Weekly Aggie Update
WEEKLY AGGIE UPDATE - MARCH 6, 2023
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Contact: Ashley Springer - (435) 797-5547
This Week
2023 Mountain West Championship, Las Vegas, Nevada
Thur., March 9 --- vs. TBA, Quarterfinal, 9:30 p.m. (MT) (CBSSN)
Fri., March 10 --- vs. TBA, Semifinal, 10 p.m. (MT) (CBSSN)
Sat., March 11 --- vs. TBA, Championship, 4 p.m. (MT) (CBS)
• Utah State men's basketball (24-7, 13-5 MW) is the third-seed in the upcoming Mountain West Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will play either sixth-seeded New Mexico (21-10, 8-10 MW) or 11th-seeded Wyoming (9-21, 4-14 MW) in a quarterfinal game on Thursday, March 9, at 9:30 p.m. (MT) in a game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network (Xfinity Ch. 269, DirecTV Ch. 221, Dish Ch. 158). If USU advances to the semifinals it will play at 10 p.m. (MT) on Friday, March 10, on CBS Sports Network, while the championship game will be on Saturday, March 11, at 4 p.m. (MT) on CBS.
Last Week
W, 91-66 --- at UNLV
W, 86-73 --- BOISE STATE
• Utah State concluded its regular season with a 2-0 Mountain West record as it posted a 91-66 win at UNLV and an 86-73 home win against Boise State. Against the Runnin' Rebels, USU shot 61.8 percent (34-of-55) from the field, 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from behind the arc and 81.3 percent (13-of-16) at the free throw line, while UNLV shot 31.6 percent (18-of-57) from the floor, 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from deep and 81.5 percent (22-of-27) at the free throw line. Three Aggies scored in double figures in junior guard Steven Ashworth (27), junior guard Max Shulga (19) and graduate forward Dan Akin (13). Against the Broncos, USU shot 57.1 percent (32-of-56) from the floor, 35.0 percent (7-of-20) from behind the 3-point line and 88.2 percent (15-of-17) at the free throw line, while BSU shot 44.6 percent (25-of-56) from the field, 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from behind the arc and 84.2 percent (16-of-19) at the free throw line. Five Aggies scored in double figures in graduate forward Taylor Funk (24), Ashworth (19), Akin (14), senior guard Sean Bairstow (12) and Shulga (11).
MEN'S TENNIS
Contact: Adalee Randall - (435) 797-8584
This Week
Wed., March 8 --- at UC Riverside, 4 p.m. (MT)
Thur., March 9 --- at UC Santa Barbara, 2 p.m. (MT)
Sat., March 11 --- at UC Irvine, 3 p.m. (MT)
• Utah State men's tennis (4-7, 0-0 MW) continues its 2023 spring season this week with three matches as it plays at UC Riverside (4-8) on Wednesday, March 8, at 4 p.m. (MT), at UC Santa Barbara (11-1) on Thursday, March 9, at 2 p.m. (MT), and at UC Irvine (2-6) on Saturday, March 11, at 3 p.m. (MT).
Last Competition
at Arizona State Invitational
L, 2-4 --- vs. Loyola Marymount
L, 2-4 --- vs. No. 55 New Mexico
W, 4-2 --- vs. Idaho
• Utah State posted a 1-2 record two weekends ago with a pair of 4-2 losses to Loyola Marymount and No. 55 New Mexico, and a 4-2 win against Idaho at the Arizona State Invitational. Against the Lions, senior David Cierny posted a three-sets win at No. 1 singles (4-6, 6-3, 6-2) and teamed with fellow senior Bodin Zarkovic for a 6-3 win at the first doubles position. At No. 5 singles, freshman Nuno Pinheiro won his match in three sets (6-7, 6-0, 7-5). Against the Lobos, USU took the doubles point as junior Stijn Paardekooper and freshman Nuno Pinheiro posted a 6-4 win at the second position, while senior Javier Ruiz and junior Jack Ninteman notched a 6-3 win at the third position. In singles play, Zarkovic won in straight sets at the No. 2 spot (6-1, 6-3). And against the Vandals, USU won the doubles point with a 6-3 win at the first position by partners Cierny and Zarkovic, and a 6-4 win at the second position by Paardekooper and Pinheiro. In singles, Zarkovic won in straight sets at the No. 2 spot (6-4, 6-1), Savin won in straight sets at the No. 4 spot (7-5, 6-4) and Pinheiro won in straight sets at the No. 5 spot (6-3, 7-5).
GYMNASTICS
Contact: Wade Denniston - (435) 797-1361
This Week
Fri., March 10 --- at #7 Cal / vs. #15 Ohio State / vs. #20 Stanford, 8 p.m. (MT)
• Utah State gymnastics (2-9, 1-7 MRGC) continues its 2023 season this week at a quad meet hosted by No. 7 Cal on Friday, March 10, at 8 p.m. (MT). Joining the Aggies and Golden Bears (11-2-2) will be No. 15 Ohio State (13-1) and No. 20 Stanford (8-6).
