CEDAR CITY, Utah - Jan. 26 - Southern Utah University gymnastics will continue its season at Brigham Young University on Saturday, entering the quad meet as the highest-ranked team (No. 16).  The Thunderbirds will face Utah State and Iowa State in addition to the Cougars when the teams take to the competition floor in the Smith Fieldhouse at an earlier starting time of 12:00 p.m.

About the Meet:  Southern Utah University will enter as the team to beat this weekend when the Thunderbirds travel to Provo, Utah for a quad meet with Brigham Young, Iowa State and Utah State.

SUU is currently ranked No. 16 in the country, leading the pack among the four schools with Iowa State, BYU and Utah State falling in at No. 20, No. 28 and No. 39, respectively.

Southern Utah is currently riding a five-meet winning streak against BYU, having not lost to the Cougars since the 2008 season.  The Thunderbirds are enjoying a similar streak against Utah State, having not lost to the Aggies since the 2004 season and stretch of 11 straight.

Head Coach Scott Bauman's Thoughts:  We'll be the smallest school at the meet and nobody wants to lose to us.  I think we always have a target on our back and, in that we are the highest ranked team at the meet, I'm sure we do.

About Brigham Young:  Brigham Young will enter the meet with a mark of 6-1-1 on the season with victories over Denver, Air Force, Utah State, George Washington and Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

The Cougars have yet to compete an all-around gymnast as the trio of Haylee Rollins (VT/FX), Natalie Eyre (UB) and Krysten Koval (BB) lead the team on each event.

About Iowa State:  Iowa State will enter the meet with an overall record of 2-1, following victories over Auburn and Missouri.  The meet will be the first time the two teams have meet on the competition floor.

Michelle Browning has proven to be the top all-arounder for the Cyclones, posting season highs of 9.800 or higher on all apparatus, including a team-best 9.850 on the floor exercise.

About Utah State:  Utah State will enter the meet on Saturday with an overall record of 1-4 with its lone victory coming over Wisconsin-Eau Claire last weekend.

The Aggies are paced by Lyndsie Boone as the senior has paced the team with season-best scores of 9.800 on vault and 9.825 on floor.

Defending the trophy:  Southern Utah will enter the 2011 season as the defending Western Athletic Conference champions after capturing the trophy for the first time in school history in 2010.

Defending the titles: Sophomore Caitlin Kennedy will also enter the season with a chance to defend her conference title on beam.  The Temple, Texas native scored a 9.875 on the event to take the title in 2010.

Departed Seniors: The Thunderbirds will be without departed seniors Melissa Johnson and Elise Wheeler in 2011.  The pair will leave behind much to be missed, as Johnson capture the WAC vault title last year.  Wheeler was a three-time All-American in 2009, two-time WAC Gymnast of the Year and the 2010 North Central Region Gymnast of the Year.

Injury bug bites early:  Senior and team captain Jenna Vogt will be out for the 2011 campaign after tearing her Achilles tendon three weeks before the season was set to begin.

Fellow senior Bailey Pendley will also be out for the year after injuring her elbow during the third meet of the season.

Preseason poll: Southern Utah University has been picked second in the annual pre-season poll as voted upon by the conference coaches, earning two first-place votes and trailing conference favorite Boise State by one point.

WAC Preseason Coaches Poll
1.    Boise State (4)         23
2.    Southern Utah (2)    22
3.    San Jose State         14
4.    Utah State               13
       Sacramento State    13
6.    Cal State Fullerton    5

Follow the Thunderbirds online:  SUU gymnastics fans can follow the team online at www.suutbirds.com, via facebook (facebook.com/Southern-Utah-Thunderbirds) and on twitter (twitter.com/SUUThunderbirds)

Athletes of the Week:  Brooke Cersosimo and Ari Lamb swept the weekly conference awards during the first week of competition.  Cersosimo was named the Verizon WAC Gymnast of the Week and Lamb was honored with the Verizon WAC Specialist of the Week.

David Falls Goliath: Southern Utah's victory over 2010 NCAA National Champion UCLA in the second week of the season stands as one of the biggest upsets in school history.

Sweeping the Floor:  Southern Utah is ranked No. 1 on floor in the North Central region and the Western Athletic Conference.

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