WEEKLY AGGIE UPDATE - OCTOBER 3, 2022
Weekly Aggie Update
FOOTBALL
Contact: Doug Hoffman - (435) 797-3714
This Week
Sat., Oct. 8 --- AIR FORCE, 5 p.m. (Fox Sports 1)
• Utah State football (1-4, 0-1 MW) continues Mountain West play this week as it hosts Air Force (4-1, 1-1 MW) on Saturday, Oct. 8, at 5 p.m. USU is 4-6 all-time against the Falcons, including a 2-2 home record. The game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports 1 (Xfinity Ch. 265/691HD, DISH Ch. 150, DirecTV Ch. 219).
Last Week
L, 26-38 --- at #19 BYU
• Junior quarterback Cooper Legas passed for 188 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for another score, but it wasn't enough as Utah State wrapped up non-conference play with a 38-26 loss at No. 19 BYU last week. Legas, playing in place of the injured Logan Bonner, made his first-career start for the Aggies and completed 19-of-31 passes. He also threw two interceptions. His favorite target on the night was graduate senior wide receiver Brian Cobbs, who caught a career-high 10 passes for 96 yards and a career-best two touchdowns. Jaren Hall was 17-of-27 for 273 yards and three touchdowns for the Cougars, who outscored Utah State 21-9 in the second half. BYU finished with 396 yards of total offense, while Utah State tallied 394 total yards, including 206 on the ground. The Aggies scored on the opening possession for the first time this season when Legas led them on a 12-play, 75-yard drive that he capped with a 7-yard touchdown run, the first of his career. The native of Orem, Utah, finished with a career-high 54 yards rushing on a career-best 20 carries. Graduate senior running back Calvin Tyler Jr. led all rushers in the game with 104 yards on 18 carries for his second 100-yard rushing game this season and the sixth of his career. Senior Iinebacker AJ Vongphachanh and graduate senior safety Hunter Reynolds had nine tackles apiece for the Aggies, while junior linebacker MJ Tafisi added eight stops. Reynolds also had a tackle for loss and pass breakup for the Aggies, while Tafisi had 1.0 sacks and Vongphachanh had 0.5 tackles for loss. Redshirt freshman safety Ike Larsen also had a sack for USU, while junior linebacker Kaleo Neves tied his career-high with 1.5 tackles for loss.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Contact: Ashley Springer - (435) 797-5547
Next Week
Wed.-Sun., Oct. 12-16 --- at ITA Regionals, Las Vegas, Nevada, All Day
• Utah State's women's tennis continues its fall schedule at the ITA Regionals in Las Vegas, Nevada, from Wednesday to Sunday, Oct. 12-16.
Last Week
NTS --- at Colorado State Invite
• Utah State competed at the Colorado State-hosted Jon Messick Invitational last week where the Aggies took on a field of seven teams, including host Colorado State, Colorado, Denver, New Mexico, South Dakota, Weber State and Wyoming. Graduate senior Monique Burton led the Aggies with a 6-2 overall mark, including a 3-1 record in singles play. Senior Zeynep Naz Ozturk was second on the squad with a 5-3 overall mark, also going 3-1 in singles action to claim the Flight A consolation title. Junior Laura Fernanda Eugenio De Hilario also posted a 3-1 singles mark, earning the Flight B consolation title.
VOLLEYBALL
Contact: Ashley Springer - (435) 797-5547
This Week
Thur., Oct. 6 --- SAN DIEGO STATE, 7 p.m. (MWN)
Sat., Oct. 8 --- FRESNO STATE, 11 a.m. (MWN)
• Utah State volleyball (10-5, 2-2 MW) continues Mountain West action this week with a pair of home matches as it hosts San Diego State (4-11, 2-2 MW) on Thursday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m., and Fresno State (6-10, 0-4 MW) on Saturday, Oct. 8, at 11 a.m. All-time, the Aggies are 10-17-1 against the Aztecs and 17-20 against the Bulldogs. Both matches will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network and available at www.utahstateaggies.com/watch.
