The Sacramento State gymnastics team will travel to Utah on Friday to take on the Brigham Young University Cougars and the Southern Utah Thunderbirds in its fourth road meet of the year.

While Sac State has faced talented competition this season, Brigham Young and Southern Utah will be giving the Hornets their toughest test to date. Both Brigham Young (ranked 31st in the nation) and Southern Utah (ranked 24th) are known as gymnastics powerhouses.

Although Sac State, currently ranked 36th in the nation, has won its last four meets, its only losses of the season have come against teams ranked higher nationally, like its opponents on Friday.

Southern Utah has scored 195.000 or higher in all but one meet this season, a mark that the Hornets have not reached once this season.

BYU has eclipsed the 195.000 mark multiple times this season as well, meaning Sac State may have to put forth their best team performance of the season to keep up.

One area where the Hornets can make improvements to boost their scores is on the uneven bars, which is the discipline that has plagued them with multiple falls at two consecutive meets.

Sac State’s average score on bars this season is 48.030, a mark the Hornets have not reached the last two meets.

Falls have been problematic for the Hornets on bars lately, but one area they have been strong in all season is on the floor, where they have averaged over 49.000 on the season.

Seniors Kalliah McCartney and Jesse Williams, along with sophomore standout Lauren Rice have led the Hornets on the floor, all averaging more than 9.800 for their floor exercises.

Friday’s meet should be a good litmus test for Sac State, given the competition level of their opponents and the focus on cleaning up the falling problems on bars.

The meet will be held at Southern Utah at 7 p.m. this Friday before the Hornets return to the Nest on Friday, Feb. 19 to take on San Jose State.