CEDAR CITY, Utah - March 7 - Southern Utah University gymnastics will return to the Centrum Arena on Friday night after having competed on the road for the past six consecutive meets. The Thunderbirds will face Utah State, marking the third time the two teams have faced one another this season.

SUU is currently riding a 24-meet winning streak against the Aggies, having suffered its last defeat to Utah State during the 2005 season.

The Thunderbirds will enter the meet needing strong results over the final four meets of the year to keep an NCAA regional berth within reach. Teams qualify for the post season by finishing in the top 36 of the nation and Southern Utah is currently No. 46 in the standings.

“There is a lot of pressure on us, no question, going into these final few meets,” head coach Scott Bauman said. “But, we are finally starting to get healthy and have our full lineups in place. It is probably going to be tough to get that regional berth, but if our team comes out and compete and performs at the level I know they are capable of, we'll have a shot.”

Seniors Brooke Cersosimo and Lauren Jeffrey made their return to more than one rotation last week, including bars and beam for Cersosimo and bars and floor for Jeffrey. The duo could be inserted into a third rotation as early-season ankle injuries have continued to heal.

Other Thunderbirds anticipated to be back in multiple lineups include juniors Alyssa Click and Michaela Chernoch, who both returned to competition last weekend at Auburn. The tandem appeared on bars and beam, but could be put into the floor lineup as their ankles have also continued to heal from injuries sustained in early February.

The meet on Friday is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in the Centrum Arena. Fans that cannot attend the meet live can follow the action via a free video stream and live stats feed that is anticipated to be available online at www.suutbirds.com.

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