Jan. 18, 2006

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THIS WEEK - 32nd ranked Utah State gymnastics (2-4) will be hosting its home opener against the BYU Cougars (2-1) in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Friday, Jan. 20 at 6:35 p.m.

NEXT WEEK - The Aggies travel to Salt Lake City to compete against third-ranked Utah (2-0) and Southern Utah, who will open its season later this week. That meet will start at 7 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT - Utah State finished second out of four teams at Texas Woman's. Eighth-ranked LSU (194.050) was first followed by USU (192.875), Texas Woman's (190.475) and Centenary (188.125).

SCOUTING BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY - BYU entered the pre-season polls ranked 19th in the country. Last week the Cougars opened their season at Oregon State in a four-team meet which included then top-ranked Florida. The Cougars took third with a score of 190.075, which would have placed them No. 34 in polls that were released Tuesday, but their score went unreported.

Florida placed first at the meet with a 193.575, but fell from No. 1 to No. 8 in the rankings. The Cougars finished second on vault, with Dayna Smart leading the way with a 9.750, tying for fourth place. Aimee Walker Pond led a close pack of Cougars on bars with a 9.725. Right behind Pond was Kacie Capra (9.700) and Kylee Draper (9.675). Kandis Kelly had a good showing on beam, placing fourth with a 9.625.

The series between the Aggies and Cougars is currently 38-51-1. Last year the Aggies lost both at home and away to the Cougars with scores of 194.125-190.600 and 196.425-195.100.

BYU returns 12 gymnasts and welcomes four freshmen.

RANKING RAUCOUS - Rankings changed drastically from Monday to Tuesday this week. This was because last spring a change in procedure was accepted by the coaches' association to have the first seven weeks of the 2006 rankings go by season average, but no one told Steve Troester, who manages rankings through inputs from the coaches and posts them on his Web site each Monday. Just like in years past, rankings for the first two weeks of 2006 were posted this week by high score. Once Troester was informed of the change, he re-ranked everything by average. The result was rankings changed dramatically from Monday to Tuesday, with Utah State falling from No. 22 (High score: 192.875) to No. 32 (Average 190.40) overnight.

TEAM RANKINGS - The Aggies enter the week of Jan. 16 ranked No. 32 by average score and they have the 22nd-best score to date in the nation with the 192.875 scored at Texas Woman's with LSU and Centenary. Four of the Aggies' 2006 competitors rank in the top 25 including third-ranked Utah and LSU who fell from No. 8 to No. 11 after competing against the Aggies. The Aggies are currently leading the WAC in rankings at No. 32 with Sacramento State (34th), Boise State (35th), San Jose State (37th) and Cal State-Fullerton (45th) following.

2006 TEAM CAPTAINS - Juniors Rachael Mandy and Alex Martin and sophomore Kelly Patterson are serving as the captains for the 2006 squad. This is Mandy and Patterson's first year as captains, Martin's second.

INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS - USU's Katie Omann (38.975) is tied for 15th in the all-around, while teammate Jessica Parenti who was ranked seventh by high score, dropped out of the top 25 when scores were done by average. Omann is also tied for the No. 23 spot on floor exercise with a 9.800

The Aggies are 25th on vault with a team score average of 48.350.

PARENTI HONORED TWICE - Jessica Parenti was honored with both the USU Athlete of the Week for the week of Jan. 16, and the first ever Xbox Live WAC Gymnast of the Week to be received by an Aggie. Parenti won the all-around title for the second-straight week with a score of 39.250, She won the all-around with a second-place finish on floor (9.875) and a six-way tie for second on bars (9.775). She had a third-place finish on beam (9.880) and a fourth-place finish on vault with a 9.880.

2006 SEASON OUTLOOK - The Aggies are entering their 29th season of Division I competition and their 29th season under head coach Ray Corn. After finishing first at the WGC in 2005, the Aggies begin the 2006 in the WAC with a preseason second place ranking. They return 12 letterwinners, and bring in four freshmen. This year the Aggies return three seniors in Ashley Barr, Liesel Kohler and Jessica Parenti. Barr, however, will redshirt this season after tearing her ACL this fall. Jessica Parenti is expected to lead the team in the all-around competition. Last year she recorded a personal best 39.425. She will be joined by teammate Megan Tschida, who led the Aggies in the beginning of last year as Parenti was out sick. They will be joined by Alex Martin, Katie Omann and Rachael Mandy. The Aggies will be returning a veteran vault squad, with the exception of freshman Devin Markle. Jackie Fogli, Rachael Mandy, Megan Lewis and Katie Omann will all be strong competitors for the Aggies. The balance beam is one place to look for the freshmen in action. As for the returners, Liesel Kohler, Meagan Lewis and Alex Martin are all expected to be strong contributors. All three gymnasts currently rank on the Aggies top-10 all time list. On floor Megan Tschida and Jessica Parenti are expected to shine. Liesel Kohler and Alex Martin will also continue to compete as solidly as they have in the past.

