Utah State Gymnastics Earns Fifth Seed at Berkeley NCAA Regional Site

Utah State [University] gymnastics (10-11, 2-7 MRGC) will compete as the fifth seed at the NCAA Regional Championships in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday, April 4, at 7 p.m. (MT). The Aggies will travel to California for the third time this season after meets in San José and Sacramento earlier this year.

Joining Utah State in Berkeley are No. 3 Utah, No. 10 Georgia, Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference foe No. 15 Boise State, in-state rival BYU and host Cal. Joining the teams will be individual competitors from San José State, UC Davis, Alaska-Anchorage and Sacramento State. The top two teams and top finishers on all events that are not on the top-two teams will advance to the NCAA Gymnastics National Championships beginning Friday, April 17.

“I feel pretty good,” said USU head coach Nadalie Walsh. “We’ve already seen two of those teams this season. A lot of the time it’s exciting to go to regionals and see other teams, but I think our girls will be really comfortable.”

The NCAA Regionals are held at six sites around the country, featuring the top 36 teams, as well as the top individuals who compete for non-qualifying teams. The top 18 teams are seeded nationally, based on RQS, and placed into the bracket. Teams 19-36 are organized into three pods (19-24, 25-30 and 31-36) and placed geographically at one of the six sites, beginning with teams 19-24, followed by teams 25-30 and then finally teams 31-36.

Utah State competed at regionals as a team last season, where the Aggies finished in sixth place with a 191.875. Senior Sarah Landes led the Aggies in the all-around with a 38.350, while sophomore Bailey McIntire recorded a 9.875 on floor to tie for ninth. Overall, Utah State has competed at NCAA Regionals 27 times as a team.

The Aggies have already competed against Boise State and BYU this season. Boise State won the MRGC Championships last weekend, while USU finished fourth with a 195.125 and BYU took fifth with a 194.225. Utah State also faced Boise State in two regular season meets. Utah State took second at a home tri-meet with UC Davis, as the Aggies scored a 194.275 behind the Broncos' 195.975. In a dual meet in Boise, The Aggies fell by a score of 195.925-194.475. The Aggies have had success against BYU this season, with USU holding a 3-1 record against the Cougars. The Aggies bested BYU in the MRGC Championships and twice in Provo during the regular season. The Aggies' lone loss to BYU came in a home meet, where Utah State posted the third-highest score in school history with a 196.350.

The Aggies wrapped up the regular season at the MRGC Championships. The Aggies recorded a 48.900 on vault, a 48.625 on bars, a 48.825 on beam and a 48.775 on floor. Landes as well as juniors McKinzey Martinez and Miranda Kerr all earned second-team all-MRGC honors.

Fans can follow the USU Gymnastics’ Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages — Twitter: @USUGymanstics, Facebook: Utah State Gymnastics and Instagram: @USUGymanstics. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter or on Facebook at UtahStateAthletics.

Additional Aggie sports news is available at the Athletics website.