Last Week
W, 3-0 --- at Nevada
L, 1-3 --- at San José State
• Utah State went 1-1 in Mountain West action last week with a 3-0 road sweep at Nevada and 3-1 loss at San José State. Against the Wolf Pack, the Aggies had one of their best offensive performances of the season, hitting .330 (46-11-106). On the reverse, Utah State held Nevada to a .070 mark (26-18-115), the lowest hitting percentage for a USU opponent this season. Junior outside hitter Tatum Stall led the Aggies with 13 kills in the match, hitting .400 (13-1-30). Both Aggie middles hit above .700, as senior Kennedi Boyd hit .769 (10-0-13), while redshirt freshman Bella Wooden hit .750 (6-0-8). Freshman setter Leah Wilton-LaBoy led USU with 20 assists, followed closely by sophomore setter Beatriz Rodrigues with 19. Defensively, two Aggies recorded double-digit digs as redshirt sophomore libero Jordi Holdaway had 21 and senior outside Shelby Capllonch had 11. Boyd finished the night with a match-best five blocks. Against the Spartans, USU hit .188 (48-24-128), while SJSU hit .346 (54-17-107). Capllonch led the Aggies with 13 kills, followed by Stall with 11. Wilton-LaBoy had a team-best 17 assists, followed closely by Rodrigues with 16. Defensively, USU was led by Boyd with five blocks and Holdaway with eight digs.
SOCCER
Contact: Daniel Hansen - (435) 797-8584
This Week
Thur., Oct. 6 --- COLORADO COLLEGE, 3 p.m. (MWN)
Sun., Oct. 9 --- AIR FORCE, 1 p.m. (MWN)
• Utah State soccer (5-3-5, 2-1-1 MW) continues Mountain West play this week as it hosts Colorado College (4-4-3, 1-1-2 MW) on Thursday, Oct. 6, at 3 p.m., and Air Force (4-5-2, 1-2-1 MW) on Sunday, Oct. 9, at 1 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network and available at www.utahstateaggies.com/watch.
Last Week
L, 1-2 --- at Wyoming
T, 2-2 --- at Colorado State
• Utah State posted an 0-1-1 Mountain West record last week with a 2-1 loss at Wyoming and a 2-2 draw at Colorado State. Against the Cowgirls, USU scored in the 40th minute when freshman Kaylie Chambers netted a goal off a cross from sophomore Tenzi Knowles, putting USU up, 1-0, heading into halftime. The Cowgirls equalized two minutes into the second half, however, before netting the game-winner in the 89th minute. USU outshot UW, 11-8, including a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal. Against the Rams, USU again scored first for the ninth time this season, taking a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute when junior Alex Day intercepted a pass in the midfield and launched a shot from over 30 yards out into the top left corner of the goal. The Rams answered 15 minutes later in the 20th minute. Entering the second half in a 1-1 tie, the Aggies again took the initiative when senior Sammie Murdock fielded a pass from sophomore Rine Yonaha at the top of the penalty area for a one-goal advantage in the 51st minute. Again, the Rams responded, equalizing in the 63rd minute. USU outshot the Rams on total shots, 11-7, and on shots on goal, 7-2.
CROSS COUNTRY
Contact: Wade Denniston - (435) 797-1361
This Week
Fri., Oct. 7 --- STEVE T. REEDER MEMORIAL, 3 p.m.
• Utah State's men's and women's cross country teams will continue their seasons this week as it hosts the Steve T. Reeder Memorial Invitational on Friday, Oct. 7, at 3 p.m., on the Steve and Dona Reeder Cross Country Course.
Last Week
M: 3/46; W: 4/46 --- at Lehigh Invite
• Utah State's men's cross country team placed third in a loaded field with a team score of 105 points, while the women recorded a fourth-place team finish with a score of 191, last weekend at the Lehigh-hosted Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Both sides eclipsed nationally-ranked squads in the event with the men defeating No. 17-ranked Georgetown and the women taking down No. 16 Utah Valley. The men were led by senior Camren Todd, who finished third overall with a time of 23:07.4. Following Todd, junior newcomer Yonas Mogos was the second Aggie across the line in 15th place with a time of 23:19.3. Graduate senior Caleb Garnica, who won the Gold Race last year, finished 22nd with a time of 23:27.1. Junior Bridger Altice placed 28th with a time of 23:29.2 and graduate senior Mark Crandall finished 41st with a time of 23:25.2 to round out USU's top-five finishers. The Aggies topped Georgetown by 33 points and trailed second-place finisher No. 21 Villanova by only five points. No. 13 North Carolina won the competition with a team score of 64. On the women's side, sophomore Ana Weaver paced the Aggie effort with a 13th-place finish and time of 19:56.5. Graduate senior Mica Rivera placed 25th with a time of 10:06.0 and junior Bailey Brinkerhoff was the third USU finisher, placing 46th with a time of 20:23.0. Sophomore Emma Thornley and senior Abby Jensen finished out USU's scoring runners, finishing back-to-back in 54th and 55th, respectively, with times of 20:28.2 and 20:28.6. The women finished with 191 points as a team to finish fourth, besting the Wolverines' fifth-place total of 234. No. 12 North Carolina completed the Tar Heel sweep, placing first as a team with 63 points, narrowly beating out No. 18 Georgetown in second place with 67. No. 15 Providence finished one spot ahead of USU in third with 176 points as a team. The Utah State women continued to show out in the open race of the event, with three Aggies finishing in the top five. Sophomore Kaybree Christensen placed first overall with a time of 21:28.9 while freshmen Meredith Price and Malia Lowe finished third and fourth, respectively, with times of 21:39.9 and 21:40.9. In the men's open race, freshman Stewart Brown also recorded a top-five finish, placing fourth with a time of 24:01.2.
