Floor exercise propels Utah State gymnastics past MRGC rival Southern Utah

LOGAN, Utah – Heading into Friday night’s meet, Utah State’s gymnastics team was looking to do three things: Remain perfect at home, record its first Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference victory of the season and avenge last week’s loss to rival Southern Utah.

The Aggies accomplished all three of those feats. Utah State finished its MRGC home opener on the floor with a bang to earn a 195.425-195.250 come-from-behind victory over the 24th-ranked Thunderbirds in front of an energetic crowd at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

“It felt like a come-from-behind win,” said third-year Utah State head coach Nadalie Walsh, who improved to 3-2 at home against ranked opponents. “It wasn’t hard to figure out that we had to do really well on floor in order to take the lead. To be honest, I just wanted the girls to go out there and give 110 percent and do their routines like I know they can. I’m really proud of them and when you give it all, sometimes you get a blessing in return. They got rewarded for their hard work.”

Southern Utah (2-3, 1-1 MRGC) led 146.875-146.375 going into the final rotation. However, the Thunderbirds recorded a 48.375 on beam and the Aggies (3-1, 1-1) finished with a season-high 49.050 on floor to complete the comeback.

“We worked a lot this week on floor with a lot of sticks and a lot more technique stuff, so that helped us a lot,” said junior Hayley Sanzotti, who tied her career-high score on floor with a 9.875. “Our landings were a lot sharper and it was our best team score on floor this year, so it was exciting and we had so much energy. We knew it was going to be close, but we just focused on us and we came out with the win.”

Utah State, which set a season-high team score on Friday, improved to 3-0 at home this season with the win.

In last week’s 195.275-194.900 loss at Southern Utah, the Aggies led after the first two rotations, but struggled on floor and had to count a fall and an out of bounds. That wasn’t the case this time around.

“We have been working on landings in the gym and not flying out of bounds and stuff, so it was good to have that solid floor rotation,” said junior Bailey McIntire, who had a 9.825 on floor for the Aggies.

Besides its 49.050 on floor, Utah State recorded a 48.450 on vault, a season-high 49.125 on bars and a 48.800 on beam. Southern Utah posted scores of 49.025 on vault, 48.975 on bars and 48.875 on floor, to go with its 48.375 on beam.

For the second consecutive week, McIntire won the all-around title with a career-high score of 39.150. Utah State has won the all-around in all four meets this season.

Seven different Aggies either tied or set 10 career-high marks during the meet.

“That’s really exciting,” McIntire said. “We normally have a few career highs during a meet, but that was really cool to have that many. We were just on a roll and getting it done. And that’s how we are in the gym, so it was nice to see that pay off.”

Freshman Madison Ward made her collegiate debut on vault and recorded a 9.650, while sophomore Miranda Hone had a career-best 9.700 on the event. On bars, sophomore Charly Belliston won the event with a career-best 9.900, while sophomore Melanie Oster had a career-high score of 9.825 to tie for fifth.

Three Utah State gymnasts tied or set their career-high marks on beam as McIntire matched her best score with a 9.800, while Sanzotti and Oster each recorded career highs with a 9.900 and 9.850, respectively. Sanzotti tied for first on the event with Southern Utah’s Stacie Webb.

Senior Jillian Chappel had a career-high score of 9.775 on floor, while Sanzotti equaled her best with a 9.875 to place first. Senior Destiny Ezell matched her season high with a 9.800 on floor.

“I’ve been saying this for most of the year, but Hayley doesn’t get the spotlight and I’m so proud of her that she gets it today, because she deserves it,” Walsh said. “She works hard, she’s a great student, a great teammate and a great gymnast.”

The Aggies will return to action when they compete in their fifth consecutive dual meet at Denver on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 5 p.m. The Pioneers were one of the founding members of the MRGC, but now compete in the Big 12 Conference.

For USU gymnastics ticket information, contact the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, by phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or (435) 797-0305, or online 24 hours a day at www.UtahStateAggies.com.

Fans can follow the Aggie gymnastics program at twitter.com/USUGymnastics, on Facebook at Utah State Gymnastics, and on Instagram at USUGymnastics. Fans can also follow the USU athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at UtahStateAthletics.

<strong>Southern Utah at Utah State – Logan, Utah – Dee Glen Smith Spectrum – January 29, 2016</strong>

Team Results: 1. Utah State – 195.425 (vault: 48.450, bars: 49.125, beam: 48.800, floor: 49.050); 2. Southern Utah – 195.250 (vault: 49.025, bars: 48.975, beam: 48.375, floor: 48.875).

All-Around: 1. Bailey McIntire – USU, 39.150 (vault: 9.675, bars: 9.850, beam: 9.800, floor: 9.825).

Vault: 1. Danielle Ramirez – SUU, 9.875; 2. Virginia Brownsell – SUU, 9.850; 3. Karen Gonzalez – SUU, 9.800; T-4. McKinzey Martinez – USU, 9.775; T-4. Stacie Webb – SUU, 9.775; 7. Miranda Hone – USU, 9.700; 8. Bailey McIntire – USU, 9.675; T-9. Madison Ward – USU, 9.650;T-9. Jillian Chappel – USU, 9.650; 12. Michelle Yasukochi – USU, 9.600.

Bars: 1. Charly Belliston – USU, 9.900; 2. Kirsten Yee – SUU, 9.875; T-3. Bailey McIntire – USU, 9.850; T-3. Danielle Ramirez – SUU 9.850; T-5. McKinzey Martinez – USU, 9.825; T-5. Melanie Oster – USU, 9.825; 10. JoAnna Cuba – USU, 9.725; 11. Madison Ward – USU, 9.050.

Beam: T-1. Hayley Sanzotti – USU, 9.900; T-1. Stacie Webb – SUU, 9.900; 3. Melanie Oster – USU, 9.850; 4. Bailey McIntire – USU, 9.800; 5. Natalie Trejo – SUU, 9.775; 6. Keri Peel – USU, 9.700; 9. Michelle Yasukochi – USU, 9.550; 12. Emily Briones – USU, 9.075

Floor: 1. Hayley Sanzotti – USU, 9.875; 2. Virginia Brownsell – SUU, 9.850; T-3. Bailey McIntire – USU, 9.825; T-3. Stacie Webb – SUU; 9.825; 5. Destiny Ezell – USU, 9.800; T-6. Jillian Chappel – USU, 9.775; T-6. McKinzey Martinez – USU, 9.775; 10. Keri Peel – USU, 9.725.

-USU-

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