Utah State Gymnastics Sends Five to NCAA Regionals

Utah State will send five gymnasts to the NCAA North Central Regional Championships on Saturday, April 4, hosted by the University of Iowa at Iowa City, Iowa.

Senior Nicki Felley and sophomore Lyndsie Boone will be competing in the all-around at regionals, while sophomore Nicole Simoneau (bars), sophomore Jackie Dillon (vault) and redshirt-freshman Erica Huelsmann (floor) were all chosen in their respective events. Simoneau was also chosen as an alternate on beam, while junior Heather Heinrich was a vault alternate.

 

This is the second year in a row for Felley, Boone and Simoneau, while Dillon and Huelsmann are going for the first time. Overall, it is Felley’s fourth year in a row after going as part of the team qualifying her freshman and sophomore seasons.

 

“It’s great that we qualified five individuals to regionals,” said first-year USU head coach Jeff Richards, who is very familiar with Iowa City, as he was an assistant at Iowa for four years prior to taking over the helm of the Aggies’ program. “We’re excited to go. This is a great way to extend our season. We hope to be as clean as we can be and hit everything, and just have a great meet.”

 

Utah State’s team action ended with Saturday’s [March 21] sixth-place finish at the Western Athletic Conference Championships, as USU is ranked No. 47 in this week’s rankings and the top 36 advance to the NCAA Regionals, marking just the sixth time in 32 years that the Aggies have not advanced to Regionals. It is the second year in a row and the third in last four years after not qualifying in 2006.

 

“It would have been nice to qualify as a team, but we’re excited to have five individuals going to represent Utah State at regionals,” Richards said.

 

Felley, a native of Flower Mound, Texas (Marcus HS), has a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 38.315, ranking 109th in the nation. She has an average of 37.921 with a season-high of 38.700 set Saturday night [March 21] at the WAC Championships, where Felley finished fifth to earn second-team all-WAC honors. Felley has season averages of 9.510 on vault, 9.546 on bars, 9.110 on beam and 9.767 on floor, competing in the all-around in 12 of USU’s 13 meets.

 

Boone, a Winthrop Harbor, Ill. (Zion Benton HS), native, has a 38.160 all-around RQS, to rank No. 117 in the country. She has a 38.100 average with a season-high of 38.700 reached in winning the all-around in the dual vs. Pittsburgh on March 6. Boone also has hit 38.600 in the all-around three other times, winning the all-around twice this season. She was ninth in the all-around at Saturday’s WAC Championships with a 37.450. Boone has season-averages of 9.650 on vault, 9.500 on bars, 9.330 on beam and 9.565 on floor.

 

A Manchester, N.H. (Manchester Central HS), native, Simoneau is tied for No. 24 in the country with a 9.865 RQS on bars. Simoneau, who is ranked second in the WAC, has the top average in the conference with a 9.848 and is tied with San Jose State’s Thomasina Wallace for the top score in the league this season with a 9.925, which Simoneau did on March 16 in winning the bars title in USU’s dual vs. Southern Utah, one of Simoneau’s seven bars event titles this season. Last Saturday at the WAC Championships, Simoneau was fifth on bars with a 9.850, earning second-team all-WAC accolades. Simoneau scored a 9.800 or higher on bars in the last nine meets in a row and 12 this season, as well as 25 times in 28 career meets.

 

Simoneau is an alternate on beam, where she has an RQS of 9.785, with a season-average of 9.590, highlighted by a career-high 9.825 on Saturday at the WAC Championships, to earn second-team all-WAC honors. Simoneau won the beam event title two meets in a row (Jan. 30 at Boise State and Feb. 6 vs. Cal State Fullerton).

 

Dillon, a native of Anderson, S.C. (Greenbrier HS), has a vault RQS of 9.780, with a 9.683 season-average and a 9.825 season-high, set on Jan. 30 at Boise State. She earned her first career event title by winning vault with a 9.775 vs. BYU on March 13, one of her eight scores of 9.700 or higher in 12 meets.

 

Huelsmann, a Naperville, Ill. (Naperville Central HS), native, has a 9.745 floor RQS, with a season-average of 9.681 with a season-best of 9.825 set on Feb. 9 vs. then-No. 1 Utah. Huelsmann has had three scores of 9.700 or higher in each of the last three meets, including Saturday at the WAC Championships, where she posted a 9.700 to finish tied for 26th. Overall, Huelsmann had a total of seven scores of at least 9.700 on the season.

 

Heinrich, a Littleton, Colo. (Dakota Ridge HS), native, has a 9.770 RQS on vault, with a 9.756 season-average and a 9.850 season-best, set on Jan. 30 at Boise State, in winning the vault. Heinrich competed in the last regular-season meet and the WAC Championships after missing the previous five meets with an illness. Overall, Heinrich was on vault in eight meets, winning the event title three meets in a row (Jan. 26 at Southern Utah, Jan. 30 at Boise State and Feb. 6 vs. Cal State Fullerton).

 

The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors (who are not on an advancing team) from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the national championships in Lincoln, Nebraska, April 16-18, hosted by the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

 

In addition, the event winners at the regional championships will advance to the national championships (in that event only) if they are not part of a qualifying team or the all-around qualifiers.

 

Additional Aggie sports news is available at the Athletics homepage Web site.