GOLF
Contact: Wade Denniston - (435) 797-1361
This Week
Mon.-Tues., Oct. 3-4 --- at Colorado Invite, All Day
• Utah State's golf team continues its 2022 fall season on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 3-4, at the Colorado-hosted Mark Simpson Invitational. The 54-hole tournament will be played at the Colorado National Golf Club in Erie, Colorado.
Last Competition
12th/17 --- at Valparaiso Invite
• Utah State finished 12th at the Valpo Fall Invitational, which was held last week at the Sand Creek Country Club in Chesterton, Indiana. The Aggies posted a 54-hole team score of 50-over 914 (298-301-315) against the 17-team field. Valparaiso, the tournament host, shot a 10-under 278 in the final round to run away with a 34-stroke victory. Loyola Chicago placed second (882, +18), DePaul placed third (883, +19), Purdue Fort Wayne was fourth (884, +20) and Northern Kentucky (887, +23) rounded out the top five. Utah State sophomore Esteban Jaramillo, who at one point was tied for the lead during the two-day tournament, finished tied for 10th at 2-over 218 (70-71-77). He finished with 11 birdies for the tournament to tie for eighth in the field of 99 golfers. Sophomore Javier Vazquez tied for 45th at 13-over 229, while junior Josh Pehrson tied for 67th at 18-over 234 in his Aggie debut. Sophomore Nathan Preslar tied for 79th at 21-over 237 and graduate Cameron Tucker tied for 87th at 25-over 241.
MEN'S TENNIS
Contact: Daniel Hansen - (435) 797-8584
This Week
Mon.-Sun., Oct. 3-9 --- at ITA All-Americans, Tulsa, Oklahoma, All Day
Fri.-Sun., Oct. 7-9 --- at Idaho State Invite, All Day
• Utah State men's tennis continues its fall tournament season this week at a pair of events. Seniors David Cierny and Bodin Zarkovic will represent USU at the ITA All-Americans in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from Monday to Sunday, Oct. 3-9. USU will also compete in the Idaho State Invite from Friday to Sunday, Oct. 7-9.
Last Week
NTS --- at Utah Invite
• Utah State posted a stellar weekend at the Utah Invite as the Aggies swept the doubles draws of the event and won two of four singles draws. Junior Stijn Paardekooper and Sergi Micó Fenollar combined to go 4-0 in the Utah Draw of doubles with wins over duos from Weber State (6-3), Montana (6-4) and Idaho State (7-5) in addition to a walkover win over Utah to win the group title. Seniors Javier Ruiz and Roko Savin matched the doubles title with a 3-1 mark in the Utes Draw featuring wins over Montana (6-3), Weber State (6-4) and Utah (7-6 (5)). Despite a 6-3 loss to Idaho State on the tournament's opening day, the duo earned the tiebreaker to win the doubles title outright. In singles play, Paardekooper capped off an undefeated weekend across both doubles and singles play, recording wins over ISU's Andreas Kramer (6-4, 6-4), Montana's Moritz Stoeger (6-2, 6-2) and Weber State's Elyes Marouani (6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4)). A walkover win over Utah's Bruno Krenn completed the 4-0 week for the title in the Singles White Draw. Savin notched USU's final title of the weekend, going 3-1 in the Singles Gray Draw with wins over ISU's Valentino De Pellegrin (7-6 (5), 6-3) and UM's Fernando Perez (4-6, 6-1, 6-4). A win over Utah's Jayson Blando (7-6 (2), 6-2) secured the first-place finish for Savin in the group. Both Micó Fenollar and Ruiz compiled 2-2 records in singles play. Micó Fenollar defeated ISU's Patrick Kristensen (6-7 (10), 6-3, 7-5) and Montana's Gustav Thielgaard (6-4, 7-6 (8)). Ruiz closed the tournament with two wins on Sunday over Utah's Michael Blando (6-2, 6-3) and Weber State's Zulch (6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4)).