HEAD COACH RAY CORN - Utah State's Ray Corn (Northern Colorado `71) is in his 29th year as the Aggies' head coach. Corn's teams own an overall record of 420-402-2. In 20 of the past 22 years, USU has qualified for the NCAA regional competition. Utah State first participated in the Big West Conference gymnastics championship in 1992, winning the title. The Aggies claimed the Big West championship three times -- in 1996, 1998 and 2001. USU joined the Western Gymnastics Conference in 2002, winning the conference title in 2005. The Aggies joined the Western Athletic Conference this year. Corn was named the Midwest Regional Coach of the Year in 1991, earned Big West Co-Coach of the Year honors in 1994 and was named Big West Coach of the Year in 1998 and 2001. He also earned coach of the year honors in the High Country Athletic Conference in 1986, 1987 and 1988. He was named WGC Coach of the Year in 2005.

A LOOK AT THE 2006 AGGIES

Ashley Barr - A redshirting senior from Littleton, Colo., Barr will sit out the 2006 season after tearing her ACL this fall and undergoing surgery in December. In 2005 Barr competed in all 13 meets for the Aggies on both beam and floor, and missed only one meet on the bars. She received WGC all-conference honors on beam after finishing fifth with a 9.825. She received WGC all-academic honors for the third straight year as well as being named the WGC athlete of the week for the week of March 7.

Nicki Felley - A freshman out of Flower Mound, Texas she competed at the 2005 Junior Olympic Championships where she finished ninth in the all-around out of 250 participants. She placed 11th on the bars, 17th on both the beam and vault, and 19th on the floor to solidify her top-10 performance.

Jackie Fogli - Had a fifth place finish on vault against Cal State Fullerton, NC State and San Jose State with a 9.775. On the floor she was the second best Aggie and 13th overall with a 9.400. On the beam she finished with a 8.975. A sophomore out of Wheaton, Ill., Fogli was a strong contender on the vault all last season for the Aggies. She finished the season with a 9.7075 average. At the WGC Championships she led the Aggies on the vault with a 9.900 to tie for first. She became only the second freshman from Utah State to win a WGC event. She also earned all-conference honors on floor with her fourth place finish with a career high 9.775.

Jaymie Goodsell - A redshirt sophomore from Blaine, Minn., Goodsell is expected to add depth to the Aggies on the beam.

Sarah Johnson - She finished with the second highest score on the beam for the Aggies against TWU, LSU and Centenary scoring a 9.625 and she competed for the first time in her career on bars scoring a 8.800. In her opening meet of collegiate competition at Cal State Fullerton Johnson competed on the beam for the Aggies and recorded a 9.225 to place eighth overall. She also competed in exhibition on the bars and scored a 8.950. In 2002 she won the vault title and finished third in the all-around at the Level 9 Regionals. In 2003 Johnson placed third on bars, floor and the all-around at the Level 10 Regionals. In addition to being the 2004 Region 3 bronze medalist on floor, she finished 14th in the all-around at Nationals. Johnson is a freshman from Arlington, Texas.

Liesel Kohler - On the floor against TWU, LSU and Centenary, Kohler scored a 9.850 and finished tied for third. She competed on the beam and floor against Cal State Fullerton, NC State and San Jose State. On the beam she scored a 9.100 in a three way tie for 12th, and on the floor she scored a 9.350 to take 14th place. A senior from La Selva Beach, Calif., she competed in all but one meet in 2005, despite the fact she suffered a concussion that kept her from training for most of November and December. Kohler currently has eight of the top 20 all-time floor performances and three of the top 10 all-time beam performances for the Aggies. In 2005 she won the WGC Championships floor title (9.850) and finished third on beam (9.850). She garnered all-conference honors in both events. Was named USU's athlete of the week for her work at the WGC Championships.

Meagan Lewis - Against TWU, LSU and Centenary she score a 9.700 on vault and a 9.525 on both bars and floor. Was one of the two Aggies to compete in the all-around against Cal State Fullerton, NC State and San Jose State. She finished with a 35.725 with a 9.275 on bars. A junior from Las Vegas, Nev., she competed as Meagan Nelson as a freshman and sophomore before marrying Corey Lewis. After redshirting the 2004 season due to an injury, Lewis returned to compete on bars and vault. In 2005 she set a season high on vault against Denver with a 9.800. This year Lewis will be returning to competition in the all-around, something she hasn't done since 2003 when she set a Utah State record for 39.00-plus scores in a season with 12, breaking former Aggie Christy Denson's mark of nine. All-around scores in 12 of 14 meets were better than 39.000, including 39.500 against Boise State.

