountain Regional Championship, held in Salt Lake City, Utah. The race is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., at Rose Park Golf Course.
 
Last Week
M: 1/9 W: 5/11 --- MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONSHIPS
• Utah State's men's cross country team captured its first-ever Mountain West title, while the Aggie women placed fifth as USU hosted the MW Cross Country Championships last weekend. The USU men won the team title with 42 points, led by senior Dallin Farnsworth, who became the first Aggie to ever win a MW Championship race. Farnsworth's time of 21:14.2 broke the MW Championship record, surpassing the previous record by 20 seconds. Farnsworth also earned MW Men's Student-Athlete of the Year honors. Three of the top six runners in the men's 8-kilometer were Aggies as seniors Luke Beattie (23:23.8) and James Withers (23:24.9) finished fifth and sixth, respectively. Withers and Beattie, along with Farnsworth, earned first-team all-MW honors. Sophomore Caleb Garnica was named to the all-MW second team after finishing 14th with a time of 23:40.7. Third-year USU head coach Artie Gulden was named MW Coach of the Year, the first Aggie coach to ever earn that honor. Other finishers for the Aggies included senior J.D. Thorne (23:43.2) in 16th, junior Haydon Cooper (23:49.7) in 21st, sophomore Roberto Porras (23:53.9) in 23rd, Hendrickson (24:01.6), a senior, in 27th, and freshman Max Wehrli (25:04.4) in 55th. USU finished 32 points ahead of second-place Colorado State (74 points). Wyoming was just one point behind the Rams with 75 points, followed by No. 18 Boise State in fourth with 88 points. Air Force finished fifth with 106 points, New Mexico was sixth with 111 points and San José State seventh with 220 points. Nevada (243 points) and Fresno State (276 points) rounded out the field. In the women's 6-kilometer race, No. 11 New Mexico defended its title for the 12th-consecutive year, finishing with a team score of 31 points. Lobo junior Weini Kelati defended her individual title from last season, finishing with a time of 19:11.2, crossing the finish line 49 seconds ahead of the next finisher to shatter a Mountain West Championship record. Following the Lobos was No. 14 Air Force in second with 54 points, No. 13 Boise State in third with 63 points and Colorado State in fourth with 114 points. The Aggies earned 134 points to place fifth, led by junior Katie Struthers-Haviland, who placed 18th with a time of 21:00.4. The freshman duo of Mimi Miyazawa (21:05.1) and Arianna Steiner (21:16.1) were the next two Aggies across, finishing 22nd and 31st, respectively. Aggie runners captured places 35 through 38, as sophomore Mica Rivera (24:24.4), freshman Reagan Hoopes (21:25.8), senior Josie Givens (21:26.5) and freshman Abby Jensen (21:31.5) finished in succession. Closely behind, sophomore Madison Taylor (21:35.2) and freshman Bailey Brinkerhoff (21:36.0) finished 41st and 42nd, respectively, to round out the USU finishers. Following Utah State was Wyoming, which finished in sixth with 170 points. Then came San José State in seventh with 194 points, Nevada in eighth with 244 points and UNLV in ninth with 293 points. San Diego State (299 points) and Fresno State (326 points) placed 10th and 11th, respectively.
 
 
SOCCER               
Contact: Kyle Cottam - (435) 797-2066 
 
Last Week
W, 1-0 --- BOISE STATE
• Utah State's soccer team (8-10-1, 3-7-1 MW) finished its season with a 1-0 Mountain West home win against league-leading Boise State last weekend. Freshman keeper Diera Walton recorded a career-high 11 saves, the second most by a keeper in the conference this season, and logged her sixth clean sheet of the year, matching the most by a freshman goalkeeper since the 2013 season. Freshman midfielder Megan Astle scored the game winner in the 30th minute, striking the ball from outside the 18-yard box into the far corner of the net.
 
 
VOLLEYBALL      
Contact: Megan McCuistion - (435) 797-5547 
 
This Week
Thur., Nov. 7 --- NEW MEXICO, 7 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 9 --- UNLV, 1 p.m.
•  Utah State's volleyball team (2-22, 2-10 MW) continues its 2019 season this week with a pair of Mountain West home matches as it hosts New Mexico (7-17, 2-10 MW) on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m., and UNLV (13-10, 9-3 MW) on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 1 p.m. All-time, USU is 13-19 against the Lobos and 4-10 against the Rebels. Both matches will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network and available at www.utahstateaggies.com/watch.    
 
Last Week
L, 0-3 --- at Nevada
L, 0-3 --- at San José State
• Utah State posted an 0-2 Mountain West road record last week with a pair of 3-0 losses at Nevada and at San José State. Against the Wolf Pack, the Aggies hit .083 (24-17-84), while Nevada hit .319 (52-16-133). USU was led by sophomore middle blocker Corinne Larsen, who hit .300 (5-2-10), while adding five blocks. Against the Spartans, the Aggies hit -.059 (10-11-65) to SJSU's .402 (52-15-92). Larsen again led the attack at .200 (3-1-10). 
 
 
WOMEN'S TENNIS          
Contact: Alyssa Park - (435) 797-8584 
 
This Week
Fri.-Sun., Nov. 8-10 --- at CS Northridge Invite, All Day
• Utah State women's tennis will conclude its fall season at the CS Northridge Invitational, beginning Friday, Nov. 8, and continuing through Sunday, Nov. 10.  
 
Last Competition
NTS --- at ITA Regionals, Las Vegas, Nev.
• Utah State competed at the ITA Regional Championships in Las Vegas, Nev., two weekends ago and was led by freshman Renata Lombera, who posted a combined 5-2 record. In singles, Lombera advanced to the Elite Eight with three-straight wins before losing to the top seed. In doubles play, Lombera and freshman teammate Carolina Millan posted a 2-1 record as they lost in the round of 16. In other doubles action, senior Hannah Jones and sophomore Sidnee Lavatai advanced to the quarterfinals before losing. Lavatai also advanced to the Elite Eight in singles play.