Utah State Gymnastics Announces 2013 Competition Schedule

Utah State [University] head gymnastics coach Jeff Richards released the Aggies' 2013 schedule, which consists of 10 regular-season meets, four of which will be held at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

USU, which is entering its eighth season in the Western Athletic Conference, will be one of six teams in the conference in 2012. After a year as an independent, Boise State has returned to the WAC, while Denver will be competing in its first season in the league.

Utah State will make seven road trips during the season, with the farthest being to WAC rival San Jose State in a tri-meet with Brown University.

The Aggies have a very conference-focused schedule for 2013, with just three meets being non-WAC competitors. There will be a home-and-home series with in-state foe Brigham Young University as well as a home meet with the Air Force Academy.

"I feel like we have a pretty good schedule this year," Richards said. "It's pretty regional and close to home and against mostly our conference teams."

USU opens the season Friday, Jan. 11, with a trip to Provo, Utah, to take on the Cougars of BYU. The first of two encounters with Boise State will be in Boise Friday, Jan. 18. Boise State finished the 2012 season ranked No. 14.

The Aggies will then return to the friendly confines of the Spectrum as they play host to Southern Utah University for the first of two meets in two weeks on Jan. 25. The two teams will tangle again just a week later in Cedar City.

After the SUU double header, the Aggies will return home as they play host to the Air Force Academy Friday, Feb. 8.

"I like that we have both SUU and Boise State on the schedule twice," Richards said. "Those are always good opponents, good in-state rivalries. They'll be tough competition this year, but we should be as well."

Following Air Force, the Aggies will have a stretch of three road meets, starting at San Jose State with Brown University Feb. 15. That is the only meet of the year featuring more than two teams. The team will go to Colorado to face WAC newcomer Denver Feb. 23 before returning to California to take on Sacramento State March 1.

"Denver is new to the WAC, although they competed in the conference tournament last year," Richards said. "It's new for us to be traveling there."

USU will conclude regular season competition with a pair of home meets as they host BYU March 4 and Boise State March 15.

"It will be tough,” Richards said. “Everybody has some good recruits coming in, so it's going to come down to who hits it. It will be tough competition this year. It will be exciting and close."

The 2013 WAC Championships will be held in Cedar City, Utah, hosted by Southern Utah University. USU hosted the 2012 championship meet where they finished in fifth place.

Based on a ranking qualification, Utah State or any individual student-athletes will compete in the NCAA North Central Regional Championships April 6. The NCAA has not yet announced where that meet will be held. The 2013 NCAA National Championships are April 19-21 at UCLA.

Utah State gymnastics finished the 2012 season with a 5-16 overall record and 1-3 WAC record. The Aggies finished fifth at the 2012 WAC Championships in Logan.

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 USU Gymnastics on Twitter and Facebook. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter or on Facebook.

See the complete gymnastics schedule online.

Additional Aggie sports news is available at the Athletics website.

Contact: Megan Allen, (435) 797-8584