LOGAN, Utah – Utah State gymnastics will enter the 2022 season as the No. 26-ranked team in the country as voted on by the members of the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA).
It is the Aggies' highest preseason ranking since the beginning of the 2002 season.
Michigan, the reigning NCAA Champions, earned the top spot in the 2022 preseason poll with 2,405 points and 37 first-place votes. Florida was second (2,319 points; 16 first-place votes), while Oklahoma (2,317; six first-place votes), Utah (2,306; eight first-place votes) and LSU (2,179; one first-place vote) rounded out the top-five teams in the nation.
Five of Utah State's 2022 opponents are ranked in the preseason top 25, including No. 4 Utah and No. 9 Minnesota, along with Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference-rivals BYU (No. 19), Boise State (No. 24) and Southern Utah (No. 25).
In 2021, the Utah State's gymnastics team enjoyed one of its finest seasons in program history as the Aggies competed in their 26th NCAA Regional Championship, including their first since 2017. USU ended the season ranked No. 25 in the nation, its best finish since finishing 15th in 1999. The Aggies also tied for 25th in 1998.
Utah State returns 11 gymnasts from last year's squad that recorded three of its best all-time team scores in school history with a 196.775 (third) at the Denver tri meet, a 196.600 (tied for fifth) at BYU and a 196.500 (seventh) at Utah.
Additionally, the Aggies welcome back junior Sofi Sullivan, along with seven freshmen. Sullivan opted out of her sophomore season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sullivan was tabbed the 2020 MRGC Freshman of the Year, as selected by the league's head coaches, and earned MRGC co-Beam Specialist of the Year and first-team all-conference honors after tying for first in the league and tying for 27th nationally with a National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 9.895 on the event.
The Aggies will officially open the season at the third-annual Rio Tinto Best of Utah NCAA Gymnastics Meet on Friday, Jan. 7, at 7 p.m., at the Maverik Center in West Valley City. The podium event will also feature in-state rivals BYU, Southern Utah and Utah.
For more information on the Utah State gymnastics program, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @USUGymnastics, on Facebook at UtahStateGymnastics and on Instagram at USUGymnastics.
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