LOGAN, Utah – Utah State's gymnastics team will conclude the regular season portion of its schedule on Friday, March 10, when the Aggies take part in the Hass Meet Pavilion #1 in Berkeley, California.
Joining the Aggies (2-9, 1-7 Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference) and Golden Bears (11-2-2, 4-1-2 Pac-12) at Haas Pavilion will be No. 15 Ohio State (13-1, 5-1 Big Ten) and No. 20 Stanford (8-6, 3-4 Pac-12).
Friday's meet will be streamed at pac12.com, live scoring will be available online at statbroadcast.com and Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State gymnastics social media outlets for meet updates.
"This weekend is going to be an exciting matchup with all three programs we are facing ranked in the top 20," said first-year Utah State head coach Kristin White. "The competition is going to feel like a championship atmosphere, which will be great preparation for our conference championships next weekend.
"We are looking forward to elevating our performance and finishing the season strong. My goals for the team this weekend are to compete with confidence and put four strong events up. We are capable of doing that this weekend and I look forward to our women rising to the challenge."
Utah State is ranked 47th in the country in Week 9 of the Road to Nationals rankings with a National Qualifying Score of 195.480. The Aggies also rank 32nd on bars (49.040), 45th on floor (49.070), 56th on vault (48.695) and tied for 46th on beam (48.855). Individually, junior
Brianna Brooks is 59th nationally in the all-around (39.080) and tied for 89th on bars (9.860). Senior Sofi Sullivan is tied for 63rd on beam (9.875).
In the MRGC rankings, Brooks ranks seventh on bars (9.860) and tied for eighth on beam (9.845), while Sullivan is tied for third on beam (9.875). Seniors
Alivia Ostendorf (9.865) and
Ariel Toomey (9.855) are fifth and sixth, respectively, on floor.
Cal is coming off a second-place finish at the Purple & Gold Classic, hosted by LSU at the Raising Cane's River Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Golden Bears finished with a score of 197.675, while the Tigers won the quad meet with a 197.700. Washington took third (196.000) and George Washington finished fourth (195.125). Freshman eMjae Frazier won the floor title as she became the first Cal gymnast to record a perfect 10 on the event, while Andi Li tied for first on bars with a 9.950.
Ohio State closed out the home portion of its schedule by winning a tri meet against Illinois and Kent State with a score of 197.600 at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio. Event titles went to Nicole Riccardi (9.925) and Alexis Hankins (9.925) on bars, Lexi Edwards (9.975) on floor and Sydney Jennings (9.925) on vault. Payton Harris won the all-around with a 39.500.
For No. 20 Stanford, the Cardinal come into Friday night fresh off a 198.175-196.825 dual-meet loss to UCLA last Sunday at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. Stanford did not win an event title in the meet.
The Golden Bears lead the all-time series with the Aggies 9-5, including a perfect 4-0 mark in Berkeley. These two teams last met on March 31, 2002, at the NCAA Regionals in Norman, Oklahoma, where Cal beat USU 197.375-196.825.
Ohio State leads the all-time series with Utah State 4-1, including a 2-1 mark at neutral sites. The Buckeyes have won three straight, including a 196.925-195.100 victory on March 22, 2003, in Columbus, Ohio – the last time the teams squared off against each other.
The Cardinal lead the all-time series with the Aggies 8-5, including a 7-2 mark at neutral sites. Utah State and Stanford last met on March 6, 2022, at a tri meet hosted by Washington, where the Aggies finished third (195.775) and the Cardinal took second (196.325).
Following Friday's meet, Utah State will return to action on Saturday, March 18, at 6 p.m., at the MRGC Championships in Cedar City, 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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