Last Week
2nd, 194.600 --- ALASKA / NEBRASKA
• Utah State closed out its 2023 home schedule by placing second in a tri meet against Alaska and Nebraska last weekend. The Aggies finished with a 194.600 to beat the Seawolves, who came in third with a 191.750. Nebraska won the meet with a 197.500. Senior Sofi Sullivan tied for first on beam with a 9.925, which is tied for ninth all-time in school history. Junior Brianna Brooks also tied for first on beam with a personal-best 9.925, tied for third on bars with a 9.900 and finished third in the all-around with a 39.275. USU opened the meet with a solid 48.850 on vault – its second-highest score of the season on the event. Senior Alivia Ostendorf led the Aggies with a 9.850 to tie for third. In the second rotation, Brooks led the way on bars with her 9.900 to help the Aggies score a 49.175 – tied for the second-best score of the season on the apparatus. Despite the two 9.925s on beam from Brooks and Sullivan, USU struggled on the event in the third rotation as three gymnasts fell. As part of their team score of 47.650, the Aggies had to count two falls. USU bounced back on floor in the fourth and final rotation, recording a 48.925 as Ostendorf and fellow senior Ariel Toomey tied for third with identical 9.850s.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Contact: Adalee Randall - (435) 797-8584
This Week
Wed., March 8 --- at UC San Diego, 2 p.m. (MT)
Sat., March 11 --- vs. UC Irvine, San Diego, California, 11 a.m. (MT)
• Utah State women's tennis (3-3, 0-0 MW) continues its 2023 spring season this week in San Diego, California, as it plays at UC San Diego (5-6) on Wednesday, March 8, at 2 p.m. (MT) and against UC Irvine (3-3) on Saturday, March 11, at 11 a.m. (MT).
Last Competition
W, 5-2 --- IDAHO
• Utah State posted a 5-2 home win against Idaho two weekends ago in its only match. The Aggies took an early 1-0 lead by posting wins at all three doubles positions. Seniors Monique Burton and Zeynep Naz Ozturk posted a 6-4 win at the first position, senior Sidnee Lavatai and junior Lisa Küng notched a 6-2 win at the second position, and senior Annaliese County and junior Maile Brilhante posted a 6-0 win at the third position. In singles play, Küng won at the No. 1 spot (6-4, 7-5), Ozturk won at the No. 2 spot (6-4, 6-1), Burton won at the No. 3 spot (6-1, 6-1) and freshman Magdalena Nunez Pureco won at the No. 5 spot (7-6 (1), 6-1).
SOFTBALL
Contact: Ashley Springer - (435) 797-5547
This Week
at Silicon Valley Classic II
Fri., March 10 --- at Santa Clara, 3:30 p.m. (MT)
Fri., March 10 --- vs. CS Northridge, 6 p.m. (MT)
Sat., March 11 --- vs. UC Davis, 1 p.m. (MT)
Sat., March 11 --- at Santa Clara, 6 p.m. (MT)
Sun., March 12 --- at Santa Clara, 9:30 a.m. (MT)
• Utah State softball (7-8, 0-0 MW) continues its 2023 season this weekend at the Silicon Valley Classic II in California. USU will begin the tournament on Friday, March 10, against Santa Clara (8-11) and CS Northridge (6-12) at 3:30 p.m. (MT) and 6 p.m. (MT), respectively. USU then plays UC Davis (10-5) and Santa Clara on Saturday, March 11, at 1 p.m. (MT) and 6 p.m. (MT), respectively. USU then concludes the tournament against Santa Clara on Sunday, March 12, at 9:30 a.m. (MT).
Last Competition
at Grand Canyon Tournament, Phoenix, Arizona
L, 2-4 --- vs. South Dakota
L, 0-5 --- at Grand Canyon
W, 9-3 --- vs. Montana
W, 8-5 --- vs. South Dakota
W, 12-9 --- vs. Montana
• Utah State went 3-2 two weekends ago at the Grand Canyon Invitational as the Aggies swept Montana (W, 9-3; W, 12-9), split against South Dakota (L, 2-4; W, 8-5) and lost 5-0 to host Grand Canyon. Four Aggies saw time in the circle, combining for a 5.56 ERA. The USU pitching staff allowed 36 hits and 21 earned runs, while striking out 30 batters and walking 23. Freshman Jaden Colunga led the Aggies at the plate after batting .667 (4-of-6). As a team, USU hit .288 (40-of-139), including five doubles and seven home runs. Senior Makenzie Macfarlane led the Aggies with 32 putouts and 2 assists.
GOLF
Contact: Wade Denniston - (435) 797-1361
Next Competition
Mon.-Tues., March 27-28 --- at UC San Diego Invite, All Day
• Utah State's golf team returns to action on Monday and Tuesday, March 27-28, when the Aggies travel to the Golden State, for the UC San Diego Invitational, at Torrey Pines in San Diego, California.
