No. 4 Utah Gymnastics Hosts Utah State For Senior Night

Friday, March 13

Salt Lake City, UT

7:00 PM

University of Utah

Utah State

NCAA Gymnastics: Oregon State vs Utah Red Rocks

Photo by: Russ Isabella

No. 4 Utah Gymnastics Hosts Utah State For Senior Night

3/9/2020 11:52 AM | Gymnastics

Meet Notes vs. Utah State

Red Rocks close out the regular season Friday night.

MEET WEEK
The No. 4 Utah gymnasts (11-0, 7-0 Pac-12) are set to host Utah State (7-6-1, 3-4-1 MRGC) in the final home meet of the season this Friday, Mar. 13 at 7 p.m. MT. Fans are encouraged to arrive early and be in their seats by 6:50 p.m. to honor Ute seniors Missy Reinstadtler and Kim Tessen. The final meet of the regular season for the Red Rocks will be live streamed, simulcast on the Pac-12 Plus Facebook page and broadcast on ESPN 700 radio.

SENIOR SEND-OFF
Missy Reinstadtler and Kim Tessen will be making their last appearance in the Huntsman Center this Friday night following outstanding four-year careers. Co-captains of this year's team, Reinstadtler and Tessen have a Pac-12 Championship (2017), three NCAA Championship appearances (2017-19) and the inaugural Pac-12 Regular Season Championship to their credit. Reinstadtler was a 2018 NCAA All-American all-arounder (2nd team) and a 2018 All-Pac-12 Conference all-arounder (2nd team). The Brick, N.J. native was the 2018 regional balance beam champion, and was the 2017 Pac-12 runner-up on bars. Tessen earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2018 for efforts on vault and has had a breakout year this season as a senior. The Orem, Utah native currently ranks No. 9 in the nation on vault and bars, and has won a team-high 10 event titles so far this season.

PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS FLASH SALE
For a limited time only, fans can receive up to 50 percent off tickets for the 2020 Pac-12 Championships on Saturday, March 21 in West Valley City, Utah. The flash sale begins on Wednesday, March 11 and runs through Sunday, March 15. Tickets are available in the lower level ends ($15), upper level side ($10) and upper level ends ($5). Seats will be allocated by the venue and delivered 48 hours prior to the event. Click here to purchase your tickets to see some of the best teams in the NCAA compete for the Pac-12 title.

IN THE RANKINGS
Utah will head into the final week of the regular season remaining ranked No. 4 in the nation. The Utes are No. 2 on beam, No. 7 on vault, No. 7 on bars and No. 8 on floor. Inside the top-10 in the nation on both events, Kim Tessen is No. 9 on bars and is tied for No. 9 on vault. Cristal Isa is tied for No. 9 on beam and No. 16 on bars. Also ranked on beam with Isa, Abby Paulson is No. 9 (tie), Maile O'Keefe is No. 13 (tie) and Adrienne Randall is No. 17 (tie). Sydney Soloski is tied for No. 11 on floor, Alexia Burch is tied for No. 18 on vault, while Missy Reinstadtler is tied for No. 25 on bars.

FANFARE
Friday night's meet will be Senior Night with the Stars, celebrating the two seniors on the team. Fans are encouraged to arrive early, as there will be 10,000 light sticks handed out for pre-meet introductions to light up the arena. The meet will also be another opportunity for fans to donate gently worn shoes to Soles4Souls, a non-profit social enterprise that creates sustainable jobs and provides relief through the distribution of shoes and clothing around the world. Click here to find out more about the partnership directed by Missy Reinstadtler and the Utah student-athlete Crimson Council with Soles4Souls.

