WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – Utah State's gymnastics team will open the 2020 season on Saturday, Jan. 11, at the inaugural Rio Tinto Best of Utah Meet.
 
The quad meet featuring the Aggies (0-0, 0-0 MRGC), No. 5 Utah (1-0, 0-0 Pac-12), No. 23 BYU (1-0, 0-0 MRGC) and Southern Utah (0-1, 0-0 MRGC) will take place at 7 p.m. on the podium at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah.
 
"We are so excited about the 2020 season," said third-year USU head coach Amy Smith. Our preseason was very promising. We have 10 new freshmen, which is incredibly exciting. We are very excited for some new leaders to step up, and this team has really been finding their voice. I'm excited about the new coaching staff and support staff, and am thrilled to see what this team is going to do this year, beginning with the Best of Utah Meet on Saturday."
 
While Saturday's meet will not be streamed or televised, live scoring will be available online at http://sidearmstats.com/utah/w-gym/, and fans can follow the Utah State gymnastics social media outlets for meet updates.
 
The Aggies are 42-30 all-time in season openers, a record that takes several multi-team meets into account. In Utah State's season- and program-opening meet on Jan. 9, 1978, the Aggies placed first in the Air Force-hosted Rocky Mountain Open. USU finished with a team score of 131.650, defeating eight other schools. The Aggies opened the 2019 season at a quad meet hosted by Pittsburgh, where they recorded a 194.600, the highest season-opening score in program history.
 
Utah opened its season with a 196.425-195.350 victory over No. 12 Kentucky on Jan. 3 in Salt Lake City. BYU lifted the lid on its 2020 campaign with a thrilling 195.750-195.600 home win over No. 15 Nebraska this past Monday night. Those same Cornhuskers then defeated Southern Utah 196.375-195.275 in the Thunderbirds' season opener on Thursday afternoon in Cedar City.
 
Saturday is the first of four contests this season between Utah State and BYU, as the two teams will also face each other on Jan. 18 in Provo, March 6 in Logan and March 21 at the MRGC Championships in Boise, Idaho. The Aggies are 48-79-1 all-time against the Cougars, including 25-24 at home, 10-33-1 on the road and 13-22 at a neutral site.
 
The Aggies and T-birds will also be squaring off four times this  is the first of four contests this season as the two teams will also face each other Jan. 31 in Cedar City, Feb. 14 in Logan and March 21 at the MRGC Championships. The Aggies are 49-49 all-time against the Thunderbirds, including 26-14 at home, 17-20 on the road and 6-16 at a neutral site.
 
Utah State and Utah will be meeting twice this season, once to open the year and again to close out the regular season on Friday, March 13, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
The Aggies and Utes have not faced each other since the 2016 campaign at the NCAA Regional Championships in Salt Lake City. USU placed fifth with a score of 195.025, while Utah, the top seed in the regional, won the meet with a 197.125. The Aggies are 3-89 all-time against the Utes, and have not defeated Utah since Jan. 26, 1979 (133.650-129.300).
 
Fans can follow the Aggie gymnastics program at twitter.com/USUGymnastics, on Facebook at Utah State Gymnastics, and on Instagram at USUGymnastics. Fans can also follow the USU athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at UtahStateAthletics.
 
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