Last Competition
3rd/10 --- at Southern Utah Invite
• Junior Josh Pehrson shot a 2-under 70 in the final round of the Southern Utah-hosted Thunderbird Invitational, helping Utah State to a third-place finish last month at Sunbrook Golf Course in St. George, Utah. Pehrson was one of two Aggies to place in the top 10 as he tied for fourth with a career-best-tying 54-hole score of 6-under 210 (66-75-70) on the par-72, 6,781-yard course. It marked the best placing of his career. Sophomore Julio Arronte Sanchez, playing as an individual, recorded the best finish of his career as he placed seventh with a career-best 4-under 212 (70-70-72). John Cook, who was tied for first heading into Sunday's final round, ended tied for 19th at 1-over 217. Utah State led Utah Valley by six strokes heading into the final round, but the Wolverines shot a final-round 16-under 272 to win the tournament by 20 strokes at 22-under (280-290-272=842) over second-place Weber State (292-288-282=862). The Aggies (278-286-299=863) finished a stroke back of the Wildcats at 1-under. Utah Valley's Brady McKinlay took home medalist honors at 9-under 207, including a final-round 7-under 72. USU sophomores Esteban Jaramillo (219, +3) and Luis Gerardo Cantu (225, +9) tied for 23rd and tied for 38th, respectively. Junior Javier Vazquez also tied for 38th, and sophomore Nathan Preslar (229, +13), playing as an individual, tied for 46th.
TRACK & FIELD
Contact: Daniel Hansen - (435) 797-8584
Next Competition
Fri.-Sat., March 24-25 --- at Arizona Invite, All Day
Sat., March 25 --- at Utah Valley Invite, All Day
• Utah State's men's and women's track & field teams will begin their respective outdoor seasons on Friday and Saturday, March 24-25 at a pair of meets. USU will compete at the Arizona Invite on Friday and Saturday, March 24-25, and at the Utah Valley Collegiate Invitational on Saturday, March 25.
Last Competition
M: 5th/7; W: 10th/11--- at MW Championships, Albuquerque, N.M.
• Utah State's men placed fifth out of seven teams with 64 points, while the Aggie women finished 10th out of 11 teams with 30 points at the 2023 Mountain West Indoor Championships held two weekends ago in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Colorado State won the women's championship with 125.50 points, edging out New Mexico by a single point, while Air Force won the men's title with 208 points. The Aggies earned a total of six podium finishes across the three-day competition. USU's top finish of the weekend came in the men's high jump where junior Kelton Chenworth placed second with a personal-best mark of 2.12 meters (6-11.50). Chenworth's mark is tied for ninth all-time in school history. USU began the weekend with a pair of third-place finishes in the men's and women's distance medley relay. On the women's side, juniors Hannah Davidson, Olivia Smith and Mattie Geddes, plus senior Abby Jensen, recorded the second-fastest DMR time in school history at 11:33.21. Seniors Devin Pancake, Zack Bell and Christopher Kauffman, plus junior Brennan Benson, finished third with a time of 9:44.03 in the men's DMR, ranking as the third-best time in USU history. Senior Christopher Kauffman finished third in the men's 800 meters with a time of 1:51.87, earning the third-place finish by a mere four-thousandths of a second. USU's final podium came in the competition's final event in the 4x400-meter relay. The Aggie quartet of seniors Skyler Andam, Zach Meyer and Zack Bell, plus freshman Carter Guiness, placed third with a season-best time of 3:15.16. Elsewhere on the weekend, junior Mattie Geddes recorded a fifth-place finish in the 800 meters with a time of 2:11.14, ranking as the sixth-best time in the event in Aggie history. Graduate senior Mica Rivera placed fourth in the 5,000 meters, finishing with a time of 16:21.42, the second-fastest time in school history. Junior Peyton Teevens placed seventh overall in the pentathlon with 3,552 points, the best finish by an Aggie in the pentathlon since 2019 and the eighth-best total in the pentathlon in USU history. Teevens also won the 800 meters in the pentathlon with a time of 2:17.94.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Contact: Ajay Salvesen - (435) 797-2066
Last Week
L, 65-78 --- SAN JOSÉ STATE
2023 Mountain West Championship, Las Vegas, Nevada
L, 58-66 --- vs. #6 Boise State
• Utah State's women's basketball (4-26, 1-17 MW) concluded its 2023 season last week with a 78-65 home loss to San José State and a 66-58 loss to sixth-seeded Boise State in the opening round of the 2023 Mountain West Championship, held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Against the Spartans, graduate guard Maria Carvalho and junior guard Tamiah Robinson both scored 14 points, while junior guard Olivia Wikstrom added 12 points. USU shot 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from the field, 33.3 percent (11-of-33) from three-point range, and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from the free throw line. SJSU shot 43.5 percent (27-of-62) from the field, 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from the arc and 81.8 percent (18-of-22) at the charity stripe. And against the Broncos, four Aggies scored in double figures in Robinson (20), senior forward Ashya Klopfenstein (12), Carvalho (10), and graduate forward Mayson Kimball (10). USU shot 32.8 percent (20-of-61) from the field, 13.0 percent (3-of-23) from the arc and 88.2 percent (15-of-17) from the free throw line. BSU shot 43.1 percent (25-of-58) from the field, 37.5 percent (6-of-16) from three-point range, and 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the free throw line.