QUICK STICKS
• Utah finished Pac-12 play unbeaten at 7-0, which includes knocking off the top half of the conference all on the road. In the nine seasons of competing in the Pac-12, it is the second time the Utes have finished the conference slate undefeated, with the other undefeated season coming in 2015.
• Utah gymnastics recorded its third-straight sellout crowd of 15,558 fans against Stanford. Utah is averaging 15,273 fans in four home meets this season and have the four largest crowds in the NCAA this season.
• The meeting on Friday night between the Utes and Aggies will be the first dual meet between the programs since the 2012 season. The teams met earlier this season at the Rio Tinto Best of Utah for the first meeting since the 2016 NCAA Regional.
• Utah scored its highest home score of the season (197.750) and second-highest score of the entire season last week against Stanford. The Red Rocks also posted their highest vault total (49.525) of the season.

CHALK TALK
• Utah has had 10 of the 12 competing gymnasts earn at least one event victory this season.
• Individual winners this season are Kim Tessen (10), Abby Paulson (5), Sydney Soloski (5), Cristal Isa (5), Maile O'Keefe (5), Missy Reinstadter (3), Alexia Burch (2), Hunter Dula (1), Emilie LeBlanc (1) and Adrienne Randall (1).
• Tessen was named the Pac-12 Specialist on Jan. 14 and Randall on Feb. 12. O'Keefe has earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors on Jan. 29 and Feb. 18, while Paulson garnered Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors on March 6.
• Utah has hit 205-216 routines this season. Gymnasts who have hit every routine are O'Keefe (30-30), Paulson (22-22), Burch (19-19), LeBlanc (18-18), Randall (17-17), and Dula (5-5).

BY THE NUMBERS
• Utah has four gymnasts ranked in the top-20 in the nation on beam and four of the top six beam workers in the Pac-12.
• Kim Tessen has found her groove on vault and is ranked the top-vaulter in the Pac-12 for the second-straight week following her 10.0 against Stanford. Tessen has scored a 9.90 or higher on vault in six-of-nine meets this season. She has also scored a 9.90 or higher on at least one event in every meet this season.
• Maile O'Keefe has scored a 9.90 or higher on beam in the last six meets and has scored a 9.975 twice.
• Sydney Soloski has scored a 9.90 or higher on floor in her last five outings, which includes three 9.95s.
• Abby Paulson has scored a 9.90 or higher in seven-of-nine meets on beam this season.
• Cristal Isa has scored a 9.90 or higher on beam in her last five routines, which includes three-straight 9.95s at one point.

ATTENDANCE LEADERS
Utah leads the nation in average attendance with an average of 15,273 fans between its four home meets and had its third-straight sellout last week against Stanford. Utah has the four largest gymnastics crowds in the country this season (15,558 vs. Arizona State, Oregon State, and Stanford, and 14,417 vs. Kentucky). The Huntsman Center has hosted 30 crowds in excess of 15,000 and 56 crowds of 14,000 or more. Utah has led all women's sports in season home attendance nine times and has won 35 gymnastics attendance titles.

SERIES SHORTS
The Red Rocks lead the all-time series with Utah State 90-3 (39-0 in Salt Lake City). Utah and Utah State met on Jan. 11 at the Rio Tinto Best of Utah, where the Red Rocks bested BYU, Southern Utah and Utah State in the neutral-site podium event. Utah posted a 197.000 in the second meet of the season to finish first, while Utah State totaled a 194.150 to place fourth. For complete series history, see page two in the red sidebar.

SCOUTING UTAH STATE
Head Coach: Amy Smith (3rd Season)
2019 NCAA Finish: N/A
National Rank: N/A
Record: 7-6-1, 3-4-1 MRGC
Notes: Utah State is coming off a senior night upset against then-ranked No. 17 BYU 196.600-196.450 … Season-high 196.800 came at a tri-meet against Boise State, Sacramento State and UC Davis where the Aggies tied for first place with Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference opponent Boise State … Utah State ranks No. 19 on beam … Led by two all-arounders in Sofi Sullivan and Leighton Varnadore.

UP NEXT
The No. 4 Ute gymnasts will kick off the postseason on Saturday, March 21 at the Pac-12 Gymnastics Championships at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. The podium event will be split into two sessions at 1 p.m. MT and 6 p.m. MT. Both sessions will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks.