Feb. 28, 2008

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State (3-9, 1-6 WAC) will host No. 13 Denver (10-3), on Friday, Feb. 29 in a gymnastics dual meet. Friday's meet, which starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, is Flip and Stick for the Cure Meet to help raise funds for the fight against breast cancer. Fans are encouraged to wear pink as a show of support for the brave individuals battling cancer and T-shirts will also be on sale.

The first 100 fans wearing pink will receive an official Flip and Stick For A Cure visor sponsored by the Logan Regional Hospital Foundation.

Fans can watch Friday's gymnastics action live via the internet through UtahState.tv, available through www.UtahStateAggies.com, the official web site of USU athletics.

Friday is the second leg of three home meets in four competitions for the Aggies and is USU's first dual meet since Feb. 4, a span of three multi-team meets in a row. The Aggies opened the season with five duals before a quad meet at Denver on Feb. 9 with Oklahoma and Air Force, hosting BYU and New Hampshire in a triangular meet on Feb. 15, and then taking on Utah and Southern Utah in a tri-meet this past Friday.

Denver is currently ranked No. 13 while Utah State is ranked No. 36 in the RQS rankings, but not all teams in the country have an RQS, due to some teams' schedules and later starts. A team's RQS is determined by the top three road scores and then the highest scores for a team during the year.

Friday is USU's first meet on a Feb. 29 since 1988 when the Aggies hosted Boise State and Oregon State in a tri-meet, finishing second with 187.05 behind Oregon State's 188.90. As an Athletic Department, Utah State is 5-2 on Feb. 29, last having an event in 1992 when the men's basketball team beat New Mexico State. The Aggies also played on Feb. 29 in 1984, beating Pacific, but lost in 1980 after winning in 1964. USU's women's basketball team won in 1980, its only action on Feb. 29.

Pink T-shirts are also on sale for $10 and the Aggies will donate $3 back to the Logan Regional Hospital Foundation.

In addition to proceeds from tickets and the T-shirts, fans can also make donations to the Logan Regional Hospital Foundation at the Flip and Stick for a Cure event which will help fund breast cancer education and information for Cache Valley residents through the education center of the new Logan Regional Hospital Cancer Treatment Center, opening this spring.

The Logan Regional Hospital Cancer Treatment Center is scheduled to open May of 2008. The center will provide radiation oncology therapy and other cancer treatment services for hundreds of Cache Valley patients each year. Currently, local cancer patients needing radiation oncology therapy have to leave the valley for these services. The Cancer Treatment Center will also include an education center with access to the latest cancer information and research.

Utah State is 3-9 on the season after placing third in a tri-meet at Utah with Southern Utah on Friday. The host Utes, who were ranked second in the country, won the meet with a 197.200 while the Thunderbirds logged a 193.100 and the Aggies finished with a 189.650.

USU, which has a team-total RQS of 191.209, has a 48.409 RQS on vault, followed by a 47.956 on floor, 47.803 on bars and 47.041 on beam.

The Pioneers of Denver are ranked No. 13 in the country and are 10-3 on the season after narrowly losing at No. 11 Nebraska, 195.925-195.650 on Saturday.

As a team, DU has an RQS of 195.415, posting higher than 195.000 in each of the last five meets, including the quad meet on Feb. 9 with Utah State where the Pioneers were second with a 195.700.

Denver ranks ninth in the country on floor (48.975 RQS) 14th on both bars (48.695) and vault (48.980) in addition to 16th on beam (48.690).

Gymnastics tickets are available through the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, online at www.UtahStateAggies.com and clicking on "tickets" in left column, or by calling 1-888-U-STATE-1 or (435) 797-0305.