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CEDAR CITY, Utah – Utah State's 31st-ranked gymnastics team concluded its season-long four-meet road swing by recording their second-highest score of the season in a 195.875-195.175 loss to No. 23 Southern Utah on Friday night at the America First Event Center.
 
"Going into next week's meet, we just need to put the work in, in the gym," said senior bars specialist Brittany Jeppesen. "We need to work on the little details like honing in on the dismounts, sticking the landings and just keeping up the energy. We are much better than what we showed today. We still have more in us and that's exciting, honestly."
 
A pair of gymnasts captured event titles for the Aggies (1-6, 0-4 Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference). Junior Autumn DeHarde tied for first on beam with a 9.875 and fellow junior Leighton Varnadore won the all-around with a 39.075. For DeHarde, it is her eighth career title on beam, which is tied for third all-time in school history.
 
"We came out of this meet alive, which was a good thing," said third-year USU head coach Amy Smith. "They fought through it, and finished it on a good note. The beam team picked it up in the back end of the meet, and I am proud of them for that."
 
FIRST ROTATION
Utah State opened the meet with a season-high 48.950 on bars. Jeppesen and freshman Sofi Sullivan tied for second with matching 9.850s. For Sullivan, it was a personal-best score. Sophomore Grace Rojas tied for sixth with a season-high 9.825.
 
"It was really nice, but I still have some things that I need to work on and fix," Jeppesen said of her routine. "Coming back from my knee injury has been really exciting because I didn't think I was going to be able to come back. Sticking your dismount is the best feeling in the world, so hopefully, we'll have a lot more of those as the season progresses."
 
The Thunderbirds (3-4, 2-1 MRGC) began on vault and scored a 49.225. Rachel Smith won the event with a 9.900, while teammates Stephanie Tervort and Morgan Alfaro tied for second with 9.850s.
 
SECOND ROTATION
Moving to vault in the second rotation, the Aggies scored a 48.300. Rojas had the top score on the event for USU with a 9.725 to place seventh. SUU had a 48.925 on bars, led by Becky Rozsa-Thompson, who had a 9.875 to win the event.
 
At the midway point of the meet, the Thunderbirds led 98.150-97.250.
 
THIRD ROTATION
On floor, DeHarde a 9.850 to tie for third, while Varnadore and freshman Ariel Toomey tied for fifth with 9.800s. Utah Sate finished with a team score of 48.800 on the event. Over on beam, SUU had a 48.800, highlighted by Shylen Murakami's 9.875 to tie DeHarde for first on the event.
 
FOURTH ROTATION
Utah State finished the meet strong by recording a 49.125, which is tied for 12th all-time in school history. Five Aggies finished in the top six on the event as Sullivan and sophomore Carley Bayles tied for third with 9.825s, and Varnadore and junior Taylor Dittmar tied for sixth with 9.800s.
 
SUU closed with a 48.925 on floor. Hannah Nipp won the individual event title with a 9.950.
 
UP NEXT
Utah State opens the home portion of its schedule against No. 28 Boise State (2-3, 0-1 MRGC) on Friday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m., at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
 
"We are so excited to get back to the Spectrum, be in our home environment and settle in," Smith said. "It is going to be awesome."
 
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.
 
Utah State at Southern Utah – Cedar City, Utah – America First Event Center – Jan. 31, 2020
 
Team Results: 1. Southern Utah – 195.875 (vault: 49.225, bars: 48.925, beam: 48.800, floor: 48.925); 2. Utah State – 195.175 (vault: 48.300, bars: 48.950, beam: 49.125, floor: 48.800).
 
Vault: 1. Rachel Smith – SUU, 9.900; T2. Stephanie Tervort – SUU, 9.850; T2. Morgan Alfaro – SUU, 9.850; 7. Grace Rojas – USU, 9.725; 8. Leighton Varnadore – USU, 9.700; 9. Maia Fishwick – USU, 9.675; 10. Mikaela Meyer – USU, 9.650; 11. Autumn DeHarde – USU, 9.550; 12. Rebecca Wells – USU, 8.500.
 
Bars: 1. Becky Rozsa-Thompson – SUU, 9.875; T2. Brittany Jeppesen – USU, 9.850; T2. Sofi Sullivan – USU, 9.850; T2. Shylen Murakami – SUU, 9.850; T2. Caitlin Kho – SUU, 9.850; T6. Grace Rojas – USU, 9.825; 8. Leighton Varnadore – USU, 9.775; 9. Maia Fishwick – USU, 9.650; 12. Tori Loomis – USU, 8.825.
 
Beam: T1. Autumn DeHarde – USU, 9.875; T1. Shylen Murakami – SUU, 9.875; T3. Carley Bayles – USU, 9.825; T3. Sofi Sullivan – USU. 9.875; T3. Rachel Smith – SUU, 9.825; T6. Taylor Dittmar – USU, 9.800; T6. Leighton Varnadore – USU, 9.800; 12. Tori Loomis – USU, 8.975.
 
Floor: 1. Hannah Nipp – SUU, 9.950; 2. Madison McBride – SUU, 9.875; T3. Autumn DeHarde – USU, 9.850; Karley McClain – SUU, 9.850; T5. Ariel Toomey – USU, 9.800; T5. Leighton Varnadore – USU, 9.800; 8. Sofi Sullivan – USU, 9.700; 9. Rebecca Wells – USU, 9.650; 12. Mikaela Meyer – USU, 8.625.
 
All-Around: 1. Leighton Varnadore – USU, 39.075; 2. Karley McClain – SUU, 38.525.
 
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