Utah State Gymnastics Heading to Salt Lake City for NCAA Regionals

Utah State's [University] gymnastics team found out where it is headed for the NCAA Regional Championships set for Saturday, April 2, and the Aggies will be staying close to home.

Utah State will compete as the sixth seed and travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, for the six-team regional. The meet will take place at the Huntsman Center and begin at 6 p.m. (MT).

"It's exciting because we can get a lot of fans there," said junior gymnast Bailey McIntire, who was tabbed the American First Credit Union Utah State Student-Athlete of the Week on Monday  [March 21]. "Competing at the University of Utah is really fun, so it's exciting."

The Aggies (7-11, 3-2 Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference) have now advanced to regionals for the third straight year, a feat that hasn't been done since the program appeared in 17 straight regionals from 1986-2002.

"As a team, we're just happy to be here for the third year in a row," senior Jillian Chappel said. "I'm from Florida and was hoping we would go to the south. I love competing in the SEC, so that would have been awesome, but I'm super thankful to be in Salt Lake City. It's an amazing atmosphere there."

Joining Utah State at the Salt Lake City Regional will be No. 5 Utah, No. 8 UCLA, No. 17 Washington, No. 23 and fellow MRGC member Southern Utah and No. 29 Illinois.

"I would really love the team to just make a statement, to be able to go out there and be like, ‘Yeah, we may be the sixth seed, but we're highly competitive and we could finish third, or even higher,'" said third-year head coach Nadalie Walsh. "I think that it is a super realistic goal. I have been here for three years now and have just taken the program forward step by step. You can't walk in your first year and say, ‘Let's win a national title.’ That wouldn't be a realistic goal.

"The girls had to learn how to win, they had to learn how to fight, they had to learn how to be able to handle themselves with the disappointments and successes," Walsh continued. "They have gone through every different scenario, so seeing our name last just puts me even more on edge like, `We were in some meets this year where the judges didn't get it right, so let's just be all stacked up in the same gym and let's just let the best routines be rewarded with the best scores.' I want Utah State to make a statement and I think it's their time."

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 their Regional Qualifying Score (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 placed fifth with a team score of 195.150 at last year's NCAA Regionals held in Berkeley, Calif. Sarah Landes was the lone Aggie to compete in the all-around as she finished seventh with a 39.175 (vault: 9.775, bars: 9.800, beam: 9.800, floor: 9.800).

In Walsh's first year at the helm, the Aggies finished sixth at the 2014 NCAA Regional Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., with a score of 191.875. McIntire tied for fourth on floor with a 9.875.

"I don't really know what it's like to not go to regionals because I've only been here since we have been going," McIntire said. "It's just a good feeling to go a third time in a row."

Utah State, currently ranked No. 32 in the nation, qualified for the NCAA Regionals with a 195.525.

"Our team has a lot more potential than what we've shown so far," Chappel said. "Just going out and all of us being on, on the same day and giving 110 percent — each person on every event — is all we can ask for."

The Aggies competed at the MRGC Championships last Saturday in Boise, Idaho, and finished fourth with a team score of 195.875. Utah State finished third on vault (48.925), third on bars (49.025), third on beam (49.000) and fourth on floor (48.925).

McIntire earned first-team all-MRGC honors in the all-around (39.425), bars (9.900) and beam (9.850), to go along with a second-team accolade on vault (9.825).

Chappel and earned second-team all-MRGC honors on vault (9.825), while junior Hayley Sanzotti garnered second-team honors on beam (9.825).

All four teams from the MRGC qualified for Regionals. No. 15 Boise State will be heading to Tuscaloosa, Ala., while No. 31 BYU is bound for Minneapolis, Minn. It is the second consecutive season the MRGC has sent all of its teams to Regionals.

Fans can follow the Aggie gymnastics program at Twitter, on Facebook at Utah State Gymnastics, and on Instagram. Fans can also follow the USU athletic program at Twitter or on Facebook at UtahStateAthletics.

Gymnastics Bracket  | Regional Competition Order 

Additional Aggie sports news is available at the Athletics website.