Rachael Mandy - Competed on vault and bars for the Aggies in the first two meets of the season. Last week against TWU, LSU and Centenary she scored a 9.475 on vault and tied for second on bars with a 9.775. A junior from Fargo, N.D., Mandy will serve as one of three team captains this year. Mandy competed on the vault in every meet of 2005. She scored at least a 9.700 on vault in each meet, and tied her personal best and 18th all-time vault score against Texas Woman's and California with a 9.850. She continued to be the most solid Aggie on vault as she had a season average of 9.7583, just slightly lower than her top-10 average of last year.

Devin Markle - A freshman from Reno, Nev., Markle finished 18th in the all-around competition at the 2005 Junior Olympic Championships. She had a top-10 performance on the floor (10), then finished 13th on the bars, 25th on the vault, and 32nd on the beam.

Alex Martin - After only competing in one event at Cal State Fullerton because of a sore ankle, Martin returned to the lineup in three events against TWU, LSU and Centenary. She competed on the bars and tied for second with a 9.775. Se also competed on beam (8.250) and floor (9.550). A junior from Longmont, Colo., Martin is one of three team captains for the 2006 squad. She led the Aggies on bars in the first four meets in 2005. Against Texas Woman's she scored a 9.900 on the beam, which tied her for 10th all-time. She also posted a 39.275 in the all-around and had a season high 9.825 on bars at BYU. After throwing her shoulder out during warm-ups, she toughed out three routines at the WGC Championships and took sixth place (9.725) on bars and earned all-WGC honors.

Katie Omann - Omann competed in the all-around for the first time in her career against TWU, LSU and Centenary and finished second with a 38.975 behind teammate Jessica Parenti. Omann outscored Parenti on the vault in a tie for second place with a score of 9.825. She also tied for second on bars (9.775) while also finishing in at tie for fifth place on floor (9.800) and ninth on beam (9.575). A sophomore from Sartell, Minn., Omann was a strong contributor on vault on in 2005 and more of the same is expected in 2006.

Jessica Parenti - Parenti won the all-around for the second week in a row against TWU, LSU and Centenary with a 39.250. She won the all-around with a second place finish on floor (9.875) and a six way tie for second on bars (9.775). She had a third place finish on beam (9.880) and a fourth place finish on vault with a 9.880. She was also honored as USU Athlete of the Week for Jan. 16, and she was the first Aggie to ever receive the Xbox Live WAC Gymnast of the Week honor. Against Cal State Fullerton, NC State and San Jose State Parenti easily won the all-around (38.175) with a third place finish on beam (9.625) and a tie for third on vault (9.800). She took sixth on the floor (9.600) while placing 17th on bars with a 9.150. Parenti holds three rankings in the Aggie all-time top 20. She also holds the highest vault score ever recorded by an Aggie with a 9.950. At the 2005 WGC Championships she took third on bars (9.800) and the all-around (39.025), earning all-conference recognition in both events. Parenti is a senior from Glendora, Calif.

Kelly Patterson - A redshirt sophomore from Twin Falls, Idaho, Patterson is one of three captains for the 2006 Aggies. She Won the 2003 Level 10 regionals on the bars and finished eighth in the all-round.

Brittany Price - Against TWU, LSU and Centenary Price scored a 9.525 on vault and a 9.100 on beam. At Cal State Fullerton, her first collegiate competition for the Aggies, Price scored a 9.525 on beam to tie for fifth place. A freshman from San Antonio, Texas, Price is expected to contribute on the balance beam. She placed third at the 2005 Texas State meet on balance beam and fourth in the all-around. She followed up her strong showing at state with a seventh-place all-around finish at the Regional Championships.

Ana Rickard - Rickard competed for only the second time in her career on the floor against TWU, LSU and Centenary and scored a 9.525. She also competed on vault and scored a 9.550. Rickard competed on the floor exercise for the first time in her career at Cal State Fullerton and scored a 9.325. A sophomore from Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, Rickard competed in one meet as a freshman on the vault. This year it is anticipated that she will compete on both the floor exercise and vault.

Megan Tschida - Tschida competed on the bars and floor exercise scoring a 8.025 and 8.900 respectively against Cal State Fullerton, NC State and San Jose State. A sophomore from St. Paul, Minn., Tschida flipped into the number one all-around role in 2005 when Jessica Parenti was unable to compete at the beginning of the season. Tschida responded by finishing second in the all-around in her first two meets with an all-around high score of 39.125 against Utah. She also tied for the floor title against Utah with a 9.850. She received all-conference honors by finishing fourth on floor with a 9.775. Had the highest floor average of all the USU gymnasts in 2005 with 9.8318.