Big Week in Aggie Athletics

SOFTBALL

LAST WEEK
March 14 - at Brigham Young (DH), L 1-10/L 1-6
March 15 - at Brigham Young, L 4-12

THIS WEEK
March 20-23 at Sacramento State Tournament
March 20 - vs. Iowa, 6 p.m.
March 21 - vs. Long Island, 4 p.m.
March 21 - vs. Cal 1:30 p.m.
March 22 - vs. Eastern Kentucky, 1:30 p.m.
March 22 - vs. UNLV 4 p.m.
March 23 - vs. Sacramento State, Noon

NEXT WEEK
March 26 - VS. SOUTHERN UTAH (DH), 2 p.m.
March 29 - at Cal State Fullerton* (DH), 2 p.m.
March 30 - at Cal State Fullerton*, 1 p.m.

** USU faces Iowa (13-5) for the fifth time ever and the second time this season. Iowa enters the tournament coming off 11 straight wins. The Hawkeyes beat USU 9-0 Feb. 15 in Phoenix, Ariz. All-time, USU is 1-3 against Iowa.

** In the second game, the Aggies face No. 7 Cal. The Golden Bears are 23-6 after winning four games at the Nike Blue and Gold Classic. USU is 7-7 all-time against Cal, and the two teams last met in 2000.

** Long Island is 4-8 after going 1-4 at the Speedline Invitational in Plant City, Fla. Utah State beat Long Island 3-0 last season at the Capital Classic in the teams' first meeting.

** Utah State faces Eastern Kentucky for the first time ever. The Colonels are 10-4 after going 1-3 at the San Diego State Tournament March 14-15.

** UNLV (13-17) comes off a 0-4 performance at the Kia Classic in Fullerton, Calif. The Aggies beat the Rebels 4-3 March 7 at a tournament in Las Vegas. All-time, Utah State is 13-20 versus UNLV.

** Sacramento State (16-7) is coming off a 2-3 trip at the National Invitational Softball Tournament in Sunnyvale, Calif. The Hornets' losses at the tournament came at the hands of No. 7 Cal, No. 12 Arizona State and No. 24 Minnesota.

Softball contact: Jeremy Seeley - (435) 797-2066

TRACK & FIELD

LAST WEEK
Off

THIS WEEK - OUTDOOR TRACK BEGINS
March 22 - at Sac. State Collegiate, Sacramento, Calif.

NEXT WEEK
March 28-29 - at Stanford Invitational, Palo Alto, Calif.

** Utah State men's and women's outdoor track teams open their seasons in Sacramento, Calif., March 22 at the Sacramento State Invite.

** USU outdoor track competes in the Big West Conference. Last year the USU men won the Big West Championship, and the women finished fourth. Head coach Gregg Gensel was also named 2002 Big West Coach of the Year.

GYMNASTICS

LAST WEEK
March 10 - VS. #25 CENTRAL MICHIGAN, S. UTAH, 1st/3 (195.850)
March 14 - VS. NORTH CAROLINA STATE, W 196.675-195.775

THIS WEEK
March 22 - at #15 Ohio State, 5 p.m.

NEXT WEEK
March 29 - at Western Gymnastics Conf. Championships
(Boise State, CS Fullerton, Southern Utah)
Cedar City, 7 p.m.

** No. 28 Utah State gymnastics (9-9) travels to No. 15 Ohio State for a 5 p.m. MST meet on Saturday, March 22. Ohio State defeated USU in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Feb. 28, 196.375-195.275.

** USU's regional qualifying score (RQS) stands at 195.360, up from 195.200 last week, though the Aggies fell from No. 24 to No. 28 nationally. The RQS is determined by a team's top six scores, three of which must be from away meets. The high score is thrown out and the remaining five are averaged.

** Senior Nicole Kilpatrick set two career highs against NC State on March 14. She scored 39.525 in the all-around, 0.025 shy of the school record, and tied the school record on vault (9.95). On floor, she hasn't scored below 9.80 this season, and has been above 9.875 in the last five meets. In that span, she is averaging 9.915.

** In 25 years of gymnastics at USU, just Christy Denson has ended the season with an all-around average better than 39.00 (1999). Were the 2003 season to end today, all three all-arounders - Meagan Nelson (39.206), Nicole Kilpatrick (39.173) and Jessica Parenti(39.069) - would end the year with all-around averages better than 39.00.