CEDAR CITY, Utah – Utah State's gymnastics team is back on the road for the second-consecutive week as the Aggies will square off against 21st-ranked Southern Utah on Friday, Jan. 20, at the America First Event Center.
 
The Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference dual meet between Utah State and Thunderbirds will begin at 7 p.m. and streamed live on ESPN+. Additionally, live scoring will be available online at suutbirds.com and Aggie fans can also follow the USU gymnastics social media outlets for meet updates.
 
"The team had a great week of training," said first-year Utah State head coach Kristin White. "You can feel that they are hungry to continue improving each and every week. They were very intentional in their training and focused more on the small details this week."
 
The Aggies (1-2, 1-1 MRGC) opened their season by placing third with a 195.800 at the Rio Tinto Best of Utah Meet last Friday night at the Maverik Center in West Valley City. Then-No. 6 Utah won the meet with a 197.750, SUU (6-1, 2-0 MRGC) finished second with a 196.175 and BYU (0-6, 0-2 MRGC) placed fourth with a 195.175.
 
Sofi Sullivan was tabbed the Aggies' MVP of the meet as the senior from Manhattan Beach, California, tied for fourth on beam with a 9.900.
 
"We will have a few new routines competed again this weekend and I am excited to see this team continue to step up and show just how hard they have worked this year," White said. "I am looking forward to another great weekend of competition."
 
Utah State leads the all-time series with SUU 56-55 and has captured three of the last five meetings, including at the 2022 MRGC Championships. However, the Aggies have not won in Cedar City since March 24, 2018, a span of four meets.
 
Of the 14 different Aggies that competed in the season opener at the Best of Utah Meet, three officially made their collegiate debuts in freshmen Avery Bibbey and Marley Peterson, and sophomore Dani Kirstine.
 
Bibbey tied for ninth on bars (9.825), Kirstine tied for 20th on bars (9.775) and Peterson placed 22nd on vault (9.525) and tied for 19th on floor (9.775). Furthermore, three other gymnasts made their Aggie debuts last weekend in junior Jenna Eagles and sophomore Payton Gatzlaff, who both transferred from Lindenwood, and senior Alivia Ostendorf, who transferred from Ball State.
 
Gatzlaff tied for 10th on vault (9.800) and placed 24th on floor (9.700), Eagles tied for 15th on beam (9.750), and Ostendorf placed 14th on vault (9.775) and 21st on beam (9.625), while tying for sixth on floor (9.850).
 
Utah State is ranked No. 28 in the country in Week 2 of the Road to Nationals rankings with an average team score of 195.800. The Aggies are also tied for 21st in the nation on bars (49.025), tied for 22nd on beam (49.025), tied for 20th on floor (49.025) and tied for 45th on vault (48.625).
 
Individually, Sullivan is tied for first in the MRGC and tied for 15th nationally on beam (9.900). She was tabbed the co-MRGC Beam Specialist of the Week following her performance at the Best of Utah Meet.
 
NEXT MEET
 
The Aggies open their home slate on Friday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m., when they welcome BYU to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum for an MRGC Showdown. Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.
 
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.
 
-USU-