BOISE, Idaho — The Boise State Broncos gymnastic team hosts Southern Utah in a Mountain Rim Conference matchup at Extra Mile Arena this Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
It will be the first time the Broncos will host a meet this season, but now they can look forward to back-to-back home meets this Friday and next Friday against Utah State.
"It’s so great, we get to use our own equipment so that’s a plus and it is so great to have all our fans come," said Emily Lopez. "I'm pretty proud of all the work we have put in and I can't wait to meet our potential this season and hopefully at the home meet."
#WhatsNext ⁉️
— Boise State Gymnastics (@BroncoSportsGYM) January 23, 2023
🚨 𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥 🚨
Come see us at ExtraMile Arena, Friday, Jan. 27 @ 7 p.m. We'll be signing posters following the meet!#BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/OW4nXH4Eoa
The Broncos have gone to two meets so far and they have an 0-4 record as they were defeated by UCLA, Washington, and Minnesota in the Wasatch Classic Quad Meet. They were also beaten by BYU in a conference match in Provo last week.
"We have a lot of kids doing events they didn't compete in last year," said BSU coach Tina Bird. "It has taken us a couple meets to get our stride and I really think this Friday we are going to put it all together."
Emily Lopez is off to a great start. The junior from California won Conference Specialist of the Week five times combined in the vault and the beam. She is currently tied for fifth in the nation on the balance beam.
"My mom always wanted to do gymnastics, but she was never able to so she put me into it. I started when I was three years old and I just loved it," said Lopez. "Beam is a little scary! It is only four inches wide, but knowing that my team is there supporting me is really great and securing."
Gymnastics has an interesting dynamic as every woman has their own discipline and some compete in multiple events. The women are competing on their own, but they have to do well to help the team. If a routine doesn't go as planned, another member of the team needs to step up.
"Our goal this year is to get better every meet. We want to make Bronco history, set some school records, and we want to win the conference," said Bird. "But we want to take that one day at a time, put the work in during the week, then get out there and build on each performance. I think the sky is the limit."
Boise State has three home matches in total. Last year, they hosted the Mountain Rim Conference Championship, but this year that event will be held at Southern Utah.
